Pulled Bread

Pulled bread is bread torn rather than cut, so the ragged surfaces crisp into something between a crouton and a breadstick. The recipe gives no temperatures or times; here are the numbers.

• Tear, do not sliceThe whole point is the torn face. A knife gives a flat, even surface that toasts uniformly; hands give peaks and hollows that go glassy and brittle in places and stay tender in others. Work the loaf apart with your fingers along its natural grain.
• The loaf must be freshThe recipe specifies a fresh loaf; stale bread tends to crumble rather than pull into strips. A soft-crumbed French loaf or baguette suits this better than a dense sourdough.
• Slow ovenA slow oven in this period is usually taken as somewhere around 250-325F; 300F is a reasonable working figure. Dry the pieces until firm all the way through and no longer springy, perhaps 30 to 45 minutes depending on thickness.
• Then brown delicatelyThe recipe gives no figure for this stage. A brief spell at a higher heat, or under a low broiler with constant watching, will do it. The pieces are already dry, so they colour fast and burn faster.
• Dripping-panA shallow rectangular roasting pan. A wire rack set inside a sheet pan does the same job — air needs to reach the undersides or they steam.
• StorageA tin box means an airtight tin. Fully dried pulled bread should keep for some days at room temperature; if it softens, the drying was cut short. The recipe directs reheating in the oven before serving, without specifying time or temperature.
• YieldSize -- The recipe gives no yield. The pieces are meant to be finger-sized, about as thick as a breadstick, as the text specifies.
• The stray line at the end"How to Give Rolls and Bread a Glossy" is the beginning of the next entry's heading, caught by the page break. It belongs to a separate recipe, not to this one.