Getting Closer...

Before you start reading I must warn you that this is written by a definite bread geek and I'll understand perfectly if you stop here and don't feel the need to read further. It is all slightly esoteric, perhaps even self-indulgent, and has nothing to do with world problems or politics. Probably it will only be appreciated by other geeks who like to bake.  Okay, you've been warned...
I'm getting closer to the bread I'm looking for. My search is made more tricky by the fact that I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for, but I'm really enjoying the search, eating all my experiments.
What I do know is that I'm looking for a really crispy crust (done here); a gorgeous dark colour, almost burnt but not quite (check); a certain slightly spectacular look (OK), and a delicious flavour, with an interesting crumb. I'll have to wait until the bread has cooled, which really means tomorrow, to test those last two.
Once all that is achieved I'm looking for reproducability, so I can do it to order. That is the very tricky element and I'm nowhere near that yet. The second loaf I baked today, which should have been identical to this, just rose in a totally even way, forming a perfect dome. It's just as crispy, the same size, very similar colour, and I'm sure it'll taste identical and the crumb will probably be very similar, but the "slightly spectacular" look just wasn't there. You can see the two loaves together on my flickr.
What was interesting was that it was my first bake using speciality flour. "Rustique" wheat bread flour, stone ground and 13% protein, together with a wholemeal flour, Ölands wheat, an "old" variety of wheat which nearly died out, and has 14% protein. As I worked with it I could really see the difference to previous attempts using ordinary strong flour. As I mixed the flour with water I could smell the difference and taste the dust on my tongue. The gluten developed much more quickly and easily too. These flours are definitely the way forward, even if they cost a little extra and can be hard to find sometimes.
I'm baking for our G&T group who are heading up to Claire's in Umeå this weekend. Jan has also baked bread (her "fantastic bread" recipe, and cakes, and Rose is promising blueberry muffins, so there'll be no shortage of carbohydrates!
Perhaps we'll stop on the way up and buy some more of that Ölands wheat!