Yes Alex, any time. Send me a PM with your address and I will drop you some round.
Oh, that looks promising !!
Yes folks - its my first go with the Dutch oven - not too bad wouldn’t you say ?
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Looks great!
That’s really kind, thanks - how do I send a PM?
I just created a PM for you @Alex18 and @Thewrongtrousers so hopefully you can communicate 
Note: Private messaging is automatically enabled when you have participated in the forum for a while. Alternatively you can fast-track this by getting your profile verified .
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Looks great!
Out of interest, what is it that seems to reliably cause the concentric circles around the outside?
The pattern is from a proving basket - you can see one up-thread in item 20, in the still from a YouTube video.
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true that
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Well I have tried to awaken the monster in the fridge.
I think it is vaguely alive but certainly it isn’t vigorous.
Ill give it a few more feeds to see if it wakes from its slumber…
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Does it have better texture or taste than you achieved without the Dutch oven? Or is the improvement purely aesthetic?
Good question. I think the texture is much the same inside and the taste is much the same. The crust is better and the there is a crispiness and a crunchiness that I could not get before without burning the outside. Personally, I don’t mind if its a bit dark and almost burned on the top but not everyone feels that way, “her indoors” to name but one. Without the dutch oven the bread was cooked in no more than 45 mins and i had to turn it down to 200 for the last 15 mins. But with the dutch oven i have found I can cook it for just over an hour full blast with no ill effects. I enjoy the added crunch to the base which I did not get before.
Also, now and again I used to get the loaves spoiling a bit due to having a massive air bubble form under the crust and they would deform. There would appear to be this impressive rise, but when you cut a slice there would’ve be a large space between the body of the loaf and the crust. Bit disappointing. it has not happened yet in the pot but it is still early days for me. Did that ever happen to yours ?
By the way, I am surprised that you struggle a bit with emptying the contents of the banneton into the hot pot and you had to resort to the greaseproof paper and lower it in. I just turned it upside down and plonk it in like the guy in your video. I am not claiming to have any great skill here, i just bung it in. I have probably been lucky so far !
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it should bubble Nick, and smell sort of sweet
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Seems to be getting there - good load of bubbles last night so I will have a go this evening.
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Sounds good Nick, be sure to let us know how it goes !
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Looks like a mighty fine loaf you baked there Nick. Can you let us see what the inside looks like ?
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Cheers - it isn’t as open as I would like. It is tasty but the texture isn’t quite as I want.
The dough was quite wet so I would have hoped for better but plenty of time to practice…
Any thoughts… I went 500 flour, 290 water and 150 of starter.
I think you need more starter. I can do no better than to refer you to the video i posted where the guy gives the proportions as a percentage formula that you can use no matter what the size of the loaf.
I have finally arrived at the following proportions which just happen to suit the size of my banneton.
524 of flour comprised of 324 white flour, 100gms wholemeal and 100gms of rye. 8gms of salt. 500gms of starter which is 60/40 water to flour content. Then I add between 250gms and 270gms of water. If my starter seems quite thick and gelatinous then I use a higher water content, but if it has been out all night and i start my mix later in the next day, it can go more thin and watery, and so then I will tend to use less water. You will get a feel for it if you keep doing it each week. That is a truly splendid first attempt of yours, really well done ! - keep going until it is as you want it to be.
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