March 15, 2010 - 2:57pm
Thanks to all..........finally a picture!
Not sure where this should go or even if I can get the pix to load
but I hope this will encourage anyone struggling....... the info
here has made all the difference. Thanks to all
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Mini
Now you have to tell us what you did and post your recipe.
That is some beautiful bread. Look at that translucent crumb. Very nice.
Eric
Love the open crumb! Yummy!
Al
Looks Great, Good Job!
I started with Jason's recipe; had some progress. I use regular yeast because I have yet to find "instant yeast" anywhere; yeast + warm water + a pinch of sugar for 1/2 hour. Then combine with ingredients and into bread machine.
500 grams bread flour; 490 grams water; 2 Tsp salt; 2 Tsp yeast That's it.
Have no mixer so using manual setting on an old breadmaker; ran it 20 minutes; then 2 hours to triple (it went 4x size) Cut it in half; wait 20 minutes; then flip onto cookie sheet (don't have stone yet - don't even know what it is!).
Bake at 500 for 20 minutes in an electric oven. That's it.
If you were able to watch the video link provided in your previous thread, a baking stone(albeit a broken one, or two) was shown in the oven.
Actually, I believe both video links shown the breads being baked on stones.
Nice results. Surprised that you were able to get the dough/batter as well developed as you did with no mixer.
OK thank you; so it's a real stone; or is it concrete poured into a square shape? Was just reading about someone who used a slate floor tile for a stone......Why stone if the whole oven is at 500 degrees; what difference does it make what the bread sets on?
The stone serves several purposes, most importantly (IMO) because its heated mass allow it to give off an even heat while the oven cycles to maintain as accurate a temperate as it can (usually varying abot 25 degrees with each cycle of the thermostat) the items baked in the oven cook more evenly ans predictably.
The heated stone imparts a nice bottom crust on the bread too. Your loaf is one of the best I've seen in a while. I'm not in charge of the prizes but you're in the running.
There are as many types of stones as there are opinions about them. Many informative threads here about them also. Just type in "baking stones" in the search box on top left to read some. One of many:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/13590/stonestiles-4-bakingwhere-buy-pdx-area
My opinion: even when baking with any type of pan, when placed on a stone, the bread bakes better. Of course, that is not to say that baking without a stone will not produce perfectly acceptable results, as you have plenty of your own evidence, it can.
My garage stove (which is where I bake in warm weather) was a very cheap scratch and dent model. It never baked well...it didn't hold the heat. My son told me to line the floor of the stove with bricks being careful not to block the air flow vents and see if that didn't help. It did, a lot, now that is the best baking stove I have. I don't bake on the bricks, have a pizza stone that stays in the oven as well. I use it for breads and pizza.
Clever idea. Do you ever spray some water on the hot bricks
to make the steam? Maybe they would break apart......
You can bake wonderful bread without a stone.
Mini
No, I never spray water in my oven. If I want to steam a loaf I just place a large metal mixing bowl over the loaf on the baking stone and let the water in the loaf do the steaming.
I agree with Mini. When I bake on a stone, I find the bottom 1/2in of the loaf never seems to cook properly and stays doughy and the bottom crust doesn't brown. (Of course, that may be because I proof on parchment and slide the bread on to the stone with the parchment). Heating the oven at a very high heat for an hour is very wasteful and negates the lower cost of baking ones own bread. I am still learning how to make good bread but I always have better results without a stone. I think stones are only needed if the oven is inefficient. My oven doesn't need a stone to maintain the heat. It is very efficient, doesn't have any exposed elements, heats very quickly and evenly and maintains the heat. My advice to new bread bakers is that it's all about the ingredients and how you handle them. Any efficient - and even some less efficient - ovens will then bake good bread. Many on TFB do not even pre-heat their ovens and get excellent results. AlChemist's bread says it all!