Super shiny crust and How Much Steam is Too Much?
Anne Awh
retarding the loaves overnight in the fridge helps too.
I've been using the technique of putting a small pan on the bottom rack
(just below the rack with the baking stone) and dumping in about a half cup
of hot water before putting the loaf on the peel & slashing & spraying it.
This seems to get a good steamy oven going by the time I put the loaf in.
Sometimes I do a few water spritzes after the loaf goes in if I've not
heated the water enough or not remembered to put it in early enough. I'm
very happy with my crust texture -- just the right amount of thickness,
with a crackly chewiness to them.
Mostly I've heard that you want the steam gone at the end of ten minutes,
which is why I don't put more water in. I can vaguely remember putting lots
of water in the pan one time so that there was still a little in there after
45 minutes, and getting a too-thick crust but I didn't notice any extra
shine. Also, I'm concerned that if water remains under the baking stone for
too long, the bottom of the loaf doesn't brown enough.
The best luck I've had for increasing shine has been to spray the bread
before removing it from the oven, giving it time to soak into the crust, say
at 43 minutes. This gives, as I've mentioned, a pleasant, satiny sheen and
smooth texture over the fermentation bubbles, and I like this effect, but
would occasionally like more.
I have yet to try the suggested starch treatments. I'm waiting till I make
my next "straight" sourdough (just bread flour & sometimes a little wheat
germ a la Silverton), instead of the more rustic ones I've been trying
lately, before concentrating on shine. Perhaps next week I will begin.
Is there a better way to get lots of steam in, but not for too long? (if
that's what I need...)
Is ten minutes too conservative a steam time?
As for rising, I usually start my loaves at night, 9pm or 10, and let them
sit overnight near a closed window for a low-to-mid-60's degrees
environment. Then I form the boules in the morning or afternoon, whenever
it seems the boule is ready to bake. Would fridging it be better?
I fear I've turned one question into many. Please forgive.
Thanks
--Anne
Dick Adams
message news:a9nb9t$ej0$1...@slb2.atl.mindspring.net...
> I've been using the technique of putting a small pan on the
bottom rack (just below the rack with the baking stone) and
dumping in about a half cup of hot water...
> Is there a better way to get lots of steam in...
That's about what I used to do, except it was a big, almost
red-hot frying pan, and more water than a half cup was used..
Problem was that Mrs. Adams would get into an audible state of
upset when all of the steam came shooting out of the cracks and
crevices of the stove. Also, it usually extinguished the pilot
light, which is hard to relight. I have been forbidden to do it.
Now, I should explain that we have a gas stove, and my "stone"
consists of half-inch thick tiles on a 3/4 inch bed of crushed
rock, all held together by an aluminum frame, sitting on the
bottom of the oven, which is just above the burner. The oven
vents through an opening on the front of the stove's control
tower, you know, where the clock and stuff is.
Here is how the problem of getting steam with fear is resolved:
1. The frying pan is placed in the grill.
2. The oven is run on "broil" for 40 minutes, which heats the
stone to ~500°F and gets the frying pan very hot.
3. THE GAS IS TURNED OFF.
4. The external vent for the oven is firmly closed (see below).
5. Risen loaves are slid onto the stone.
6. The oven door is closed.
7. The grill drawer is slid slightly out, and water is syringed
into the frying pan. The drawer is quickly closed. This is
repeated several times until the water ceases to evaporate from
the frying pan, for a total of about a cup delivered over several
minutes. If the frying pan cools too quickly, more water can be
boiled off from regions of the grill assembly.
8. After 5 or 10 minutes, the EXTERNAL VENT IS OPENED, the gas
control is set to 425°C (or whatever) and the bake continues.
The vent blocker is a jig made from wood which firmly holds a
spongy roll of wetted cloth against the vent. The cloth roll is
attached to the jig with nails, and must be wet each time it is
used.
In my case, there is also a problem with the smoke alarms, which
go off about the time that the stone reaches 500°F (temperature
read by thermocouple gauge). So my instructions include two more
steps, disconnect the smoke alarms before the oven preheats for 35
minutes, and reconnect when done.
This procedure allows for adequate steaming without getting any
one upset. But, now the weather gets warm, and since we do not
believe in air conditioning, it is probably back to pan bread
until the fall. (During the cold months, preheating the stone
also heats the house, which the furnace would do otherwise, so it
does not seem energetically irresponsible.)
Personally, I do not think that just having a pan of water in the
oven does much. Usually it does not even boil. Likewise, I do
not think a thin "stone", like for pizzas, is very useful. What I
suggest here is based on having a stone which will hold enough
heat to cook the bread from the bottom even when the oven is
turned off and further cooled by steam (at 212°F.).
There are some safety concerns with using your oven in
unconventional ways, so if you do it, do be careful!
--
Dick Adams
<firstname> dot <lastname>at bigfoot dot com
Ellen
"Dick Adams" <bad....@nonexist.com> wrote in message
news:FBMv8.33991$Rw2.2...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> Problem was that Mrs. Adams would get into an audible state of
> upset when all of the steam came shooting out of the cracks and
> crevices of the stove.
No kidding! :-)
Altho your current method is a bit scary also ... remember to reconnect
those smoke alarms!
Ellen