Blue Ribbpn Bakery--About Crusts

Soft: Coat the loaf with butter immediately after baking by brushing on melted butter or rubbing with a stick of butter or rubbing with your saved butter wrappers.
Dark soft: Brush loaves with milk or cream near the end of baking.
Slashing: "Split-top" is an effect on pan baked bread that is trickier than it looks. The dough must be perfectly risen ; the slash must be made one second before putting the pan in the oven; use a perfectly sharp razor blade (it will dull quickly.) If any of the above are questionable, forget it: a poorly slashed loaf looks terrible. Make the slash about 1/2 inch deep. Diagonal slashes in french-type breads are made with the blade held almost parallel to the top of the bread, cutting under the surface, not deeply vertical.
Crisp "french-style": Bake the bread in a steamy oven for the first 20-30 minutes. There are many ways to steam an oven, the easiest is to spray water on the oven floor and sides and quickly close the door. Do this at intervals. Be careful not to spray the light bulb; it will burst. Spray the loaf as well for extra crispness.
Glossy, warm brown, crisp "vietnamese french-style": Brush loaves before baking, or during baking, with an egg yolk wash.