Bread-Bakers v101.n048.10

Frank,

Have you checked your oven temperature?  Often, if it is not hot enough,
you get pale crusts.  Of course, it also takes longer to bake the bread.

My oven's thermostat is 'way off, so I almost always use an oven
thermometer.  You might want to check it out.

Other than that, there are glazes you can use to make the bread look
browner.  Bear in mind that the photos in cookbooks are usually done by
food stylists.

Ruth