Crusty french bread

Question

The crust on my french bread never turns out "crusty" like it does in restaurants, what am I doing wrong?

Asked by curriegrr

Answer

To promote a crust on a bread (ie. getting it 'crusty'), the bread must be baked in two phases. First, steam must be introduced (and not vented) for about a third of the bake time. Then, you must evacuate the steam and bake the remainder of time dry. This is the trick to making crusty breads. Also critical in the promotion of crust is temperature. You must bake crusty breads at a high temp., at least 400 degrees (which is what I bake my crusty-style breads at).

Also of note, crusty breads tend to be lean doughs, that is one without a high fat content.

Answered by mrwienerdog

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