Dear Teresa,

The way to get the really crispy outer crust is to put a pan of boiling water in the oven with your bread when you bake it. It seems counter-intuitive, as if the steam would make the bread softer, but it doesn't. Here in the SF Bay Area the large commercial ovens actually have steam injectors which are used to get that artisan crust. Since we don't have those in our home ovens we have to use a pan of water to simulate it. Good baking!