Boy could I write a book replying to this so this is going to be long, actually it's addressing the errors this page has created. I'll start right off. Who am I? I am a Chef, a Master Chef. I have been to Italy twice to go to baking schools. That is with an "s". I am now retired from the restaurant business. I am from Groton, CT. I went to Brown University in Providence same as Ms PJ Hamel (no offence made or intended to her) and where one of my Uncle' was the Grounds Keeper ... many many years ago. I also attended UCONN. I traveled back and forth to Providence from Groton in my teens where I went to Chef School at the Paramount School of Culinary Fine Arts which my other uncle Dante Grozzi owned and operated. He also owned a block of downtown Providence at one time. It had a Café on the corner, a huge produce manufacturing plant in the middle and with delivery business as part of the whole set up including the big school. He even sold restaurant equipment. Yes, I was a pampered punk but I did go to school. I was the youngest of all the students in my class. My success was shown when I was appointed the 'head cook' bu the school for the 1958 Republican Presidential Convention in Hartford CT representing our Paramount school. I cooked 58 larger than normal 48 to 52# roast beefs to perfection and was brought up on stage and thanked publicly. So, I have credentials and abilities and know what I am talking about. Challenge what I write here you better have a deck of cards full of aces. Now to the baking problem: Number One. It is the nature of bread to be crusty when baked. You can't stop it unless one takes steps yet in this page above everything is done totally wrong to bake real bread as they are trying to make it crusty. The problem is in that they are backing the "bread" at soup warming temperatures, not hot enough, further baking is a drying process to start with. A lot of home ovens do not get hot enough to do the job correctly. One must be in the high 400 plus degree range. Number Two. The flower needs an oxidizer to get the gluten in the flour to fall in love with the "live" yeast they should have been using, not the powdered stuff. This is why you can get and need multiple rises. Ascorbic acid is the one most used by the Italians and French. After all, it was Italian’s that taught the French how to make bread to start with but that’s another interesting story. Another name is vitamin "C" for ascorbic acid. Rose hips were also used. Don’t let them tell you that vitamin C is a modern drug. They had it back in the 1100 hundreds. Thats about a thousand years ago. It’s discussed in Chef Carmine Louis Zuliani’s cook book. The first cook book published in the United States around 1900. And as far as getting bread to last one need’s to add a "retarder" but then you have ruined the need for "fresh bread". You eat a ton of it in today’s regular breads (not the fresh baked stuff). Further if you make Italian or French bread with a retarder it won’t work. It drastically changes the taste as well. Further, you CANNOT make Italian or French bread and a lot of other baked specialty breads in a regular vertical mixer. It won’t work unless it is a "Horizontal Mixer." Vertical mixers tear the fabric of the bread during the mixing (shear the dough rather than fold it constantly) in which it doesn't allow the air bubbles to form (not the yeast rise ones) that are needed, to form the proper dough. The only difference between French and Italian is the way the dough ball is first formed and kneaded. The approximately 16 ounce' of dough ball is hand rolled out, folded towards you then turned 90 degrees for French bread three to four times. Italian is done 180 degrees thus the large inconsistent bubbles. This is done after spending a long time in a rotating humid proofing box. Then make your rolled out triangle to roll up, and razor cut to make your loaf. Remember each time you disturb your dough cover and keep it dark and ket is rest. There is more! The reason for all this from me is so I can show you bread making is an art and breaking the basic rules to short cut the bread making is not working and it makes you a cook making biscuits that are longer than normal biscuits. I'll bet some formulas (recipes) have baking powder and soda in them. Yuk! Of course you will end up with 'a product' but you sure can’t call it premium. I have worked out a complete recipe for baking natural Italian and or French bread at home but it would be too much for here as it is detailed thus it's very long for here and now. The best I can do is give you a helping hand with what you have. Get your oven hotter. Also, place a large tray (I use a large commercial cookie tray in the very bottom of my oven as my commercial oven is in storage) in the very bottom of the oven. It helps keep the bottom of the oven clean as well. Also, bake your baked goods on the bottom shelf or the next one up only. This includes pies cookies and cakes as well so arrange the racks thus. When baking the bread we are talking about, when it is turning a light tannish brown throw three quarters of a cup of hot water on the bottom tray you installed missing the bread and STEAM the loaves of bread like the Italians do it in Italy. Be careful as you will get a live steam kick back so close the oven door ASAP. You will get your crust. Don’t store it in a plastic bag unless you are going to freeze it (that is another story and very possible). When it cools, put it into paper bags for storage like the bakery and stores do but use quickly. After all…It is fresh bread. The real igloo ovens have such a steaming system built in. There is also a story on why the French baguettes are so dark brown and it has nothing to do with being crusty…its more history. Being very proud of what I can do, know and accomplish. I will use the Italian American salute to say good bye for now. ENJOY and MANGIA! Chef Vic

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