wysiwyg has the most complete answer here so far.

Butter on the top of the loaf when you take it out, and don't bother with a moist towel. You want some kind of crust, otherwise you might as well buy that spongy store bread.

I bake several times a week. If the top comes out odd, it's usually because I wasn't paying attention and it rose too long.

In your case, this could be it, but it also sounds like you may have too much dough for the pan you're using. Try baking in a larger pan, or without a pan at all--a round loaf on a flat sheet that comes out looking like an Italian loaf will be uniformly crusty. But first, I would suggest you split your batch in half and bake it in two slightly smaller loaf pans so the top doesn't swell so much over the lip and cook so dry. And time the second rising. An hour is plenty; it sounds like the air bubbles in the top are too large (from rising too long) and are drying out too fast during baking.

SRS