Laurel's French Bread

I've decided to have a little break from sourdough breads after a series of disappointments.
My husband surprised me on my birthday with some homemade bread he made and that rekindled my desire to bake a wholesome 100% wholewheat yeasted loaf. Also, I treated myself to a digital probe thermometer for my birthday and was eager to experiment with it. Having tried it I think it's a must for the keen bread baker!

Yesterday I made the standard Loaf for Learning from Laurel Robertson's book. I felt I needed to make a successful loaf as so many in the past week have been bricks. As usual, this basic recipe did not disappoint and baking it was sheer pleasure.
Today however, with my confidence a bit higher, I decided to try the French Bread recipe which is also 100% (like all Laurel's breads). This recipe had the added attraction of trying out a new technique: pouring 2 TB warm water over the bread that has risen in a Pyrex bowl before covering the bowl and baking it in a very hot oven.
If anyone else but Laurel had 'told' me about this method I never would have tried it - it sounded crazy, stupid and definitely not the way to go for a crisp crust.
But she was right. The crust is crisp and shiny and the bread is a pure delight.

This is a picture of the crumb but it really doesn't do it justice:

It is wholesome, tasty, chewy without being a jaw-breaker - basically it has tremendous 'mouthfeel'. Definitely one to make again.

It's a big improvement on last week's sourdough loaves which rose promisingly in the proving baskets only to collapse upon slashing:

I think the loaves were overproofed and also I'm just no good at slashing!