May 5, 2010 - 9:17pm
Sourdough Bread Crust
My first question on the forum is what to add to my sourdough bread to tenderize the crust. I've made some progress in the right direction by adding 1T olive oil to the dough, and to the first rising bowl. Why? A sensitive filling. It's a six month long saga off-topic!
EvaGal
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Hi, EvaGal.
Welcome to TFL!
Enriching your dough with milk (substituting for some of the water) will result in a more tender crust and crumb. You can also add some potato to the dough. You can soften the crust by brushing it with milk or butter right after it comes out of the oven.
Now, my advice would be to find a recipe which is tried and true and has a tender crust. It may not be a sourdough bread, but you can convert just about any bread that calls for commercial yeast to sourdough.
I'm a crispy/crunchy crust guy myself, but others may nominate favorite soft crust breads.
I sure hope your dental issue gets resolved.
David
Hi, EvaGal.
I use about a third of my flour mix with semolina flour. I find it provides a softer chewy crust and crumb effect on the my final result.
What Mr Synder has said about using milk is very correct as well from my short time bread baking. You can also brush your dough with milk just prior to placing in a hot oven. This provides a brown soft crust also. Maybe it's my very old electric oven but I have trouble getting a well tanned crust so I brush with milk.
Enjoy the recomendations...............Pete
Thank you for the suggestions. Today's loaves contained 1/2 cup semolina flour. I and the family like the creamy taste and tender interior. I need a still tenderer crust, so Saturday's loaves will have a bit of milk in the liquid as well as my 6 year old semolina flour. (I was going to make noodles with it back then, but discovered lack of counter or table space was an insurmountable obstacle.)
EvaGal
Is that whole grain semolina? How have you stored it? I think that would be making it's way to my garden to feed plants.
I just threw out some whole wheat white flour that was about 3 months old. I don't have large freezer space right now so it was pantry stored. I won't keep it past 2 months in the pantry as I can taste the difference.
Just got a mill and now I'll really be able to tell the difference. The smell when I was fermenting my breads yesterday with freshly milled flour was incredible.
There really is a difference in performance and taste. Even white flour is better when fresher. I replace that about every 6 months if it hasn't been used up.
6 months--wow! And it was stored in a double plastic bag in a damp & moldy travel trailer that entire time. Since I only have about 1 1/2 cups left, I'll buy more this week. So, the crust will be more tender with newer semolina flour?
EvaGal