A Crusty Discussion by Papa Fiasco or Let me tell you about my crust... or How to be crusty even if you're not old... ================================== Umm, that's bread crust! I'm writing this for a few reasons. First off, I've never really talked about crust that much and it does make a difference to some people. Then there's Mama. Now I've been making two loaves of bread every week for years. We never buy commercial bread unless we find a bakery, have to visit, and then have to try their breads. But I noticed Mama would on occasion bring home a loaf of Italian bread. And every time she did I was embarrassed... Which didn't stop me from eating it ;-) After a bit of delicate conversation, I finally discovered that it was the crust of Italian bread that she liked. It was then that I realized I didn't have any crust! Now I had been making all this bread and enjoying it so much that I never even realized the 'crust' was on the soft side. About the same time, I realized that I missed the heavy, hard crust of a good bakery bread. So I went about finding the secret of a good crust. And that has nothing to do with old men either! Skipping all the trials and research, I found there was only three things needed for a good crust. Water, sugar and a very hot oven. And by controlling them, you can go from a strong, crunchy Italian crust to a heavy, softer crust for a good dark rye. So here's the big secret... First off, you have to have some sugar in the dough. When the bread is baked, the sugar comes out to the crust, hardens and turns brown with the heat of the oven. We're not talking a whole lot of sugar here. Just a couple of teaspoons will do. More will give a better crust, but the bread starts tasting sweeter also. Then there's the hot oven. Most breads are baked from 325 to 375 degrees. That's not hot enough for a good crust! The trick is to pre- heat the oven up to 450 to 475. Then turn it down to the baking temperature either right after you put the bread in, or about 10 minutes later. This is part of the crust control. The longer the temperature stays high, the crunchier the crust. But not too long! Now the water. This is the biggest secret. The whole fancy routine is after the oven if hot and the bread is ready to go in, you coat the top of the loaves with a bit of water. Just a little. A sprayer or brush works fine. Try not to get any into the sides because it will make it stick in the pan. Then take a cup of hot water and put it into a shallow pan in the bottom of the oven. Let it boil for five minutes (with the oven closed of course), then put the loaves into the oven. It's this water that gives you a thick crust. That's the whole secret and there's plenty of room to experiment. As an example, I'll give the details to my regular loaves here. Remember that this is my bread and oven. Yours may be different! Sugar: I don't put sugar into my regular bread, but I do use 1/3 cup honey. This doesn't come out crunchy, but I don't want my everyday bread crunchy! I use 2 teaspoons of sugar in my French/Italian loaves for crunchy crust. Pre-heat the over to 475 degrees. I leave a very shallow pan in the bottom of my oven. When the loaves are ready, I CAREFULLY put a cup of hot water into the pan in the oven and close it back up. Wait five minutes. If I'm making French/Italian bread, I give them a light wipe with water. Regular bread doesn't get this, well sometimes ;-) It does make for a nice thick crust. Now, the bread goes into the 475 degree hot oven. For French/Italian loaves, I leave the temperature at 475 for 10 minutes, then turn it down to 375. For regular loaves, I turn the temperature down right away to 375. Then it's baking as usual and you're done. As far as control. More sugar makes it crunchier & crisper, but too much makes it sweeter. This will all depend on how much dough you've got, what ingredients are in it and how you like it. But two teaspoons is a good start. Water. More water makes a thicker crust. I've made loaves where after 15 minutes, I put another cup into the pan in the oven. Very thick crust! A coating of water directly on the bread makes a thicker crust, and crispier on the French/Italian loaves. Temperature. Leave it high longer and you get a crispier crust. Turn it down right away for a softer crust. Leave it up too long and you burn the crust and don't cook the inside. 15 minutes should be more than enough for any loaf, 10 is better. Best thing to do is experiment. In all the 'failures' I've had, and there's been quite a few, I've never had a loaf that wasn't eaten and enjoyed. Now you've got all the deep dark (yeah, there's a pun) secrets to making good crust and no excuse to not getting into the kitchen and making some good bread! Try it, cook, eat, enjoy! Papa... © 2002 Fiasco Farms http://www.fiascofarms.com Any reproduction or distribution prohibited without prior authorization in writing.