Crispy Bread Cups recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to get a shiny crust on bread? ›

How do I make bread dough glossy or shiny on top? To make your finished bread or pastry shiny, brush on an egg wash before baking or a simple syrup glaze after baking.

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.

A baking stone, or pizza stone, is a large piece of thick, ceramic tile that sits on the rack of your oven. By preheating the stone along with the oven to a high temperature—think in the 450°F to 500°F range—it picks up and retains a ton of heat that provides exceptional browning for your bottom crust.

The lid is the important part, you want to trap the steam from your bread which will create a crisp crust! Another option is spraying the dough with water before baking, or putting a shallow pan filled with water in the oven with your bread.

In general, protein (such as eggs) and sugar (found naturally in milk) encourage browning, while fat (like oil) adds shine. Some of the best purported washes are mixtures, such as egg and milk or cream.

Butter or Olive Oil Brush: Brush softened butter or olive oil atop the loaf before baking to add flavor and color. Milk Bath: Brushing a loaf with milk before baking gives the baked bread a tender, golden crust. For a sweet bread recipe, sprinkle with sugar if desired.

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.

USE RIGHT TEMPERATURE

Bake the bread at high temperature, around 260/270°C, for the first 15 minutes of the baking process so that the crust and its beautiful golden color start developing quickly on the surface. Then lower the temperature to 150°C and continue the baking process for 15-20 minutes.

Vegetable oil and shortening are popular options; canola oil is considered a little healthier, and lard is traditionally used by many Native Americans. Frying with lard—If using lard to fry the bread, make sure that you use about 2 1/2 cups of lard instead of the 3 cups of vegetable oil.

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.

How do you keep crusty bread crisp? ›

Large crusty loaves can be stored unwrapped (to preserve their crispy crust) at room temperature for a day or so, cut side down on the counter. For optimum long-term storage (longer than a couple of days), wrap bread in single-day portions and freeze.

Introduce some steam into your oven

This turns the starch in the surface of your dough to a gel-like substance (gelatinisation) which, eventually, bakes to form the crust. Adding steam helps this process by encouraging the starch to gelatinise.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.