The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

No bloom

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

No bloom

I have tried every Baguette,  French bread,  Italian bread recipe I could find and my loaves still look horrible.  Can't figure out what I am doing wrong.

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

Are you steaming the oven?

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

Yes, I have a pan underneath, and spray the interior every 30 seconds 3 times, then lower the temperature. Been using Peter Reinhart’s book.

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

Yes, I have a pan underneath, and spray the interior every 30 seconds 3 times, then lower the temperature. Been using Peter Reinhart’s book.

Ilya Flyamer's picture
Ilya Flyamer

I'd say skip the spraying, that just makes the oven lose heat (and the steam).

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

Thank you, I will start a batch tonight and see what happens tomorrow.

 

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Electric or gas oven? 

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

Electric

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Also possible: using a North American (US/Canada) recipe (such as Forkish, Robertson, Reinhart, Hamelman) with flour that is not grown in North America.

Trying to use a North American recipe with EU, UK, Asian, or South American flours, can necessitate some adjustments to hydration, rest/soak times, and how gluten is developed.

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

I have tried Reinhart’s, and Hamelman’s recipie and using bread and high gluten flour a friend of mine gets. He works at a restaurant and told me it’s General Mills flour, but I don’t know if that means it’s grown in North America or just processed here,

Ming's picture
Ming

What recipe did you use? "Garbage in garbage out". Try a baguette recipe linked below from our friend Benny here, and I don't think you will be disappointed. If you have a problem with it then I bet he would walk you through the process step by step. 

Benito's blog | The Fresh Loaf

aafaraguna's picture
aafaraguna

Thank you, definitely a learning curve for me but will keep trying.