"janie" > wrote in message
...
> I make good bread (tastes good anyway) BUT! I never get that pretty Brown
> outside skin that I always see in the store bought or bakery bread. I
asked
> the lady at the bakery (kroger) and she said that they always bake the
> bread at 400°... and that steam also did the trick. Said that is I got a
> spray bottle and sprayed the bread just before I put the bread in the oven
I
> would get the same effect.
> It doesn' seem to work!
> Anybody know a secret?
> jni
>
>

Not sure what kind of bread you are baking, but if it is a "lean" bread",
e.g. baguette, I would suggest you raise the temp to 500F. That is the
normal temp for such breads (if you have a commercial oven, I would suggest
550F). After about 7 minutes, lower the temp to 450F.