Any ideas on how to soften the crust on my simple sourdough round loaf? I rise it in a banneton, start it out on a tile at 500F and lower it to 425f for the remainder of the bake. Love the interior but it's perceived as too crusty/hard on the surface.
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The start temperatures seem to be on the high side - maybe 450F?
If you find the answer, please let me know. My wife has been trying to soften her Old Crusty for years ... :-)
Seriously, Mozzie is probably on the right track. I'd hate to add oil or to oil the crust coming out of the oven, although those might help. I wonder (haven't tried this) if you could lay a piece of foil over half the loaf for part of the bake. Just an idea.
Also helps to take it out of the oven a little sooner.
One of the reasons for starting in such high ovens (we load bread at 525 F) is that the oven temperature can drop so dramatically and we're compensating for that. If you're loading one loaf at a time, the tile is retaining a goodly amount of heat, it's a big oven, etc., well then, you might not need to start it so high.
But it's all about how it's perceived. Some times it takes a while for your clientele to come around to new things. Until they do serve it with soups and stews!
Good luck,
Muff
To create a crisp crust I brush butter on the free standing loaf during the second rise. the butter does not soak in and keeps the dough soft. when it bakes the crust is crisp with a nice color but when cooled and wrapped in plastic it becomes soft. I convection bake at 425 for 25 minutes to an internal temp of 190.
Another workable idea is to spray the crust with olive oil when immediately out of the oven. The oil is immediately absorbed into the crust and by the time the loaf is cool, no oily feel or residue remains. The crust is markedly softer albeit still chewy...but you have to like the flavour of olive oil as it does linger in the taste. For me fine, but for others maybe not so.
What I do is lay a damp towel over the loaf when I take it out of the oven. This softens the crust considerably.
shansen10
I have just had a look at my notes from a mini course I went on.
One of the tips was that the hotter the oven, the thinner the crust will be. It says a slow oven will produce a thicker crust. It also states that overbaking will yield a loaf that is hard/crusty on the outside, but usually still moist on the inside. Also noted was that it is better to overbake a bit as it is better for our digestion.
I usually bake sourdough ciabatta type rolls instead of a loaf and bake them at 230 deg C for 15 mins.
All the recipes in my notes tells to bake breads at 235 deg C for 10 mins then turn down to 225 deg C for 30-35 mins for 700-900g loaves.
You will need to do the conversion to F if your ovens are not metric.
Crust formation of your loaf mainly comes down to steam. Steam delays caramelization of the exterior of your loaf. Simultaneously, steam also thickens your crust. The key is to find a balance. Play with the amount of steam you use while baking so that your loaf is finished baking at the same time your crust is at a desirable consistency. I typically steam my loaves at the beginning of the bake to promote a healthy oven rise and to delay the crust formation and allow the steam to naturally work its way out of the oven during baking. Hope that helps!
Cam
http://doughjo.wordpress.com