Basic hearth bread

Good evening,

I recently had an all nighter with heart of wheat bread found in Bread Bible by rose levey. When the free form loaves came out of the oven they looked and tasted great. My family went on and on how the flavor was so good. I admit I was happy to see every one enjoying the bread, but I tried so hard to get the crisp crunchy crust that french and italian breads are known for. Is anyone more familiar than I am with the ingredients to this recipe? Does this bread recipe include ingredients that would otherwise make the crust less crunchy or crispy? Thanks for your replies!

Chuppy