<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I have a commercial convection oven, which does NOT work well for gluten free
baking.  So I learned to put my unrisen loaf inside an old fashioned
porcelain oval roasting pan with the lid on.  I warm the oven, put a little water in
the bottom of the roaster, and raise the dough in the covered roaster in the
warm oven.  Then when the rise is finished, I just turn the oven back on, and
bake it with the lid on.  There is usually a little water left in the bottom of
the pan, and with the lid on, the humidity makes a very tender, soft crust.
At the end, I often remove the lid for the last 5 or more minutes to give the
crust a chance to be a little crrisper, but it is still soft and the crispness
is easily controlled by the length of removal (or not) of the lid.

This could be used in a regular oven.  I just discovered the method because
of my convection oven problems.  The fan was way too ungentle for gluten free
doughs and ruined every loaf I tried regardless of the recipe.

I haven't made the Hagman cornstarch bread with this method.  I bake the
communion loaf for our church which is gluten free because of our daughter's
extreme sensitivity, and I use the kinnikinnick bread and bun mix.  But the crust
is dramatically softer now that I use the roaster method.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

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When baking do you cover the bread 10 to 15 minutes into cooking?

I have and use all of Bette Hagman's books.  Her first books recommended 10
minutes into the cooking cycle to cover with foil to keep the crust from
overbaking, her later books recommend 15 minutes.

Happy Baking,
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I don't know about the cornstarch bread, but my mother used to rub butter
all over the entire crust of the hot bread as soon as she took it out of the
oven and out of the pan.  I did help to keep the crust soft.  Also, when you
think the crust has gotten brown enough in the oven, tent it with foil.
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Here is a link that may help you when diagnosing problems with your
baking, it is courtest of Jay at Miss Roben's:

http://newdiets.com/index/substitutionproblems.shtml

There are 3 of these charts, one for breads, one for cakes and muffins,
and one for cookies.  If you're experimenting
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I like Bette's Cornstarch bread, too. To keep the crust from getting hard, I
rub melted butter over the crust when I take it out of the oven, and then
cover it with a clean cloth while cooling.
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I'm sure you'll get some better answers but when I used to bake non-GF
bread, I covered it with a towel when it came out of the oven and while
cooling on the rack. Another possibility might be to brush with some veg or
olive oil.  Nancy
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