My bread has a soft crust – what can I do for a harder crust? (2024)

Here are two recommendations to get a crispier crust:

Remove the bread from the machine as soon as baking is complete

The machines have a heat reflective lid to ensure that the loaf is evenly browned and crisped. Nevertheless, as the loaves are cooked in a small space, there is quite a bit of moisture which can form during the baking process. Although most disappears, some may remain on the lid and fall on top of the bread loaf. Because of this, it is important to remove the bread from the pan as soon as it is cooked and place it on a cooling rack.

Adjust the water amount slightly

As the loaf cools, any moisture which is left in the loaf escapes through the crust as steam and this is what causes the softening. You can help to prevent this from happening by reducing the water content of the loaf.

Initially reduce the water

• For a Medium loaf by 10ml
• For a Large loaf by about 20ml
• For an Extra-Large loaf by about 20-30ml

You will then be able to evaluate the results and adjust the water accordingly. If you reduce the water by too much you will end up with a sloping loaf resulting from the dough being too dry, so please pay attention to the measurements.

Tip:

If you happened to have your oven on when the breadmaker finished, you could remove the bread from the pan and pop it in the oven for 5mins to continue to crisp the top crust.