How can I make my sourdough crust chewier?
I'm making sourdough bread and am pleased with the results except that the crust is too hard and crunchy. Inside it's great, moist and a good even crumb. It makes great toast too, but I would sometimes like a chewier crust. Could the oven be too hot? I'm baking at 200 C Fan (the recipes usually suggest 220 C but that burnt my loaf! I think my oven might run hot.
Best Answer
How do you store your bread after baking and cooling it? Because I live in a desert climate, I can't keep it uncovered or in a bread box, so I put it in a big Ziplock bag. This tends to soften the crust into a chewier texture for me when I go to slice it the next day.
Pictures about "How can I make my sourdough crust chewier?"
Quick Answer about "How can I make my sourdough crust chewier?"
To increase the chewiness of your sourdough bread, use a higher protein flour of up to 14%. To decrease the chewiness of your sourdough bread, use a lower protein flour as low as 11%.What makes sourdough crust chewy?
If you are rubbing your dough with flour before baking to accentuate your scored designs, this too can dehydrate your crust, causing it to be tougher and more chewy. Try just spraying with water before baking or minimising the amount of flour you're using on the surface of your bread.How do I make my crust less chewy?
Crusts get soft with cooling as the interior moisture moves outward. You can help keep the crust crisp by leaving the loaves in the oven, with the oven turned off and the door held open a crack with a spoon handle, for 5-10 minutes after they are fully baked.How do I make my bread crust chewy?
For a few short minutes before the crust forms, steam inside the oven also helps contribute to a nicely textured crust. To create steam, fill a spray bottle with water and spray the loaves 2 to 3 times during the first 10 minutes of baking or until a crust has formed.How do you make sourdough crust crunchy again?
Simple: a long, slow cool helps keep things crisp. And your oven can do all the work: first baking your favorite crisp/crunchy treats, then finishing the job by drying them out, too.Sourdough Bread Crust Experiment | When should you uncover? | Foodgeek
More answers regarding how can I make my sourdough crust chewier?
Answer 2
All you need to do is wrap your bread in a tea towel after you bake it, that will soften the crust and make it chewier. Some good information in this question here even though it is asking the opposite of what you are:
How do I get crispy but thin bread crust?
Adding steam to the oven will actually make your bread more crisp.
Answer 3
Do you steam it in the oven? Many recipes call for a small pot or tray of water in the oven, or spritzing the oven walls themselves to increase the baking moisture. This is especially important for sourdough breads for the very reason that you mention.
Are you using a convection or a standard oven?
Answer 4
You could also opt for a higher protein flour which yields a chewier bread, overall.
Answer 5
(1) The best way to insure a softer crust - at least softer on the surfaces that are exposed in the oven - is to brush the dough with milk before baking it. For sourdough bread, I would recommend using buttermilk if you have it (every bit of tang helps).
You might also consider replacing some of the liquid in your bread dough with milk - that will contribute to a softer crumb and to a softer crust overall.
If you choose to try using some milk in your dough, scald it first and allow it to cool to room temperature or whatever temperature your recipe calls for - or use milk made from instant (w/o scalding). For a milk wash - just use your milk "as-is."
But back to my original point - milk washes soften crust.
For what it's worth - egg washes promote color and shine on crust but don't soften it.
Finally - water washes and steam in the oven generate a crust the is MORE crispy (professional bread ovens often have steam injection to promote a thick crisp crust that is all the rage in "Artisan" breads).
(2) As far as the temperature of your oven is concerned, you might also consider starting your bread at 220 C - then reducing the temperature to 190 C after 20 - 30 minutes. The higher temperature at the start helps promote "oven spring" (the initial pronounced rise) - the lower temperature that follows helps bake the bread through w/o torching the crust.
(3) If you really want to control the baking of your bread, I would recommend using an instant-read thermometer to determine when your bread is done - look for an internal temperature of around 95 C.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Geraud pfeiffer, Piotr Arnoldes, Polina Tankilevitch, Piotr Arnoldes