The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

sourdough toast - toughness - browned edges

mbass7mile's picture
mbass7mile

sourdough toast - toughness - browned edges

Why is my bread so tough when I toast it.  It is hard to cut.  Also, the edges brown and toast but the middle does not.  I set it to the darkest "toast"  I am using Peter Reinhart's  recipe for "San Francisco Sourdough" bread from "artisan breads every day."

Also the recipe for soft sandwich bread and rolls from the same book are the best I have ever made, tasted and enjoyed.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

I make my own spelt sourdough using the sourdough starter recipe in Richard Bertinet's book Crust and with a mixture of wholemeal and white organic spelt flour.  I usually toast the bread on the boiling plate of our Aga.  I find the crusts become very crunchy by the time the crumb has the colour I want.  The problem can be worse when I use our electric toaster - but that is probably because I never get enough practice with it - I hate it when we have to turn the Aga off for any reason (eg servicing, summer heat, deep cleaning etc).

I think that the issue lies with the fact that the sourdough method of producing bread naturally develops a "better" crust than other methods and the toasting process dries the chewiness from the crust and turns it crunchy.  Personally, so long as it is not burnt, I quite like the crunchy crust.