Bread: Thrill of Victory, Agony of Defeat

My two most recent loaves of bread have been among my best and worst.  First, the best.  I made another 100% whole wheat loaf (plus added vital wheat gluten), and it turned out very well.

As you can see, the crumb is very dense, as is the norm for whole wheat, with no big bubbles.  But the loaf raised (rose?) well and I'm happy.  It's red whole wheat, so does have that strong tannin-tinged flavor, but it's nice.  I used 3 3/4 c whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten, 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 cup of sourdough starter, and about 2 1/4 cups of water.  I mixed it and let it rise for a little over 12 hours, then formed the loaf from the dough, let it rise another 20 minutes while the oven was heating up, and baked it at 30 min. @ 475 followed by 17 min. @ 450 with the Romertopf casserole dish open.

I followed a similar procedure the previous week with a rye loaf that didn't go as well.  I used 2 cups of rye flour, 1 3/4 cups of white (bread flour), 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/4 cup of sourdough starter and 2 cups of water.  This time it only rose for about 8 or 9 hours on the first leg, and the final result was this oval loaf.

I managed to get almost a week's worth of sandwiches out of it, but the crust (as you can see) broke away from the rest of the loaf, and the interior was a gummy mess. It slimed the bread knife every time I cut a slice. Not good.  I think the short initial rise was the source of the trouble.

The seam of flour in the middle is from where I folded it over when forming the dough for the second rise; I dusted the top and sides with dry flour to prevent sticking (or at least reduce it; there's always some sticking with rye).

When even the disasters are at least partly salvageable, that's not too bad.  Onward.