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preheating the oven

Dave Glaze <daveglaze@shaw.ca>
Sat, 14 Sep 2002 21:48:43 -0700
v102.n042.8
Richard L Walker asked if anyone preheats their oven above the baking 
temperature.  I do that most times, especially for lean breads.  I find the 
higher heat along with the insulation in my electric self clean oven, a 
layer of tiles to bake on and a layer of tiles on a rack just below the top 
element, I can open the door to pour water into a pan and then spray the 
bread three times at 30 seconds intervals, and then open the oven to rotate 
my breads halfway through the baking.  I like my breads quite dark and 
sometimes preheat the oven even higher than 50 degrees above the baking 
temperature.  I don't turn my oven down until after I've done all the 
spraying, and sometimes I wait longer that.

My most important tool next to my metric balance scales is my "instant" 
thermometer (it is not instant).  I make sure my lean breads register 200 
to 210 degrees Fahrenheit, and if they are not dark enough I turn the heat 
down or off and leave them in the oven another 5 to 10 minutes.

To retain moisture, I place an upside down tin over the air vent that is 
just below my back burner for 10 minutes then remove it (If I forget, the 
crust comes out thicker and tougher than I want it to be.).

Cheers, Dave Glaze,
Powell River, BC, Canada