[BadgeBunny]

I pride myself on being a pretty good cook and a better baker but my sourdough starter has me stumped. :scratch

It smell great ... proofs nicely ... tastes wonderful ... has a nice rich crumb but the crust is always hard as a rock. I have tried steam, spritzing, brushing with beaten egg ... all the usual tricks of the trade, but I am plumb out of ideas ...

Anybody got any ideas???!??!??! I'm game for just about anything at this point ... :crossfinger:

Thanks!! :wave:

 

[Emerald]

The nature of sourdough is a soft inside and nice hard crust. Putting water in your oven is meant to make a nice crisp hard crust and most bakers strive to do so.
I would take out the water from the oven and also right when it comes out of the oven rub a nice pat of butter over the whole top and while still a bit warm put in a plastic bag- this will soften the crust quite a bit, but it will also shorten the life of the bread- it will make it more susceptible to molds.
Also you could try rubbing a nice layer of soft butter or even olive oil or lard on the dough before it rises(second rise) as the fat will soften the crusts while baking.

 

[BadgeBunny]

The nature of sourdough is a soft inside and nice hard crust. Putting water in your oven is meant to make a nice crisp hard crust and most bakers strive to do so.
I would take out the water from the oven and also right when it comes out of the oven rub a nice pat of butter over the whole top and while still a bit warm put in a plastic bag- this will soften the crust quite a bit, but it will also shorten the life of the bread- it will make it more susceptible to molds.
Also you cold try rubbing a nice layer of soft butter or even olive oil or lard on the dough before it rises(second rise) as the fat will soften the crusts while baking.

Oh thanks!! Maybe I am just not using enough oil during the rise. I will definitely leave the water out and see how that does. Thanks for the tips!!