I made some baguettes tonight using Peter Reinhardts formula. Followed it pretty much straight up.
Overall they tasted great and the interior was fantastic. The crust was a bit lighter than I hoped it would be. If I want a darker tastier crust, should I have left the oven at a higher temperature for longer than recommended or kept them in the oven longer at the lower temperature? The interior was at 205 when I pulled them.
Thanks!
I'd use a higher temperature; longer would do the job, but you'd end up with a thicker crust. If you have convection, switch it on about halfway through.
Great idea. I hadn’t considered using convection to brown it. I’ll give that a shot.
What is the problem with h using convection for the entire bake?
You want to delay for as long as possible the drying out of the crust, giving the bread time to expand.