Hi Lori, it sounds like perhaps your dough is a little under proofed, or you're not scoring aggressively enough. Proper steaming may also help with this. What I think is happening is that as the loaf rises rapidly in the oven the fermentation gases are trying to find escape routes, and this is causing the seam (which is a weak spot) to bulge a bit, making it brown up and harden more than the rest of the bottom crust. Proofing a bit longer, adding steam to the bake, or scoring a bit more assertively are likely to help prevent this from happening. 

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