I have a nice vigorous starter that I purchased online. Rises well, even in the fridge when I have to leave it for a while. The bread it makes is lovely but so very tender. I bake in a cast iron dutch oven with steam for the first 15 minutes (lid on, sprayed with water) and finish with the lid off. Bread is baked to an internal temp of 200 degrees. My hubby has lost some teeth so he really likes it but I miss that chewy crust that needs to be tugged on to tear. Any ideas?
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Hi Jeannie143,
You don't give details of oven temperature other than the internal (which I assume is Fahrenheit) or time other than the initial 'closed' phase. Possibly a less humid start (cut out the spraying or leave the lid off) or a higher temperature overall would get you what you want.
I bake free-form (no tin or Dutch Oven and no water spray) but I heat the oven to 270C and reduce the setting to 250C when the loaf goes in and then progressively reduce the temperature through the baking time (40 minutes for 1 kg of dough - 10C every 5 minutes) to finish at about 180C (no idea what the internal temp is). This gives a nicely coloured loaf with a crisp crust when cut early (after an hour or so to cool) and a chewy crust when cut later in its life.
Hope this helps and good luck with your projects.
Farinam.