Advice for leathery and chewy crust for sourdough bread
Hello all,
I've been baking bread for about 2 years and have yet to find the solution for a leathery and chewy crust. Here is a link to my bread. The one with the lip/ridge in the middle is made with AP flour. While the pic with a circle scoring is made with bread flour. https://goo.gl/photos/1z6Z5n1abEYkLXcw7 [1]
I currently follow the Tartine bread recipe formula with a few tweaks. I autolyse for 1 hour instead of 25-40 minutes. I bulk ferment between 5-6 hours instead of 3-4. I've found the shorter amount of time doesn't seem to build enough gluten to hold it's shape well when shaping. I proof for about 16 hours in the fridge. I leave my dough in the refrigerator until I'm ready to pop it in the oven. Lastly, with the dutch oven lid on I bake at 450 degrees at 20 minutes then with the lid off I bake at 450 degrees at 35 minutes (instead of 20-25).
When the bread is fully cooled. The crust is great. It's crisp and not tough at all. However, the next day it loses it's crisp and turns leathery and chewy. What must I do for the crust to stay crispy for at least 2 days?
Do I need to decrease my temperature lower than 450 and bake longer?
Also, how do I achieve a more open texture of the bread? Do you all feel like my bread looks too dense? I currently use Bob Mills whole wheat flour and switch between Bob Mills AP and bread flour for my recipe. Should I be using a different flour to achieve a better crust and open texture?
Here is the Tartine recipe:
-Water 80 degrees 750 grams (75%)
-Leaven 200 grams (20%)
-Total flour 1,000 grams (100%)
-White flour 900 grams (90%)
-Whole wheat flour 100 grams (10%)
-Salt 20 grams (2%)
Thanks in advance, Lisa