Not the dough-making part, or the baking part, or, even the eating part.
No. It was the shaping part.
This is a very slack dough, and when I oh-so-carefully placed it on the baking sheet, it instantly became the Blob that ate New York. sigh
It's the reason I don't use brotforms or other basket/cloth-based techniques. First, the dough always sticks no matter how thoroughly I flour or grease the container. Second, the sticking thus causes the dough to deflate, creating the aforementioned blob state. Third, the baker then deems herself a total failure, even though she has successfully been baking bread for decades.
No one else had this problem (view the perfect loaves), so clearly this technique eludes me.
Upon further study, I have determined that a confined space and a super hot oven temperature are the best roads to success. I might try again. Might.
That all being said, the bread, itself, is absolutely delicious. I relented at the end and photographed some slices before they disappeared.
Elizabeth was the Babe responsible for August's recipe. You can find it and links to the other Babes' loaves on her website. Best of luck!
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