The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Looking good!! ;=D

sadears's picture
sadears

Looking good!! ;=D

Still having trouble with the hydration, but, I think the altitude is the issue.

These are my pics.  On the way to the oven, after 15 minutes, after 30 minutes, at 425F.  I had a pan of water under the baking stone and sprayed the loaves with water.   You be the judge. ;-D

 

I put them in front of the back door to cool faster.  It's wicked cold out there.  Hopefully, within a few minutes I'll add to this post.

My thought is that I need to use unbleached bread flour instead of bleached AP flour, or even unbleached AP flour.  Bleached AP flour gave me this result.  I took the advice of a high-altitude baking book and Jim.  Mix, wait, knead, rise, knead, rise (high-altitude advice), shape, rise, and bake.  Think I might need to knead more the first time, less the second.   For the most part, I'm happy with the result.  As my sister say's... at high altitudes, it's all about experimentation.  And, I'm game for that. ;-D

Steph