Quote Originally Posted by Biciclista View Post
your bread loaves are works of art! they are truly lovely. Do you get the stripes just from cutting slits in the bread before it rises?
Hey thanks, Mimi!

After the loaf is formed, it's allowed to 'rest' for 40 minutes and it puffs up part way. Then you either: dust with flour and slash, or paint with cornstarch wash and sprinkle with seeds and slash....then they go in the hot oven and will rise and expand a bit more while baking. (that's called 'oven spring') The slashes are then seen as bare spots with no flour dusting or seeds.
I want to do some onion garlic bread topped with poppy seeds soon too.