Bread Baking HELP!

jpeazybreezy

I made my first loaf last night, and while it tasted delicious, the crust was WAY too hard.

DH is all for me making my own, since the only affordable stuff at the store (that has a list of ingredients not a mile long) is a zillion dollars for 3 slices. He is not, however, all for eating ridiculously crunchy sandwich bread! The recipe book said to brush the top with butter to prevent over crustiness,which I did, but still got it. Do you think it's an oven temp thing, or a whole wheat thing, or a I'm a bad cook thing? I just need to know what I can do differently for the other half of the dough in my fridge. It shouldn't have to suffer the same way that first half did, no dough should.

jpeazybreezy

It is a metal Wilton 9.5x5.5 loaf pan

srs5624

I put foil on top of the loaf pan so my bread doesn't over-brown. DH's favorite bread has to bake for about an hour, so I just take the foil off for the last 15 minutes or so, brush with a little butter and it comes out great.

Pescalita

First, as a general rule, bread baking takes a little getting used to. It may take several tries with the same recipe to get it right, and I've found plenty of recipes I just don't bother with again. I once threw out an entire recipe of what now is my favorite go-to bread because it was just unusable. So don't get discouraged that you didn't get it right on the first go.

All that said, crust is probably the trickiest part! I'm not a crust expert by any means, but my first suggestion would be to add some steam, either by misting the dough before you put it in the oven, or by putting a shallow dish of water on the bottom of the oven. This site gives a decent overview: http://www.breadandcup.com/?q=content/technique-secret-a-good-crust

ksdk

Good to know. I have the yeast and flour and was going to try my hand today : )

jpeazybreezy

srs5624:

I put foil on top of the loaf pan so my bread doesn't over-brown. DH's favorite bread has to bake for about an hour, so I just take the foil off for the last 15 minutes or so, brush with a little butter and it comes out great.

Do I need to dock the foil first? Also, I wonder if the yeast died too soon because the bread never got bigger than the second rise. Does it continue to expand while baking? Or, I guess I mean is it supposed to?

jpeazybreezy

Pescalita:

First, as a general rule, bread baking takes a little getting used to. It may take several tries with the same recipe to get it right, and I've found plenty of recipes I just don't bother with again. I once threw out an entire recipe of what now is my favorite go-to bread because it was just unusable. So don't get discouraged that you didn't get it right on the first go.

All that said, crust is probably the trickiest part! I'm not a crust expert by any means, but my first suggestion would be to add some steam, either by misting the dough before you put it in the oven, or by putting a shallow dish of water on the bottom of the oven. This site gives a decent overview: http://www.breadandcup.com/?q=content/technique-secret-a-good-crust

Thank you so much! I checked out the site, and will def try this with my next batch. I get what you're saying about it taking time. I'm not at all dissapointed with my first attempt, I'm just desperate to improve! lol. 

 

Pescalita

jpeazybreezy:

srs5624:

I put foil on top of the loaf pan so my bread doesn't over-brown. DH's favorite bread has to bake for about an hour, so I just take the foil off for the last 15 minutes or so, brush with a little butter and it comes out great.

Do I need to dock the foil first? Also, I wonder if the yeast died too soon because the bread never got bigger than the second rise. Does it continue to expand while baking? Or, I guess I mean is it supposed to?

No need to dock, just tent it lightly. It is supposed to rise some in the oven; like it describes in that link it sounds like the crust "set" too early, which led to both the hard crust and the lack of rising. Steam and/or foil should help.

srs5624

Pescalita:

jpeazybreezy:

srs5624:

I put foil on top of the loaf pan so my bread doesn't over-brown. DH's favorite bread has to bake for about an hour, so I just take the foil off for the last 15 minutes or so, brush with a little butter and it comes out great.

Do I need to dock the foil first? Also, I wonder if the yeast died too soon because the bread never got bigger than the second rise. Does it continue to expand while baking? Or, I guess I mean is it supposed to?

No need to dock, just tent it lightly. It is supposed to rise some in the oven; like it describes in that link it sounds like the crust "set" too early, which led to both the hard crust and the lack of rising. Steam and/or foil should help.

::nods head:: Yep, just make a tent out of the foil.

Thanks for getting that Pescalita... I got busy at work yesterday and didn't see the question until this morning.