Crust very thin and quite soft on SF Sourdough from Reinhart's Artisian Breads Every Day - suggestions or alternative recipes?
I was starting to post this and decided to search more before asking. Seems this was covered in the past in the following thread a while back:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26226/no-decent-crust-french-bread [1]
The OP in that thread had exactly the same issue with the same recipe: thin, soft crust. Anyone try this recipe and get a thicker, crisp and crackly crust?
I got wonderful crackly crusts using the same steaming setup with the first couple of recipes in the book: Lean Bread and Classic French Bread. I don't know enough to understand what causes the differences in recipes, so I don't know what to change.
It is a 68% hydration (according to someone online, didn't check)* and baked at 450 (preheated to 500).
I don't have a stone, and my steam comes from pouring boiling water in a large, deep stainless steel tray (a water tray from a caterer's warming tray thingy that was at the office). I get a huge boiling rush when I pour the water in, have tried spraying by hand w/ sprayer before pouring boiling water in.
I'll try lower temperature for longer as suggested in the older thread, but still wanted to ask if it is something noticable about the recipe.