Looks beautiful! I think you can be proud that your first attempt looks so amazing!
Nothing like fresh bread with a bit of butter or some nice cheese.
A tip for you because I spent last winter learning how to make baguettes. I got decent results but it is time consuming work.
If you ever end up with a mess of dough that didn't turn out right ... didn't rise ... didn't rise during baking ... baked at the wrong time .. (all of which I did) .... and you end up with a floured 'thing' that is semi edible but no one wants to eat ..... slice it, dice it, cube it and freeze it.
Those little flour 'things' can then be added to soups and stews as a kind of dumpling. I got rid of all my failed experiments this way.
All within reason though ... don't try to save burnt food .... I don't like waste but I do have my limits.
The best lesson I learned about baking bread is practice.... the more you do it, the better you get ... and from the looks of it, you're off to a great start.
Thanks for the hints. Appreciate it a lot.
it looks very nice, I would eat the hell outta that. I'd put a little cut along the top so that it expands upwards instead of uniformly out along random cracks.
I'll definetly try that. Thanks.
Great job. You're an inspiration to folks like me who always say that want to start but never find the time.
