Brown Bread

binxeo

Ok so I have been baking some traditional brown bread and it keeps coming out with a very hard crust. The bread itself tastes lovely, so I know I am doing something right but the crust is hardly edible it is so hard. I have tried wrapping it in a damp cloth after I take it out of the oven. But it is still not working!!

Any ideas where I am going wrong!!! :rolleyes:

TeletextPear

What are your ingredients/measurements and your method/cooking temperature?

Chef_Darren

My guess with the information given is too high a temperature, you cook everything from the outside in so you need to balance the temperature to ensure the perfect crust/crumb.

All ovens vary in holding temperatures, once u accompolish this temperature and time they are the real secrets in recipes

binxeo

Hey thanks for the reply

The ingredients are
640g plain flour
340g wholemeal flour
600ml buttermilk
teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl mix together then add the milk mix with a wooden spoon till it forms a stiff dough. Need on a floured surface for 1-2 mins.
Bake in for 60min @180 degrees.

It is a basic recipe I know, but like I said it tastes perfectly fine. It's just the crust that has me puzzled!

dixiefly

I would agree with Chef arren, you may need to reduce temperature.

Based on the recipe I use when I make BB I would go with the 180degrees for 20 minutes and drop the temperature to 165 for the rest of the hour.

Pixie001

My mum swears by wrapping the loaf of bread in a damp tea towel when it is still hot to prevent a hard crust from forming. Cant say I've tried it myself, but it might be worth a shot!

huskerdu

binxeo wrote: »

Hey thanks for the reply

The ingredients are
640g plain flour
340g wholemeal flour
600ml buttermilk
teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

Put all the dry ingredients in the bowl mix together then add the milk mix with a wooden spoon till it forms a stiff dough. Need on a floured surface for 1-2 mins.
Bake in for 60min @180 degrees.

It is a basic recipe I know, but like I said it tastes perfectly fine. It's just the crust that has me puzzled!

60mins sounds like far too much to be cooking brown bread for, but 180degrees should be fine. It also sounds like a very large loaf.

For that amount of mixture, I split into two loaves which cook in about 35/40 minutes.

Darkginger

Try putting your bread in a sealed tupperware or similar container after it's cooled. I found out (by accident) this week that the crust softens when you do this - same principle as a damp teatowel, I suppose, but seems to be more effective.

yimrsg

Was "making" my own brown bread recently and started using a tray of boiling water in the oven so that the bread crust would be softer. It takes the oven longer to preheat and you get assaulted with steam when you open the oven but I think it makes a difference.

I'm using this stuff as I'm lazy and some cream flour to add a bit of lightness to the bread. If it was all the mix I found it too dense.



200g odlums brown bread mix
200g of cream flour (sifted)
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
300ml of milk

Mix all the dry and add the milk. Briefly work into a round on a floured surface, make a cross with a knive and then into an oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes but check after 15 just to be on the safe side as I've found ovens vary.

The steam gives almost golden colour to the bread, which makes it look more appetising and I think softer. It's not quite as large a size as shop bought but since it probably won't keep as well, being a touch smaller is better.

Rosy Posy

I would normally make a much wetter dough- about the same amount of buttermilk in millilitres as flour in grammes. You could also add a beaten egg and some melted butter to the liquid. I'd wrap it in a tea towel when it comes out of the oven.

binxeo

Well I just put another pan in the oven, reduced the heat from 180 to 160 and added the egg, so we'll see how it gets on. Hope it works out better this time!!!:rolleyes:

Muirgheal

Pixie001 wrote: »

My mum swears by wrapping the loaf of bread in a damp tea towel when it is still hot to prevent a hard crust from forming. Cant say I've tried it myself, but it might be worth a shot!

I do this all the time- works like a charm.

binxeo

Well I tried the egg and lowering the temp and what came out the oven I wouldn't feed the dog :pac: So I might just go back to my own recipe and use the damp towel trick again. Maybe the towel wasn't damp enough.:rolleyes:

huskerdu

binxeo wrote: »

Well I tried the egg and lowering the temp and what came out the oven I wouldn't feed the dog :pac: So I might just go back to my own recipe and use the damp towel trick again. Maybe the towel wasn't damp enough.:rolleyes:

The only reason that would have worked is if your oven was mad hot, and 180 was actually way higher than that.

Brown bread needs to be cooked at 180, I have never heard of a recipe that calls for 160.

I think you are cooking it for too long.

binxeo

huskerdu wrote: »

The only reason that would have worked is if your oven was mad hot, and 180 was actually way higher than that.

Brown bread needs to be cooked at 180, I have never heard of a recipe that calls for 160.

I think you are cooking it for too long.

Think someone on here suggested to reduce the temp about 20 degrees, so I did. :pac:

Cooking it for about 50-60mins. It did seem to me that it might be too long but I wasn't sure!!

phormium

Not surprised at the result, I was thinking 160 was way too low for brown bread. I make brown bread that is consistency of thick porridge before baking, I bake it in a roasting tin approx 11x8 I would say at a guess, kind you would roast a chicken in. Anyway I start it in hot oven at 220 until it rises then I reduce heat to about 190, if browning too much I cover tin with tinfoil, it takes about an hour. I wrap it in tea towel when it comes out, I find the day I bake it the crust is hard enough but softens considerably on second day. I don't have as much crust to dough ratio as the tin is so big, I cut the loaf into 4 quarters and usually freeze some. It freezes well and the crust is always soft when thawed.

binxeo

phormium wrote: »

Not surprised at the result, I was thinking 160 was way too low for brown bread. I make brown bread that is consistency of thick porridge before baking, I bake it in a roasting tin approx 11x8 I would say at a guess, kind you would roast a chicken in. Anyway I start it in hot oven at 220 until it rises then I reduce heat to about 190, if browning too much I cover tin with tinfoil, it takes about an hour. I wrap it in tea towel when it comes out, I find the day I bake it the crust is hard enough but softens considerably on second day. I don't have as much crust to dough ratio as the tin is so big, I cut the loaf into 4 quarters and usually freeze some. It freezes well and the crust is always soft when thawed.

I don't use a tin....just need it and shape it and put it on a baking tray!!

Merrilady

I bake mine high for 10 mins, 190 in my oven and then reduce to 165 (ish) but before it goes into the oven I sprinkle some oilve oil on the top.
Not sure if it makes a difference

But .... My brown bread is very crumbly, delish but crumbly, how do I "harden" in up again ?
When it goes in the toaster I cant get it out - v annoying

Thanks y'all

binxeo

Merrilady wrote: »

I bake mine high for 10 mins, 190 in my oven and then reduce to 165 (ish) but before it goes into the oven I sprinkle some oilve oil on the top.
Not sure if it makes a difference

But .... My brown bread is very crumbly, delish but crumbly, how do I "harden" in up again ?
When it goes in the toaster I cant get it out - v annoying

Thanks y'all

:pac:
They should make brown bread friendly toasters!!!

Merrilady

Yes they absolutely should