Home Bread-Bakers v110.n002.6
[Advanced]

"wrinkled" loaf top

"Joyce Esfeld" <cesfeld@cox.net>
Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:25:40 -0600
v110.n002.6
Solution:  I have been judging yeast breads at county and state fairs 
for 25 yrs, and bake bread 2-3 times a week.

Those that taught me evaluation techniques always said that wrinkling 
on a loaf top was caused by cooling in a draft or cooling too 
rapidly. (375F to cool room temp)  Think about human skin. When you 
are very cold, your skin contracts and your ring slips around 
easily.  My loaves have always wrinkled, so I tested this by taking a 
loaf out of the oven & immediately moving it outside on a 100F degree 
day without a breeze.  It still wrinkled a little.

Later I ran into a professional baker with a Baking Science 
degree.  She said that if the crust is tender you always have 
wrinkling. If the wrinkles are more than the average, you might try 
cooling in a warmer, draft free location. This baker totally changed 
my thinking.  I now expect a tender crust when I see wrinkling.  You 
did not tell us the recipe and technique, but I am guessing you are 
not talking about a crusty artisan style loaf, but instead, a soft 
American style bread loaf.

Joyce