The crust presents as much a part of the loaf as the crumb and adds that extra flavour. However, getting it right for your eating audience is essential. My family admit the crusts on my bread are tasty but complain that they are too thick to make cutting easy and too thick to bite through!
My baking technique involves using a domestic oven, which has a maximum temperature of 220°C (428°F). I bake for about 15-20 minutes at this temperature and then reduce it to 190°C (374°F) for 20-30 minutes. I put in a tray with boiling water in it to create steam and this will have all boiled off by the end of the bake.
How can I reduce the thickness and strength of the crust?
Try baking in a dutch oven for a thinner crispier crust.
Thanks for your reply estherc. I have used a Dutch oven for some recipes, mainly the Ken Forkish ones and, yes it does work well. I've found the Dutch oven thing a little harder to use with lugging a roasting hot piece of iron in and out of the oven but it does bake well.
The family like tin-shaped bread for their sandwiches and toast so I'm doing a lot of our bakes in tins, which of-course doesn't work in a Dutch oven?
I put a bowl over the loaf first 15-20 minutes of the bake. I prefer a thinner crust and this works out great. I also lightly must the inside of the bowl and the loaf for a little extra steam. This gives me a nice crackly thin shiny crust.
Thanks for the reply phaz. I'm guessing that you might be using a pizza stone to bake on? I've been putting my tins on a rack so I'd lose my mini-steam bath if I just put a bowl over it or am I misunderstanding?
Humidity either inside and outside of the dough will promote a slower forming of the crust, that in the final product will show as a thin crisp crust. Also sourdough influence this aspect: use a young levain for thin crust and a more acidic for a nice thick rustic one
Thanks for your reply MatteoFesto. My tray of water has always boiled off by the end of my bake so I could up the humidity by filling it up more. I've been trying some of the Ken Forkish recipes, which are very high hydration and produce (for me) difficult dough to handle. I've tried to reduce the hydration down to about 70%, which has helped shaping but from what you say, I need to keep the hydration as high as practical?
Thanks for the tip on sourdough. My starter is a long-standing one so may have become acidic. Will just a regular and more frequent feeding bring the acidity down or would I be best beginning a new brew?
It s not important to steam all the way thought the bake, just the first 15 mins but with a lot of. Use ice cubes they produce more vapor. Please look my blog and ig you will find a lot of things in there
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