Crusts like this generally require a lot of steam in the oven

Fair enough!

And shaping/forming a loaf that stays tall when being baked on a flat surface takes skill, lots of practice and experience.

Or a fairly inexpensive machine that will do it for you. Of course though, there's a special pleasure in making a truly artisan bread with your own hands. But hey, it's not that hard if you know what you're doing. Best to see it in action.

But then again, I speak from the side of low-scale industrial baking. For a home baker, all this machinery will be an overkill.