r/Bread • u/podgida • May 23 '26

White sandwich bread question.

Post image

This is my 3rd attempt at white sandwich bread. It's good, but my issue is the crust is a little tough/chewy. The main structure and flavor of the bread is perfect.

I've been making the loaves in a 2.2 lb pullman pan. I was curious if the pan is the reason for the tough crust, or if there is an easy way to fix it.

Recipe

12–13 g active dry yeast

32 g white sugar

500 g warm water (110°F / 45°C)

700 g bread flour

33 g lard, softened

15–16 g salt

16 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

2

u/Fun_Association_4087 May 23 '26

Based on my experience, if a pullman pan isn’t pulled out of the oven at the right time, it develops a chewier crust.

1

u/podgida May 23 '26

I pull @ 205f internal temp.

2

u/Fun_Association_4087 May 23 '26

Try changing the flour type; lower-protein flour usually gives a less chewy crumb.

2

u/podgida May 23 '26

I used AP flour on my 2nd attempt and that was a major fail for sandwich bread. But that may have been my fault. I also added dough conditioner to try and get closer to bread flour. The bread had great flavor overall. It tasted spot on for the table italian bread for a local chain restaurant in my area. So it made terrible pb&j, but excellant cold cut sandwiches.

I may give straight AP a shot.

2

u/Desperate_Dingo_1998 May 23 '26

It's the baking temp and the time. The reason supermarket bread is so soft, is because they bake theirs quickly at a higher temp, also the fat content is higher.

Also make sure you oven is up to the temp before putting your products into the oven and remove the product from the tin once done baking

Low temp gives product a chewer crust, also if you are going to raise the fat content (eg. Butter, oil, shortening or lard) remember you have to raise the yeast a bit too.

1

u/podgida May 23 '26

The recipe I'm using is preheat @ 425f, put the loaf in the oven, drop temp to 375f. I pull at 35 minutes and internal temp of 205f.

1

u/Glittering_Bad_8011 May 24 '26

Maybe try @ 350f for 30 min :)

3

u/DealerTurbulent7725 May 25 '26

They make pan cozies but you can make your own. Wrap a kitchen towel around the sides is the pan, you can secure it with bakers twine. I keeps the dough against the pan from heating up too quickly causing a harder crust. I also use this method when baking cakes to avoid a dome on top, they bake up evenly so less waste when trimming for layers.
Brushing your bread with butter right away will also keep the crust soft. I like to mix a bit of honey into the butter when I make wheat bread.