Victor
Hearth baking in a domestic oven is an attempt to replicate the intense
heat and steam of a commercial bread oven in order to maximise expansion of
the baked dough and produce a lighter, more open-textured loaf.
I'll describe the way I set up my oven to bake a typical batch of
high-hydration Ciabatta style bread.
I have 2 bakestones (the box called them "Pizza Stones") - dense, unglazed
vitrified ceramic circles 12" in diameter and about 1/4" thick - which go
into the oven on 2 shelves (it's a fan oven so shelf height is not very
significant) from cold and stay there while the oven is heating - the oven
is cranked up to maximum and left to heat for at least 1/2 hour and usually
3/4 hour or as long as the dough takes to proof.
On the floor of the oven, also left in to heat thoroughly, is a large heavy
steel baking pan.
The loaves are proofed on Magic Carpet circles cut to fit the stones and
when they are ready to bake I pump up the pressure sprayer - a garden spray
bottle with a pressurising pump - gives a high volume fine mist - you can
find them at garden centres and they're not expensive. I also bring a cup
(8 oz) of water to a boil in the microwave.
Working quickly I open the oven door , slide the loaves onto the very hot
stones, pour the boiling water into the roasting pan and close the door.
The boiling water hitting the hot pan gives an initial burst of steam that
softens the expanding crust and allows the loaf to reach maximum size.
After 30 seconds I open the door, spray the sides and top of the oven
quickly and generously (the pressure sprayer comes into it's own here) and
close the door. I repeat twice more at 30 sec intervals and then let the
loaves finish baking. During baking the remains of the water in the
roasting pan evaporates and the oven bakes dry for the rest of the time so
that the crust can form and crisp.
All this seems like a chore but the steamy environment delays the setting
of the crust so that, as the loaf heats through, the expanding dough has
room to rise and open up the texture of the crumb.
Commercial ovens use a steam injection system which is very difficult to
reproduce but the system I've described is very effective in increasing
lightness and openness in your bread. It is also a pain in the neck at
times but the quality of the bread is improved significantly by this technique.
WHEN YOU OPEN THE OVEN TO SPRAY - STAND BACK !!!!!!!
The first blast of evaporating water fills the oven with VERY hot steam and
it rolls out of the oven in a potentially scalding blast of water vapour so
take care!
John
John Wright
Yorkshire, England
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger"