Oil board = soft crust? Tartine and ABED
Howdy! Been baking some pretty decent Tartine loaves, with one problem, the crust isn't crackling crisp. I've been using the whole leaven to bake a double recipe of four loaves... Typically I shape and bake two and shape and retard the other two and bake after 8 or 9 hours. I've been following the baking directions in Tartine 3 - 20 min preheat at 500, 20 min bake at 500, 10 min at 450, uncover, and bake for 20-25 min more. I could probably leave them in for a few minutes longer for a darker color. I also haven't tried the recipe from Tartine 3, which calls for a much longer autolyse.
So I've been cheating a little on the shaping - Peter Reinhart describes in ABED and in a video how he uses about a tablespoon of olive oil on his wooden board so that his high hydration dough doesn't stick. I've used his technique, but I wonder if that little bit of oil is softening the crusts.
Thanks!
Eli