DURN Bread. I can't get it right!!!

[Minerva]

ok. I have a great (I think) recipe for bread. The inside of the bread is YUMMY!!! :rockon Its light and fluffy.
The outside gets way too crunchy. :mad
I have tried different recipes.
I have tried changing pans
I have put foil on the pan
i have lowered the temp
I have raised the temp
I have kneaded more
i have kneaded less.


THOUGHTS??? :help

[krysmh]

Have you tried a pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven? I've read that in some recipes... it's supposed to keep the outside chewy instead of crunchy... I think. :think

[puah]

Let part of your flour and liquid soak over night, and use yogurt, kefir, or lemon juice for part of your liquid. add the rest of the stuff in the morning and follow the recipe from there

[Chris3jam]

Or, you can brush the tops of the bread with a little cooking oil right before baking it. That should keep it soft.

[Minerva]

I tried the water idea, that didn't work.

Puah - how much do you use?


Chris - I will try oil next. Think olive oil will work ok?

[puah]

the recipe i usually use calls for 5-6 cups of liquid (and 15-20c flour :jawdrop haha) so i usually use 1-2c of yogurt and would do the same with kefir. if you don't want dairy in it, just replace a TB or two of water with lemon juice. since doing this, i've been able to use ALL wheat flour and it comes out so niceeeee hope you get the results you want. oil on top is a good idea too. or is there a way you can turn off your top oven heater partway through baking? that might help

[Chris3jam]

Olive oil should work fine. It does have a bit of a flavor, but not much. The other thing would be to brush it *right out* of the oven with oil or melted butter. I like doing that with melted butter. :) I usually brush on an egg wash right before baking, or melted butter after. But, I like my crust to be a bit. .. .crustier (water in the oven and egg washes do that).