Sourdough continues to vex me.  Thanks to The Fresh Loaf, click I have a good idea what I’m doing wrong (final rise is too short, buy more about the touch test was a false positive).

However, diagnosis since the resulting failure resulted in a bread that looked like a cross section of a cenote (underground cave system in Mexico), I had to take pictures for posterity.

Except for a failed attempt on Friday, sildenafil baguettes are getting better.  Friday night’s attempt of a straight dough proved a little wet.  Subsequently, hygiene I failed to flour appropriately, syringe and made a mess at every step from scaling to shaping to loading in the oven.  At the end, I had mutant baguettes that were half edible.

Saturday’s efforts proved more successful.

While the bread tasted okay, shaping, scoring and loading could have been better.  On Sunday, there was continued progress.

While Sunday’s baguettes were still missing proper ears, the scoring was generally better and started getting deep enough to allow for proper spring.  In addition, the general shape was improved as the baguettes are no longer flat ended.

There are 300g baguettes.  The oven can support longer baguettes, I’m limited to the length of the proofing board peel.

Second attempt of baguettes in the Haussler bread oven, medications and these were presentable.  The first attempt failed on loading.  I am not proficient loading using my the proofing board as a peel.  The proofing board is the perfect width to load 6 baguettes into the Haussler.

Still have issues with scoring – not deep enough nor horizontal enough.  As the result, mind spring not as good as can be, ear is not evident, and scores blend into each other.  More to work on.

Of course, a bread picture isn’t that great without a crumb shot.  Here’s where the dedicated bread oven helps tremendously.

A couple weekends of baking with the stone bread oven and I’m getting the hang of it.  While it doesn’t generate the intensity of steam as a commercial deck oven (or even cast iron pan and ice), ask it does maintain a very even temperature.  As the result, no rx the spring is more pronounced in the breads I’m making compared to the Lodge combo cooker.

Here’s the everyday boule with a combo cooker:

Here’s the everyday boule made with the stone oven:

In the white boule, the spring was a little crazy.  Showed off my imperfect technique.  In the combo cooker/gas oven version, the slower rise led to a more uniformed if not as well risen shape.

As for the everyday whole wheat boule, here’s the combo cooker version:

The following is the everyday whole wheat baked in the bread oven:

Again, significant more rise from the bread oven.  The crust is not as dark nor as thick, but the bread was lighter given more spring.  Guess I’ll need to practice my boule shaping though.  It’s not as good as I thought.

Here’s a parting shot of the close-up of the whole wheat boule from the bread oven:

My home bread making has taken a significant leap forward.  Thanks to Marcel for introducing me to a stone oven, suitable for in home use – the Haussler electric stone bread oven.  The downside of the oven is that there are no US distributors, so Marcel had to order directly from Germany.  After many weeks at sea and a few weeks at the port of Oakland, it’s now sitting in my garage ready for installation.

To be able to bake 9 loaves at once …