janie wrote:
> 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
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

You don't want to spray the actual loaf of bread with the water.
For best results the loaf itself should actually be dry before you put
it in the oven. When you put the bread in the oven take a spray bottle
and spray a generous amount of water in the interior of your oven to
generate a lot of steam. Just make sure you don't spray the bread
itself. Spray the wall of your oven. Close the oven door and keep it
shut for about 30 seconds. After the 30 seconds are up open the oven
door to release most of the steam and then close it again and let the
bread finish baking.
If you want to soften up the crust then let the bread cool and then
place it inside a sealed plastic bag. Within hours the bread will
soften up. If you want it to remain crusty then you should store it in
loosely folded paper bag.