Techniques to get a nice golden-brown crust on bread

Question

How do I make sure the crust of a baguette, etc. turns out a nice golden-brown when baking?

Answer

The trick is steam and high heat.

• Heat your oven up to 450 F (230 C).
• Bring a pot of water to boil on your stove.
• Once boiling, pour the water into a deep roasting pan on the bottom shelf of your oven. If you can place it directly on the bottom of your oven (it doesn't obstruct vents) then that is ok too. 1" (2.5 cm) of water is enough.
• Let the steam build up for 5 minutes
• Spray your baguettes with water, they should be rather nicely wet. Don't forget to slash them as well
• Put your baguettes in the oven on the top shelf. BE CAREFUL opening your oven. Don't let the steam blast you in your face or other exposed body parts. Let it dissipate a bit.
• 5 minutes into baking, spray the baguettes again (be careful)
• 10 minutes into baking, spray the baguettes again
• 15 minutes into baking, carefully remove the tin of water from the oven
• Let bake for a final 20 minutes

Depending on how even your oven is browning the crust you may need to turn the pan at the spray intervals.

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