Stick to Basics

• Crunchy French rolls require traditional French bread ingredients: flour, water, yeast and salt. Although roll recipes can contain milk, sugar and even melted butter, these ingredients make dough more tender at the cost of a softer, thicker crust. For a thin, crunchy crust, avoid adding dairy products, fats or sugar.

Choosing and Handling Flour

• Although baking professionals do not agree that breads must be made with bread flour, rather than all-purpose flour, they concur that bread flours contain more protein and therefore develop more stretchy gluten fibers than all-purpose. Bread flour also absorbs more moisture, which contributes to a thinner, crisper crust. If rolls made with all-purpose flour seem heavy and dense with thick crusts, try the same recipe with bread flour. Use a baking scale to measure the flour called for in your recipe. Scooping flour into a cup from the bag yields more flour than sifting it. Your crust may be thick and heavy because you are expecting your yeast to raise more flour than reasonable.

Bake on a Stone

• A baking stone or bread tile provides even heat, helping bread rise to its fullest capacity, reducing the density of the outermost layer and making crust thinner and more crunchy. Scattering a small amount of cornmeal on the stone keeps bread from sticking during baking.

Add Steam

• Place a shallow pan of boiling water on the rack below the bread stone or pan. Creating steam during the beginning of the baking process keeps the outer surface of the dough elastic, letting the dough rise thoroughly. Proliferation of yeast-formed bubbles under the outermost surface makes the crust thin and crunchy rather than thick and chewy. Do not spray the crust with water or add more water to the pan as the bread bakes because prolonged steaming will thicken the crust.