Barb, many people seek the type of holes you describe, especially in an Italian or French bread, but if you want a more solid, denser crumb it may be helpful to put the bread in the oven a bit earlier. You might also try using bread flour, rather than all-purpose flour, which develops a stronger gluten structure and can lead to a tighter crumb. When substituting bread flour for all-purpose flour you should add 1 tablespoon extra liquid per each cup of bread flour substituted. Barb@KAF

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