Temperature for french bread?
Wishy13764
after about 5 minutes at that high reading, I lowered it down to 350, totaling
about 1/2 hour. Needless to say, atlhough edible, but disappointing. I even had
put boiling water at the bottom of oven and sprayed water every 3 minutes of
so. Could someone tell me where I went wrong? Thanks. BTW, all that watering
stuff did not give me the crust that i was suppose to of gotten.
Boron Elgar
Could you share your recipe & technique with everyone so we may be
able to help? Knowing ingredients & measurements, type/brand of flour,
type of yeast, rise & proofing times, etc would give clues.
What kind of crust were you expecting & what kind did you get?
Boron
Alan Zelt
Guess you just couldn't make up your mind. So you opted for both ends.
Not good with French bread. Start it out at 500F for about 5-7 minutes,
then lower it to 450 for the remaining time (when internal temp of bread
is 200F, sea level).
--
Alan
"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and
avoid the people, you might better stay home."
--James Michener
Rose Kish
Yes, please share the recipe - I'm curious as to how much boiling water
you used. Usually if you use boiling water in the oven, there's no need
to spritz in addition. 350 is much too low for french bread, all that
water that is supposed to evaporate is now likely simmering. It is bound
to make the crust all tough to chew.
I'd recommend keeping your oven temp at 450 the entire time, a few quick
spritzes at intervals into the oven during the first 5-8 minutes. Or do
away with the spritzing and use under a cup of hot water in the oven. If
there is still water left after 15 minutes, I'd remove it at that time.
You want to finish baking with high dry heat from hereon in for a
crunchy crust.
Olive Jinkings
ago, which says "Heat oven to 325 deg. Fahrenheit (170 deg.Centigrade)
Put loaf in oven then raise temperature to 375deg F (190degC). Bread
should always be put into an oven where the heat is increasing so that
it rises gently during the initial moment of baking before the crust
sets. Preheat to 50 deg F lower than required then turn it up when the
bread goes in. Slash baguettes down the length (the more cuts the
crustier the bread will be) Steam generated by spraying the oven floor
when the bread goes in will help the bread to rise. "
Surely if you keep opening the oven door to spray every 3
minutes the oven will lose its heat and I don't see how a hard crust can
form in the presence of all that water.
Olive
In message <20020326142226...@mb-fk.aol.com>, Wishy13764
<wishy...@aol.com> writes
--
Olive Jinkings
Boron Elgar
>In message <20020326142226...@mb-fk.aol.com>, Wishy13764
><wishy...@aol.com> writes
>>One said 375 degrees and another a very hot oven..so I chose 450 preheated.
>>after about 5 minutes at that high reading, I lowered it down to 350, totaling
>>about 1/2 hour. Needless to say, atlhough edible, but disappointing. I even had
>>put boiling water at the bottom of oven and sprayed water every 3 minutes of
>>so. Could someone tell me where I went wrong? Thanks. BTW, all that watering
>>stuff did not give me the crust that i was suppose to of gotten.
On Wed, 27 Mar 2002 15:52:29 +0000, Olive Jinkings
<ol...@rains.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>I have a cutting entitled Chef's Bread, taken from some magazine years
>ago, which says "Heat oven to 325 deg. Fahrenheit (170 deg.Centigrade)
>Put loaf in oven then raise temperature to 375deg F (190degC). Bread
>should always be put into an oven where the heat is increasing so that
>it rises gently during the initial moment of baking before the crust
>sets. Preheat to 50 deg F lower than required then turn it up when the
>bread goes in. Slash baguettes down the length (the more cuts the
>crustier the bread will be) Steam generated by spraying the oven floor
>when the bread goes in will help the bread to rise. "
> Surely if you keep opening the oven door to spray every 3
>minutes the oven will lose its heat and I don't see how a hard crust can
>form in the presence of all that water.
>Olive
There are spray devotees, ice cube devotees, hot water ones & cold
water ones... some like a water pan on the top shelf, some on the
lowest shelf, some prefer to open the door & spritz.
My own best successes have been with a 1 hour pre-heat of the
convection oven to 500 degrees F while a cast iron pan is on the
uppermost shelf & a baking stone on the lower middle shelf the entire
per-heat time. I peel the dough into the oven on its parchment & toss
6 ice cubes into the cast iron pan. I keep the temp at 500 for 10
minutes & drop it to 425 or 450 depending on the loaf size. I bake
until the internal temp is between 200F & 205F or the crust is as dark
as I like it.
I also bake this sort of lean bread with a super sloppy hydration,
which I feel helps both the crust & the interior texture.
But that's me.
Boron
Wishy13764
>you used. Usually if you use boiling water in the oven, there's no need
>to spritz in addition. 350 is much too low for french bread, all that
>water that is supposed to evaporate is now likely simmering. It is bound
>to make the crust all tough to chew.
>
>I'd recommend keeping your oven temp at 450 the entire time, a few quick
>spritzes at intervals into the oven during the first 5-8 minutes. Or do
>away with the spritzing and use under a cup of hot water in the oven. If
>there is still water left after 15 minutes, I'd remove it at that time.
>You want to finish baking with high dry heat from hereon in for a
>crunchy crust.
>
>
>
than saying a hot oven. I used unbeached flour, and at the onset had put a cup
of water at the bottom of the oven hot in a aluminum pan. The bread was put on
non glazed stones on the middle shelf. The recipe continued to say, to spritz
water every 3 minutes besides the water at the bottom. Also toward the end, i
about 45 minutes into it, I noticed that the bread top was hardly brown, so i
threw in a couple of ice cubes to create the steam, which according to this
particular recipe guranteed the perfect crust and color.
Boron Elgar
I'd say your French bread needs a change of scenery...send it
someplace with a climate more to its liking.......higher heat, lower
humidity...just as Rose advises.
Boron
Alan Zelt
One of the lovely facts about out of date recipes, they often are
erroneous. NEVER bake French bread that low. That is often the temp used
for baking rye bread. Start at 500, then reduce to 450.
As for the poster that said if you use boiling water in a pan, you don't
need to spritz, I think we have a difference of opinion on that one.
Reinhart also says water and spritz.
Rose Kish
It does sound like a moisture issue in the oven towards the end.
Decrease your water and experiment - spritz, spritz/pan, or just pan.
It is hard to be precise with this advice since bread dough responds
differently, depending on method, amount of steam, temperature. When
the bread receives just the right amount of steam, french bread will
undergo this amazing transformation within the last 5-10 minutes of
baking. It will go from a pasty top to a crackly reddish golden crust,
without further aid of steam. I notice for my own gas oven, spraying
the sides and bottom of the oven gives better results than spraying
right into the middle of the oven.
Here is a "cheat" to try while you continue to practice your recipe.
Brush a light water wash (no other steam) over your french loaves
right before baking and gauge whether this small amount produces the
crust you are looking for. (a milk wash always results in an overall
browning but may not be what you are after.) This may not be a proper
technique, but it can give you visual cues to watch while your bread
is in the oven - the crust may even blister and crack from the water
evaporating from the crust - giving you a cue of how steam works on
the crust.