This was my 2nd attempt at making Sourdough.

I again used the following recipe:

Ingredients for two loaves:
1/4 cup starter
1 cup Whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups White bread flour
2 1/2 cups Water
2 tsp Salt

This time I baked the bread at 350 degrees and didn't have a pan or water
in the oven. The bread rose better this time than last but it's still REAL
heavy. Each loaf weighs like 5 lbs!!! the bread is soft and tastes fine,
but it still takes a chainsaw to cut thru the crust. I'm not kidding here.
Someone could seriously break their teeth on this crust.

I said this last time and it still applies. They should make the space
shuddles out of this crust!

Any suggestions on how to NOT have such a hard crust?

I think next time I'll try a different recipe and see if that makes a
difference. I also would like the bread to rise a little better. My starter
seems fine. it's doublin in size and everything. Very bubbly and lively.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.