Easy Crusty Vegan Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of crusty bread? ›

Simply put, it has to do with the starch in flour. As bread bakes, its outer layer (crust) eventually reaches 180°F. At that point, the starches on the surface burst, become gel-like, and then harden in the oven's heat to a crackly consistency. Steam hitting the bread's surface facilitates this process.

Baking quick breads at too high temperatures can cause a hard outside crust. Most quick breads bake in a moderate oven (350°F to 375°F). Double check your recipe to see the temperature they recommend. Oven thermostats can vary over time, requiring adjustments by the baker or calibration by a professional.

Bake at Lower Temperatures

This technique gives the bread a flaky, slightly crisp crust. But if you want a melt-in-your-mouth soft crust, you need a much lower temperature for a longer period.

A few types of bread that are commonly vegan include pita, ciabatta, and focaccia. Veganism refers to a way of living that attempts to minimize animal exploitation and cruelty. For this reason, vegans aim to exclude all foods containing meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, and honey from their diet ( 1 ).

CREATE STEAM IN OVEN

Close the oven door immediately. You've just created a "steam bath" in your oven. Steam hitting the bread surface will facilitate the process of creating crust, especially during the first part of the baking process.

Cloth, being breathable, retains less moisture; the disappointment is that this doesn't translate into a crispy crust, but rather a hard one. So if you want to store bread for a day or so at room temperature, plastic or foil (rather than cloth) is the way to go.

Slash the bread: Before baking, make sure to slash or score the top of the bread to release some of the steam, which will help the crust become crispy. 5. Brush with egg wash: Brushing the top of the bread with an egg wash (beaten egg and water) before baking can also promote browning and create a shiny golden crust.

Over-kneading has a tendency to result in chewy bread. Here's how to tell if you've kneaded enough. Another possibility—you used bread flour when all-purpose flour would do. If a recipe with bread flour turned out chewier than you like, try it with all-purpose and knead only as much as the recipe directs.

The usual reason why bread becomes too dense is due to using flour with low protein content. When your loaf is spongy and heavy, you might have also put too much flour into it or made the dough in a cooler or too warm setting. Bread baking may seem simple.

Crustless bread is bread without crusts. Panko is made from such a bread, which is produced by passing an electric current through the dough. The British food group RHM manufactures a crustless bread targeted at children called Hovis Invisible Crust, which is produced by baking the bread at low temperature.

What is the best oven to bake bread in? ›

After reviewing them, we recommend the Lodge Double Dutch, Challenger, and Fourneau bread ovens. They're each suited to different types of bread bakers, which you can read more about below. A couple of years ago I shared my thoughts on the Le Creuset Bread Oven, a dedicated vessel for bread baking.

Many of these breads, especially packaged ones, are made with a ton of chemical additives such as calcium propionate, amylase, and chlorine dioxide which help keep them soft, light, and fluffy for days.

What are the best techniques for creating dark color and shine on bread crusts? To create dark, burnished crusts on their loaves, professional bakers brush milk, egg, or water onto the surface of the risen dough before baking.

The short answer is: yes, bread crusts do contain more nutrients. The reason for this is that the baking process causes the exterior of the bread to become firmer and more browned. This chemical baking process also results in changes to the nutrients in the crust of bread.

The higher the starch level in your bread dough, the more tender your resulting bread will be. And a great way to add starch to your bread is in the form of potatoes: cooked and mashed; dried (in the form of potato flour or flakes); or even simply by using the water in which you've boiled potatoes.