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π Thick crust? Use these techniques.
Published 19 days agoΒ β’Β 3 min read
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That thin, thin-crust
Why is the crust on my bread so thick?
I get asked this often, and believe me, I struggled with this when I started baking, too.
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There are a few things we home bakers have to overcome while on the path to a thin, brittle crust: β
We don't have a professional oven with steaming capabilities
We have to bake hot enough and for just the right amount of time
We must ensure our dough is adequately proofed
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Playing with these variables can be daunting, especially if you're just into baking.
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But I've taken all the tips and tricks I've learned over the years to eke out that super-thin crust and packed them into this thin-crust guide post.
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First, let's look at the guide and then a few recipes you can use to put it into practice straight away!
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In this week's newsletter:
Guide: How to get a thin crust on your sourdough bread
Recipes: My best sourdough, sunflower and sesame, a beginner's sourdough, and baguettes
Baking Help: How to mill your flour and how to use the tangzhong technique
Sourdough Links: Is the bread in France any good? And, a massive ransomware payment in... baguettes?
π Guide: How to Bake Sourdough Bread With a Thin Crust
Baguettes are the prime example of bread with a thin crust.
In my latest guide, learn my go-to techniques for getting a thin crust with any sourdough bread (and especially the sourdough baguettes you see above).
This higher-hydration sourdough recipe and process result in a super tender interior with a very thin crust. It's not an overly complex recipe, eitherβit's just a focus on doing the right things at the right time.
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Be sure to adjust the hydration of this recipe to suit your flour, holding back some of the water while mixing and only adding it if the dough can handle it.
Despite having quite a few inclusions in this bread, the crust is very thin, coupled with the flavor of the seeds and vigorous fermentation, makes for one of my favorite recipes!
I'm experimenting with using different flours in your recipes; for example, I switched out some white flour in the Pain de Mie for some high-extraction Type 85. I need to know more about the relationship between flour protein, other flour attributes, and hydration if I'm going to guess better how to adjust a given recipe. Your high-protein white bread flour article was helpful, but I'd like to go further.
I love that you are experimenting with flour here, primarily focusing on nutrition. Generally, as you increase bran/germ with more whole flours, expect to increase the dough's hydration and watch the proofing times, which might need to be reduced. With more whole flour, protein also goes up, which will result in a stronger dough, especially for flour like T70, T85, etc., but once you move into T110 or whole grain, you'll end up getting less rise.
Lately, I've been working on a new recipe using tangzhongβpre-cooking some of the flour in a recipe. It's a great way to get a soft interior and extended keeping qualities (delay staling).
π What I'm Reading and Watching
Does France really make the best bread in the world? As a baker, I'd say... maybe not.(The Guardian) I can say that when I was in France last year, the bread was excellent. But! Not everywhere. And this is undoubtedly true just about anywhere. (LINK)β β
Schneider Electric ransomware crew demands $125k paid in baguettes. (The Register) As my friend Marc said, that's a lot of dough. (LINK)β
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Stay tuned for early next week; I'll have a rundown of things to make for Thanksgiving!
Want to make bakery-quality sourdough bread from home? Subscribe for the best sourdough guides and recipes to take your bread from ordinary to incredible.
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