On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 02:01:14 GMT
"Vox Humana" > wrote:
>=20
> "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=B0... and that steam also did the trick. Said that is I g=
ot
> > 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?
>=20
> I agree with Eric. Try a wash. Also, increasing the sugar in the dough
> will increase browning as will baking it longer. You can use an egg wash
> (beat and egg with a little water or milk) to start with. The steam will
> make the crust chewy but it will not give you a brown color like the
> wash.
For whatever it's worth - you know, they keep telling us we're too
judgmental and not helpful enough - here's more helpful.=20
Other possible causes for the crust being blonder than you wanted it to
be:=20
Too low hydration.=20
For me, denser loaves always have a lighter crust. For various reasons
it's easy to use technically too much flour and still get an acceptable
loaf, but not everything will be the same. Too dense and you won't get as
much rise from steam, so the crust will be denser (more massive) and
require more BTUs to brown.=20
Unless you're measuring by weight, or have some sort of superpower or
high tech bionic technology, "1 cup" is rarely "1 cup". It's not your fault
that you probably get a slightly different hydration level every time.
Also, the visual cues that we are taught when people teach us to make
bread can be deceptive - it's easy to add flour too quickly and achieve the
"right" texture of dough in the bowl, when in actuality you've gone too
far. It took me a while to figure out that my dough should be sticker than
it had been, and that it would look just like dad's if i let it knead in
the mixer for another few minutes instead of adding that last cup of flour.
The oven at the bakery probably has a lower ceiling.
This will mean more reflected radiated heat hitting the top, and also
tighter convection currents that retain more heat. I don't have a
suggestion for how to fix this, just pointing it out.=20
But the egg wash is old-hat ace-in-the-hole stuff for really dark
browning.=20
Speaking of measuring by weight, does anybody want to make an offer on
my old digital scale? I just bought a nice Salter out of the clearance dump
at BB&B, 65% off or so.
Made by Cuisinart, my old scale was the lowest rated digital scale
reviewed by Consumer Reports. I paid 83 cents for it at a thrift store. I
think i got my money's worth.=20
The controls are attached to the part of the scale that the food goes
on, meaning that it's hard to hit the tare button without affecting the
weight reading. Also, while it supports metric measurement, it starts up
measuring ounces every time you turn it on, and since the buttons are on
opposing sides of the control panel, it's tricky to hit the metric button
without hitting the tare button at the same time, or the other way around
either.=20
Additionally, as a one-piece all-plastic design, you can't throw the
tray in the dishwasher to sterilize it after portioning out raw meat. You
have to think ahead and wrap it in plastic, or put it inside a 1 gallon
freezer bag.=20
You won't measure yeast with it, since it's sensor has a granularity of
about 5 grams, but it should be basically sufficient for water/flour ratios
and certainly up to the task of ensuring uniform dough lump size. It is
also quite small, taking up slightly less space in your cupboard than a 9"
pie pan.=20
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