What is causing a dull crust?
I've come back for another try at sourdough during these times, and I've had decent success, but I can't achieve the shiny, crisp crusts that I see online. There is a dullness from the flour (combination of rice and whole wheat) used to dust the basket and the crust is just slightly thick.
I'm primarily following the Tartine country loaf recipe, although after 4-5 stretch and folds, I let it sit to rise for about 2 hours before an overnight cold ferment.
I'm baking straight out of the fridge on a pre-heated stone at 500, using this method for steam: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20162/oven-steaming-my-new-favorite-way
Also, when I remove steam at 20 min, I move the loaf to a middle rack for another 20-25 min to avoid the bottom burning.
From reading other posts, I suspect I might not be getting enough steam. If so, would spraying the top of the loaf before going in help? Or is this loaf actually closer than I think it is given there is decent color?
I think that the consensuses will be, a lack of moisture (steam) during that crucial first 5-7 minutes of the bake is the root cause. Baking in a covered Dutch oven, until the loaf begins to set, is proven to keep the bread in a very desirable high humidity environment. In leu of a heavy cumbersome Dutch oven, I have used a simple disposable aluminum turkey pan, over turned onto the stone, with good results. Now if you fancy making baguettes, that is a little more of an issue. I hope this helps.
Kind regards.
Will F.
I think if you want a shinier crust you’ll need to brush off as much of that flour on the dough before baking. That flour is what is preventing your crust from being shiny. Also, they brush or spritz water on the dough before baking. There are nice videos of Teresa Greenway of Northwest sourdough on YouTube showing how to get shiny crusts and that is what she does. She brushes off all the flour and then brushes water onto the dough.
Benny
Will and Benny both have good ideas.
Another point: if you are using a gas or convection/fan oven, you'll need to use a baking vessel (dutch oven, cloche, etc) or use some kind of inverted pot/pan/bowl over the dough, as Will suggests. Or, do not bake using convection/fan mode if that is possible.
Steaming a "bare" loaf only works in electric ovens that hold in steam and are not blowing hot air on the bread. Gas ovens are designed to vent quickly, so steaming from an open pan doesn't work well.
Also, in regards to the 500 F. The Tartine book says to preheat the oven (and dutch oven) to 500, but to immediately turn it down to 450 F when you load the dough -- page 67, step 5.
Good luck, and bon appétit.
Thanks very much for all of the input. It all makes sense and I will try these changes.
I am baking in a gas oven, no convection, and I figured it was venting too much, but that post on steaming gave me hope it could overcome that. I guess not.
I had been hoping find an open baking solution to avoid buying a dutch oven given the kitchen storage space required (which I don't have a lot of!) and a desire to bake multiple batards at once and eventually baguettes.
Getting a glossy crust is all about steam! I use a dutch oven (actually a baking tin) with a piece of pizza stone cut to fit in the bottom. After ensuring the oven & especially the stone is up to max (250C - about 45 minutes for my oven) I prepare the loaf & just before dropping the lid on pour ~35ml of tap water under the stone. This generates MASSES OF INSTANT steam! 20 minutes later I remove the lid, reduce the oven to 200C, vent etc. My bread is
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Great looking setup. The stone inside the pot is a fantastic idea.
You're not exaggerating that the crust is shiny, absolutely beautiful.