Best Practices: That Crusty Loaf

I love things that are crusty.  No, not THAT kind of crusty.  The good kind, the bread kind.  Where the dough is soft and lovely on the inside but has a nice brown color and just a bit of crumb to it.  With challah, that's a tough animal.  The eggs and the oil make our breads dense and sweaty.  Combined with the (required, in my opinion) drizzle after egg-washing.

Well, here's a little trick I found out completely accidentally that I've done for the past three weeks since.

For a slightly crustier challah, set your oven to 375.  Put challah in for 5 minutes then turn down to the usual 350.  (I know some people bake their challah higher, so just try 15 or so to start).  Bake 10 minutes and then turn the loaf pan 180 degrees in the oven.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes depending on what you need.

I did this one Friday afternoon after successive baking of a casserole.  Basically, I forgot to turn the oven down.  But, the Hazz (and his brother who was in town visiting) declared the loaf to be THE BEST YET.

What tricks have YOU discovered accidentally?