Controlling crust
Hi. Newbie question here. I've been playing around with no-knead and almost no-knead loaves and decided to try one in a loaf pan for a change. Would be nice to supply my own sandwich bread. It wasn't bad, but the crust was too hard for sandwiches, and I would prefer a higher crown. I used 80/20 KA bread flour/whole wheat flour, the dough was at 73% hydration. I gave it a 24 hour rise (big and bubbly), a little bit of kneading and a two hour second rise. Baked, uncovered in a metal loaf pan, at 450 until the internal temp reached 210 degrees, just over 30 minutes. Let it cool 50 minutes.
What adjustments can I make to get the crust softer for sandwiches?... lower hydration? higher?... cover?... more kneading?...
What about the low crown? Should I be kneading more?
(BTW, I usually make this bread as a boule and it always has a hard crust, which is nice, except for the couple of times I added raisins and walnuts. I'm guessing sugar from the raisins may have softened the crust, but am not sure.)
Thanks,
Michael