I've been working on my sourdough bread for a while and finally got the really crackly crust I wanted. I've read to leave the bread in the oven after it bakes for another few minutes while it cools down, but I guess I wasn't leaving it long enough. Yesterday I got distracted and left it in there for almost 15 minutes with the door ajar. The crust came out really cracked and crispy and still the inside was chewy and not dried out. I'm guessing at some point, maybe around ten minutes, the cooked loaf isn't venting any more steam and the crust can really dry out. This isn't the method I'd use for sandwich bread, but for a really crispy bread to soak up pan juices or dip in olive oil, it can't be beat!
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Peter,
It's a great photo with the black background showing off the perfect crust. Looks very tasty. Nice work!
Franko
Just when I thought I'd identified all of my psychological weaknesses - here's another one. It's not fair... I don't think my bread will ever look like that.
I can only agree with previous poster
That looks stunning and mouth watering.
I can almost smell the bread through my laptop:)
I'm a long way from getting there, your bar is soo high... congratulations!
Great looking bread.
Why can't we have smellavision and tasteavision just like television............Pete
YUM!
Damn......wipes drool from keyboard.....
Great looking crust. Thanks for the picture. I will make a mental note of your procedure and try it on my next loaf. Ray
Sorry to bump this. But are you leaving the oven on while venting?
Yes, the oven is propped open when the bread is in there. I think the key is a very long and slow cooldown. Happy baking,
Peter
Wow!!! I've been endeavoring that for almost a year... Looks amazing.
Barrie