![]() ![]() If you're a first-time bread-baker, you'll never believe this bread came out of your own oven. The result? Incredible, crusty artisan-style bread. About 90 minutes before you want to serve bread, grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise, then bake for 30 minutes – on a pan or stone, with steam in the oven or in a cloche. The easy stir-together dough for this ridiculously easy crusty loaf rests in your refrigerator, developing flavor all the time, until you're ready to bake. Steam hitting the bread's surface facilitates this process. At that point, the starches on the surface burst, become gel-like, and then harden in the oven's heat to a crackly consistency. As bread bakes, its outer layer (crust) eventually reaches 180☏. A third way: the French cloche (pictured above), a stoneware pan with lid that traps moisture from the baking bread, converting it to steam within its little bell-like cave.Īnd how, exactly, does steam create a crisp crust? Simply put, it has to do with the starch in flour. The result? Billows of steam trapped in the oven.Īnother, easier way to re-create steam's work is to simply spray or brush risen loaves with warm water before placing them into the hot oven. Some bakers like to place a sturdy pan (cast iron preferred) on the bottom shelf of the oven as it preheats, then pour 1/2 cup or so hot water into the pan as they're loading the loaves. While you most likely don't have access to such an oven, you can try to replicate steam's role in creating crisp crust by making your own homemade steamy oven. Nothing offers the baker quite as nice a crust as an oven filled with steam for the first part of the baking process. Remember the artisan bakers I mentioned at the beginning, those masters of the perfect crusty crust? They have a professional secret: the steam-injected oven. To make crusty bread, create steam in the oven. ![]() Or use them for French dip sliders: rolls packed with hot roast beef, then dipped in the beef's savory, aromatic juice.ģ. Serve these rolls with spaghetti, to sop up the sauce. Their texture is light and airy, rather than substantial, which makes them a wonderful mini-sandwich or dinner roll. These rolls have a delicious crackly/crunchy crust due to their simple ingredients, and as a result of allowing them to proof in the refrigerator. So if you're a real fan of crust (as opposed to soft interior), opt for smaller, skinnier, or flatter loaves or rolls. While you can certainly make a big loaf with crisp crust (you'll see a couple of examples below), the ratio of crunchy to tender will be much smaller. Shape the dough with more rather than less surface area.Ī big, fat, round or oval loaf – a boule – doesn't have as much opportunity to shine in the crisp crust department as does a thin baguette, or individual rolls. Its light, crisp crust flakes off in tiny shards as you rip off a hunk, creating a blizzard of seeds and crumbs: rich evidence that someone's been into the bread box.Ģ. If you're a Boston-area native you'll recognize this as scali bread. You know those Italian breads in the supermarket, the ones in crisp white paper bags printed with the name of the local Italian bakery? Sure, you might see a crusty bread recipe calling for a teaspoon of sugar, or a tablespoon of dried milk powder these small amounts of softening agents may keep the loaf's interior tender, but won't affect the crispness of the crust. Soft dinner rolls aren't meant to be crusty don't force them beyond their comfort zone, because therein lies disappointment.Ĭrusty breads are usually the simplest ones: flour, water, yeast, and salt, with no eggs, butter, sour cream, sugar, mashed potatoes, or anything else that might turn them into softies. On the left, soft, butter-and-milk enriched pull-apart dinner rolls. To make crusty bread, choose the right recipe. ![]() You, the home baker with average (or even startup) skills can make crusty bread simply by following these five simple tips – and then applying them to their accompanying recipes.ġ. The result? Beautiful golden-brown loaves, richly flavored, perfectly shaped, and – of course – wonderfully crusty.īut you know what? Artisan bakers aren't the only ones who can make delicious crusty bread. These bread masters lovingly tend long-rising doughs, carefully shape each loaf by hand, then bake bread to perfection in a wood-fired oven. Many of us equate the words "crusty" and "artisan," assuming that there's only one path to great crusty bread: that followed by the professional baker. ![]()
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