Tip of the Week: Making Bread Crusty

The key to crusty bread is quite simple: lots of steam. Steam allows bread to expand to its maximum limit, decreasing the chances of a flat or tough crust.

 However, what do you do if you are buying bread from the store and would like the bread crustier? Misti Wilcox had a great suggestion in her last class. We bought baguettes that were not as crusty as she would have liked. Her trick was simple with a variation on baking with steam. Coat the top of the prepared bread with water (using your hand, don’t run the bread under the water) and bake for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees you will end up with a nice crust on the outside while the bread inside stays warm and chewy. Perfect!