# My first attempt at bread baking



## GlassEye (Mar 7, 2012)

I had been wanting to learn bread baking for a while but never got around to it due to the amount of time needed, had the day off today and decided to try making bread. I based my bread on Hamelman's six-fold baguette, I steamed the oven with a hot pan of water and super-soaker for first ten minutes, then baked another 8 or so without steam, temp at 460ºF. Each baguette was about 300g before baking. The crumb isn't exactly how I would like, but I am very happy with it as a first attempt at bread.


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## slowtyper (Mar 7, 2012)

Looks delish

Can you post the recipe here for reference?


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## Johnny.B.Good (Mar 7, 2012)

Solid. Nice photos too.


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## add (Mar 7, 2012)

Johnny.B.Good said:


> Solid. Nice photos too.



Agreed. 

I may have to try this before the summer heat hits...


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## GlassEye (Mar 7, 2012)

slowtyper said:


> Looks delish
> 
> Can you post the recipe here for reference?



Recipe
I halved the recipe, went with a bit more water. I think that I will try this again with some slight variations. The first loaf was eaten in about two minutes, with a goose liver paté.


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## Deckhand (Mar 7, 2012)

Great job! You are motivating me I just got some yeast starters.


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## Customfan (Mar 7, 2012)

Looking good! 

I started a while back and kind of got caught up with bread baking! it is a whole other world.. there are some good books out there... good luck! Have you read about starters and other yeast modalities? That is some cool stuff! :hungry:


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## PierreRodrigue (Mar 7, 2012)

I'm doing a multigrain artisan bread this evening, with honey for a different flavor. Going to have to try your recipe, I miss fresh ones!


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## memorael (Mar 7, 2012)

aaaaaaaaa sheeeeeeeeeeeeeet... those look really good, I'm a sucker for really good bread.


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## UCChemE05 (Mar 7, 2012)

Have you ever checked out one of Peter Reinhardt's books? One of my coworkers swears by it.


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## pumbaa (Mar 7, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> I'm doing a multigrain artisan bread this evening, with honey for a different flavor. Going to have to try your recipe, I miss fresh ones!



do you have a starter like a biga, or pate fermente?


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## sw2geeks (Mar 7, 2012)

Nice pics! I am not much of a bread eater, but I think I might try this just to shoot some nice pictures like these.


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## stereo.pete (Mar 7, 2012)

Beautiful loaves and pictures, thanks for sharing.


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## don (Mar 7, 2012)

Great looking bread! Nicely done, and like the choice of first consumption. What are you making next?


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## PierreRodrigue (Mar 7, 2012)

pumbaa said:


> do you have a starter like a biga, or pate fermente?



I used a biga, started yesterday morning before I went to work, the loaves are proofing at the moment.


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## Deckhand (Mar 7, 2012)

Are people using cutting boards or marble to roll out their dough? Does it matter?


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## PierreRodrigue (Mar 7, 2012)

I do it right on the counter. I am not a pro by any means, but I've had no issues.


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## Deckhand (Mar 7, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> I do it right on the counter. I am not a pro by any means, but I've had no issues.


Thanks!


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## GlassEye (Mar 7, 2012)

Thanks all for the kind words.


UCChemE05 said:


> Have you ever checked out one of Peter Reinhardt's books? One of my coworkers swears by it.


Not yet, on the book list, though.


Deckhand said:


> Are people using cutting boards or marble to roll out their dough? Does it matter?


I usually roll pasta, biscuit, pie dough on the granite countertop, but for this I used a cutting board because there was only shaping to be done, and I know the cutting board is the same size as the interior of my oven.


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## SameGuy (Mar 7, 2012)

I shape on a floured silicone mat. The quest for the perfect baguette becomes an obsession itself! I'm still a novice myself, having been reintroduced to yeast baking courtesy of the recent no-knead craze, but watching professional instructors like Ciril Hitz makes me want to try harder. http://www.youtube.com/user/breadhitz


ETA: Thanks to Ciril, I now own a _lame_, a real _couche_, a flip board, and a bunch of other specialized bread stuff! LOL


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Mar 7, 2012)

Great job! My handicap is the altitude here, but I made homeade bread on a weekly basis for 4 years before I came here. I do miss living in Germany and their bread.


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## GlassEye (Mar 7, 2012)

SameGuy said:


> I shape on a floured silicone mat. The quest for the perfect baguette becomes an obsession itself! I'm still a novice myself, having been reintroduced to yeast baking courtesy of the recent no-knead craze, but watching professional instructors like Ciril Hitz makes me want to try harder. http://www.youtube.com/user/breadhitz
> 
> 
> ETA: Thanks to Ciril, I now own a _lame_, a real _couche_, a flip board, and a bunch of other specialized bread stuff! LOL


I watched Hitz quite a bit yesterday in preparation for this, his videos were very helpful.


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## don (Mar 7, 2012)

Deckhand said:


> Are people using cutting boards or marble to roll out their dough? Does it matter?



Cutting board, but it doesn't really matter for bread. For pastry, when you want cold dough, then marble works well. But I've used my cutting board as well for those occasions and the desserts were still quite nice.


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## Peco (Mar 8, 2012)

Looking good


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## PierreRodrigue (Mar 8, 2012)

And the results of my wildcat recipe... It was fantastic! Wish I rembered what I did lol!!


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## Deckhand (Mar 8, 2012)

Thanks for all the helpful responses.


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## DeepCSweede (Mar 8, 2012)

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> Great job! My handicap is the altitude here, but I made homeade bread on a weekly basis for 4 years before I came here. I do miss living in Germany and their bread.



Mmmmmmm German Bread, Rolls, Pretzels, Kase Stangen :fanning:


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## UCChemE05 (Mar 8, 2012)

DeepCSweede said:


> Mmmmmmm German Bread, Rolls, Pretzels, Kase Stangen :fanning:



I very much miss the broetchen in Germany. If anyone has a suitable recipe for that, I am all ears  The Bread crust with soft inside was amazing.


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Mar 8, 2012)

UCChemE05 said:


> I very much miss the broetchen in Germany. If anyone has a suitable recipe for that, I am all ears  The Bread crust with soft inside was amazing.



+100, and don't forget the chicken man!


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Mar 8, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> And the results of my wildcat recipe... It was fantastic! Wish I rembered what I did lol!!
> View attachment 5131
> View attachment 5132
> View attachment 5133
> View attachment 5134



Awesome


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## UCChemE05 (Mar 8, 2012)

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> +100, and don't forget the chicken man!



lol... well I can't even know b/c I'm allergic to chicken


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## K-Fed (Mar 8, 2012)

memorael said:


> aaaaaaaaa sheeeeeeeeeeeeeet... those look really good, I'm a sucker for really good bread.



+1 

awesome photos!


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