The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

My Best Looking Italian Loaf Yet

niagaragirl's picture
niagaragirl

My Best Looking Italian Loaf Yet

With you pros out there, I don't know if bubbles near the crust are good or bad, but I love them. Now if I can only get my egg white wash on straight. I should put my glasses on when I do this!

If someone would let me know on the bubbles, I'd appreciate it.

21:55 The bread gremlins came a few minutes ago wielding a large knife. So here are a couple of pics of the inside

And I went for the extreme closeup too. Might as well.

 

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Very nice Niagragirl! Also a creative arrangement.

 

Eric

althetrainer's picture
althetrainer

I don't know anything about bubbles but the crumb looks gorgeous! 

xaipete's picture
xaipete

Did you proof overnight in the refrigerator? I think Peter Reinhart said that method will create little blisters under the crust. This trait is not necessarily undesirable! Oh, yeah: the photo is really nice too--great blurring effect in the background!

--Pamela

niagaragirl's picture
niagaragirl

This was really just a quick loaf to work on my loaf shaping. It's my 30 cent Italian Loaf. No fancy methods at all, no overnites etc. Just used a slacker dough than usual becuase I was too lazy to open up another bag of flour to add the prescribed amount. So the crust bubbles were a very nice surpise to me. I wonder if I can do it again ;-)

allysnina's picture
allysnina

Niagragirl, can you direct me to the link with the recipe for the Italian bread?? It looks delicious!!

niagaragirl's picture
niagaragirl

It was intended to be a standard 70% hydration very plain loaf, the one I usually bake to practice my loaf shaping. But I was too lazy to open another bag of flour to get my 10 ounce requirement, so the flour was about 9.5 or so ounces, and the dough here was slacker, probably about 73-74%.

Flour 10 oz

Water 7 oz

Salt 1 tsp

Yeast 2 1/4 tsp or 1 packet

Sugar 2 Tbsp

That's really it except for an eggwhite wash.

Some friends really like this bread just because it's homemade, so I usually just make them and give them away. To get the looser crumb, just hold back some flour from the 10 ounces.

It's really a pretty flavorless loaf, but it makes good toast, and you can slap some peanut butter on it. My friends appreciate the homemade gesture.