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Re: French bread crust problem

Mike Avery <mavery@mail.otherwhen.com>
Wed, 02 Jan 2013 03:46:30 -0600
v113.n001.5
A few things suggest themselves.

Are the loaves fully risen?  An underrisen loaf will tend to be heavy 
and soggy.

How long do you steam the loaves?  I wouldn't suggest more than 10 to 
20 percent of your bake time, and then I'd open the damper (if your 
oven has one) to vent the steam.

Are you removing the loaves to a cooling rack?  When bread is removed 
from the oven it is still venting steam.  If you put the loaves on an 
impervious surface, some of the steam is trapped and it leads to a 
soggy crust and crumb.

Was your oven at the right temperature?  Many oven thermostats are 
off. Using an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is at the right 
temperature is a big help.

Did you bake your loaves all the way?  Underbaked loaves will vent 
more steam since the loaf is wetter inside than a fully baked loaf 
would be. At sea level, I like to bake loaves of French style bread 
until they have an interior temperature of around 205F, or 96C.  One 
advantage of using a thermometer is that it is repeatable.  The time 
honored "bake it until it sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of 
the loaf" doesn't give you much control.

Hope that helps,
Mike

Mike Avery 	mavery at mail dot otherwhen dot com
part time baker 	http://www.sourdoughhome.com
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