Soft homemade bread

[TangBloodyFastic]

Hi all,

Can anyone give me any tips to make bread with soft crusts?
Currently got a loaf wrapped in a damp tea towel while it cools and the crust is still, well, crusty
Recipe has milk & melted butter in it, I thought that would help keep the crust soft as it’s how I make dinner rolls. I didn’t measure the butter I put in, I just guessed oh and there’s an egg yolk in there too!
I love a crusty homemade loaf but want to know where I’m going wrong.

[PurplePillowCase]

wait a bit. the crust will soften as it cools.

if you want thinner crust, don't preheat the oven.

[TangBloodyFastic]

I’m pleased with how it’s turned out it’s just not soft enough

[TangBloodyFastic]

@PurplePillowCase that makes a thinner crust??? well I never! Thank you, I’ll do that next time

[PurplePillowCase]

it does look lovely.
I make a mean brioche, which is very soft, but it's sweet.

[TangBloodyFastic]

That’s the outer texture I want @Purple but I don’t like sweet bread

[kateandme]

diary products more butter aid this.also when the topping reaches a desired look top with some baking parchment to stop the crusting continuing,like youd do if the top of a cake was burning.
egg in it helps too but doubt this is applicable for your day to day loaf.

[Weedsnseeds1]

Sprinkle of flour on the top before it goes in the oven helps too

[CactusJelly00]

The amount of time you bake it for depends on recipe and temperature but what will stop it browning and being too crusty/hard is covering it.
Cover it for the first 60% of time (with baking paper) whip open the oven, take the paper straight out and close it as soon as you can.
It will be softer, it'll still brown in the last 40% but it won't develop as much as a crust.

What can work if you have a loaf of bread that's too hard for you (note, can, ime it works about 70% of the time) is spray it with water, just a thin layer all over, press it a bit to break the crust slightly and spray again (another thin layer) . and microwave on high for 60-90 seconds depending on the size of the loaf.

If you don't have any spray bottles (don't use any that have had cleaning products in it'll taste weird) get a kitchen towel, soak it and then drip/squeeze it over. Then use the damp towel to give it a quick rub all over. Use 2 seperate pieces for each stage of wetting. That'll rescue a too hard loaf.

Adding 1 tea spoon of milk and 1 tea spoon of butter to your mix can help soften it up too.
Hope this helps