badgerman wrote:
> In some cases I want to produce bread with a thick top crust. by
> adding a steam pan and spraying the sides of my oven, I can produce
> bread that comes out of the oven with a very pleasing bit of thin
> crunchyness to the crust, but that disappears after half a day or so.
> Thank you!

If you put the bread in a plastic bag even the crustiest of breads will
become soft. The moisture that's in the interior of the bread will
eventually escape through the crust and since the bread is sealed
inside a bag the moisture will remain trapped and it will soften the
crust. Crusty breads should be kept in a paper bag. They can be
re-crisped by placing them in a hot oven for a minute or two.