>:Madeleine M Lowery <loweryhome@juno.com> wrote:
 >:>But I have a crust question.  Do they make little
 >:>chainsaws for the slicing of these hard, chewy, tough
 >:>crusted loaves? Are they supposed
A hacksaw would probably do it   ;)  Seriously...a friend keeps one in the
kitchen to slice frozen meat, etc.  But...
 >:<I do use a baking stone.  I heat the oven to
 >:<500 F, then turn it down to 450 when the loaves go in.
 >:<And I spritz heavily with water at the beginning of
 >:>baking.
Do one or all of the following things:  Bake in pans.  Bake at 350 for
about 40 minutes.  Don't spritz with water.  You're baking bread European
style...they like that hard crust...keeps the inside fresh longer, I guess
is the reasoning.