5 Tips to Bake Crustier Bread (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of crusty bread? ›

Large crusty loaves can be stored unwrapped (to preserve their crispy crust) at room temperature for a day or so, cut side down on the counter. For optimum long-term storage (longer than a couple of days), wrap bread in single-day portions and freeze.

Bake at Lower Temperatures

This technique gives the bread a flaky, slightly crisp crust. But if you want a melt-in-your-mouth soft crust, you need a much lower temperature for a longer period.

Preheat the oven to around 175°C (350°F) and place the bread directly on the oven rack or a baking sheet for a few minutes until it regains its desired crispiness. Keep a close eye on it to prevent burning.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

What are the best techniques for creating dark color and shine on bread crusts? To create dark, burnished crusts on their loaves, professional bakers brush milk, egg, or water onto the surface of the risen dough before baking.

As the loaf cools, any moisture which is left in the loaf escapes through the crust as steam and this is what causes the softening. You can help to prevent this from happening by reducing the water content of the loaf.

Crisp, Steam, And Oven Spring

It seems almost counterintuitive — how does adding water and steam make bread crispier? This is due to the starch gel that forms when the surface of the dough absorbs moisture, which then dries as it bakes.

Why is the crust on my homemade bread so hard? ›

Baking quick breads at too high temperatures can cause a hard outside crust. Most quick breads bake in a moderate oven (350°F to 375°F). Double check your recipe to see the temperature they recommend. Oven thermostats can vary over time, requiring adjustments by the baker or calibration by a professional.

Baking quick breads at too high temperatures can cause a hard outside crust. Most quick breads bake in a moderate oven (350°F to 375°F). Double check your recipe to see the temperature they recommend. Oven thermostats can vary over time, requiring adjustments by the baker or calibration by a professional.

An egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon of cream produces a very shiny deep-brown crust, beaten with 1 teaspoon of milk, it gives a shiny, medium-brown crust. Melted butter or oil makes for a soft velvety crust. Glazes can also be used to "glue" or attach seeds to bread before baking.

After your dough is formed and ready for the oven, brush a light coating of the egg wash onto the dough and put it in the oven. After that, cook as you normally would. Another thing you can try is to use a recipe with a little sugar in it.

However, there is evidence of a higher concentration of nutrients in the crust of bread than in the soft center. In 2002, a team of German researchers compared the crust of baked bread to the soft part at the center and found that the crust had eight times more of a cancer-fighting antioxidant [source: Lindenmeier].