Tartine steam (or analyze my bloom)
Here are a couple recent Tartine country loaves...looking at the pics, you can see 3 'zones' where the bloom opened up: a very smooth and shiny section that was open from the initial score when it went in the oven, another shiny section that opened up early into the spring, and the really roughly torn section that opened last.
These were baked in a Rofco stone oven that I have been trying to dial in the steam for, and am wondering if that last roughly torn section wasn't smoother due to a lack of moisture in the air (and if I'm missing some loft and crumb openness because of an early crust formation), or if they were underproofed, or both.
In any case, I did give it a thorough spray with my garden sprayer before and after loading.
Comments and suggestions appreciated, esp. if you have insights into steaming in a Rofco oven...