First foray into oven baking

Beauty and the Beast; or Why You Make Sure the Seam is Down

When I first got the bread machine, I was surprised that there were no recipes for Italian bread that didn't involve the oven instead of finishing in the bread machine.  My Italian and talented baker mother-in-law confirmed that you can't get the perfect Italian bread crust from the bread machine.   I really wanted some because we love the Italian Whole Grain loaf we usually get at Jewel.  So when I found a whole wheat recipe that seemed simple enough, I decided to give it a go.

I'm so glad I did and can't wait to try this one again.  I was not carefully enough about laying the bread down on top of the seam so one loaf cooked a little cock-eyed.  Nevertheless, it is exactly what we wanted!  Even better than the store-bought loaf.  Cutting off a slice for Toddler Girl to snack is so easy and keeps her calm when I'm trying to finish making dinner.

The recipe contributor suggested spraying the loaves and the inside of the oven 5 and 10 minutes into baking.  I didn't have a spray bottle but did brush them with water before putting them in.  I wonder if that would have make my crust even crustier?  I could have baked them longer, too, but my kitchen was filling with smoke.  Apparently when I made pizza last week, some cheese dripped onto the bottom.  On the agenda for the weekend: Clean the Oven!

• Recipe: Crusty Whole Wheat Italian Bread from food.com
• Mistakes: Poor placement of bread onto baking sheet (seam side down)
• Changes: Nil
• Rating: 3/3 Crunchy Buttery Bites
• Next time: Make on big loaf instead of two smaller, bake longer
• Questions: What does spraying with water do? Why did some of the cornmeal on my pan burn?