Seeking Advice for Improvement

[hoovarmin]

My first attempt at bread baking. I used Kenji's no-knead recipe. Very disappointed in the appearance of the loaf but the flavor and texture were terrific. Used an oval cast-iron dutch oven and put the loaf in it on parchment paper and I'm sure that the paper impinging on the loaf altered the shape. The only yeast I had was from one of those packets you buy in the grocery store. I wasn't sure whether it is the same as what comes in the jars but I measured it out according the recipe. It surely didn't seem like very much yeast at all. I Would love some feedback from you guys on how to improve the next loaf.

PS. I have the Forkish book and have supplies on order for following his methods. But delivery of many of the items is slow due to you know what, so I thought I'd just get my fix by working with this no knead method until the stuff arrives.

[smokenoob]

maybe the bread got to close to the Corona can?
The bread looks great to me!

[hoovarmin]

LOL, I did substitute some of the water for Shiner Bock beer!

[scottranda]

Keep working on your shaping techniques. But even misshapen bread tastes delicious.

do you use a banneton? That could help also.

[hoovarmin]

I didn't use one and don't know what a banneton is but I'm going to google it now. Gracias

[Uncle Bob]

When you say you're disappointed with appearance I'm guessing you mean the outside. That interior is gorgeous. As for the outside shape, just call it "Turtle Bread"...……………….then folks will be impressed with your skill.

[hoovarmin]

Dang, I should have thought of that!

[Dewesq55]

The bread looks excellent. Really! I use a round Dutch oven. I also use parchment paper. It's so much easier to get it into the pot.

[scottranda]

Yeah, I sometimes use parchment paper too (depending on my cooking vessel)

[RonB]

That's a nice lookin' amoebae. Taste is what really matters, but it's also nice to have it look great. How many qts is your pot? I suggest going a bit smaller to get a higher rise and less spread. What kind of flour did you use? Bread flour should produce a crisp crust - can't tell from your pics. You could send me a slice or two for further evaluation.

The crumb looks great - you have a nice variety of hole sizes and no big'uns. What I do to prevent parchment from affecting the shape of the bread is to trim it to fit the bottom of the pot, but I leave wings on opposite sides to use as handles.

[hoovarmin]

RonB, also - what do you make of the slices in the top of the crust? I thought they would spread and look nice, but they turned out to be extremely "Meh." What is the trick to that?

[RonB]

I don't think you scored the dough deep enough. And it looks better if you hold the blade at about 45° to the side so that the cut starts out thin and gets thicker the deeper the cut. If that is not clear, let me know and I'll try to find a video that shows what I'm trying to say.

[hoovarmin]

RonB loud and clear

[au4stree]

I'm no bread expert, but it looks good to me. We are our own worst critic sometimes.....

[hoovarmin]

au4stree thanks and you are certainly correct

[Skip]

Great looking bread hoovarmin ! You should be proud. The "Experts" say it's all about technique so just keep baking your favorite recipe and you'll soon be asked for "Your" advice.

[hoovarmin]

Thanks Skip!

[jfmorris]

Great looking loaf to me! Which reminds me, I need to make some bread... we are down to a half loaf of store bought organic bread, so I can use that as an excuse....

[hoovarmin]

Thanks jfmorris!

[RichieB]

Looks good to me. A banneton can certainly help with the shape. If you don't already have one, I suggest a bread lame to slash and decorate your breads. This the one I bought off of Amazon.

https://breadbosses.com/products/bread-lame?variant=14974151786538

[hoovarmin]

Thanks for that RichieB

[RonB]

You can do that using a bamboo skewer and a double edged razor blade. That's what I did.

[DavidNorcross]

I think it looks great. For the no kneed I also put into a Dutch with parchment paper.

[hoovarmin]

Thanks DavidNorcross

[klflowers]

What??? That looks pretty darn great to me. next time you come up with a loaf that looks like that, just send it up TN way...

[hoovarmin]

@kflowers head this way in your RV and let's BBQ together

[Old Glory]

Looks pretty dam good to me!

[hoovarmin]

Thanks OG

[jerrybell]

I think that looks terrific. That slice is making my mouth water thinking about how good it must taste.

[hoovarmin]

Thanks jerrybell!

[Mr. Bones]

While I unnerstand that there is always room fer improvement, especially in one's own eyes,

That there is a fine lookin loaf of bread, Brother! I can bake, some, but it is not my strongest suit. Reckon I needs to work on dat... Posts like this do help to motivate me to do so, so thanks, amigo!

[hoovarmin]

Gracias, brother Bones.!