Crusty European Bread

I was inspired to make crusty European bread from our travels in Italy and Spain. My first attempt didn't have an enjoyable crust because I relied on butter. It turns out the secret ingredient is steam in the oven followed by letting it cool in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole whole wheat flour
• 2.33 cups bread flour: In the UK this is called "strong" flour. If necessary one can use all-purpose flour.
• 1 cup powdered milk
• 1.5 teaspoons of sugar: We typically replace the sugar with an equivelent amount of applesauce.
• 1.5 teaspoons of salt
• 0.25 oz yeast
• 1.25 cups water

Instructions

1. Activate yeast at 100 to 110 degrees in the water
2. Put dry ingredients into bread machine
3. Add water into bread machine
4. Start dough cycle
5. When the dough cycle is complete, shape into 2 loaves
6. Let rise for a while (30 minutes to 12 hours)
7. For each loaf of bread, put a ramekin of hot water into the oven
8. Set oven to 425 degrees for 35 minutes
9. When the bread finishes cooking, leave in the oven to cool