The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Baking small brioche in a deck oven

BazF's picture
BazF

Baking small brioche in a deck oven

 Can anyone out there help me please?

A local cafe has asked me if I can provide some small brioche (dough weight 80g) for sale through the spring/summer period - I may have to supply up to 40 at a time. I always use Floyd's great 'Lazy Man's' Recipe.

How would members go about baking these? I currently bake a couple of dozen for market using individual moulds in our domestic convection oven but it's very labour intensive and moulds tend to slide around on the tray. Can I buy a tray here in the UK which incorporates fluted moulds (I've had no luck in my own search on Google) or could I bake them 'bun fashion' directly on parchment on a metal tray?

I will be baking the brioche in my Deck Oven - can I bake the tray directly on the stone floor and if so what top and bottom heat settings would I use?  I currently bake in our convection oven at 180C.

Thanks to Everyone out there - the advice I have received through the forum since joining has been so helpful.

Barry

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I don't have a deck oven or know about such fancies.  

Can you put a silicone mat under the indv. forms on a dark tray to keep them from sliding?  Something that is bake proof?  or what about setting the forms in a large muffin pan?  Muffin top pan?  the indentations keeping the forms from sliding and bumping into each other.  I did see some silicone pans for fluted forms.  found them under  mini fluted brioche pans, the most holding 20 brioche.   Searched the images till I saw what I was looking for UK based.  I don't know why you can't put a tray into the oven.  :)

PeterS's picture
PeterS

I've baked individual brioche in molds on sheet pans in a deck oven. It had a 3/16" or 1/4" thick removable grate that sits on the deck to keep the pans from directly contacting the stones. If you don't have a grid, you can use an inverted preheated sheet pan. Temp was 350F. I'd start there and adjust your oven as necessary for future batches. I like using a little blast of steam at the start. Maximizes the oven spring and lightens the color just a little bit. 

BazF's picture
BazF

Thanks Peter - that's really so helpful.

How would you recommend I set the top and bottom temperatures?

Barry

PeterS's picture
PeterS

I tried to dodge this question... :)  I guess I would start with both the same and adjust as necessary. If I had to guess, the top might need to be lower than the bottom. 

Also, the deck ovens I use is are 4 x 1 and tend to be slightly cooler in front (probably from opening and in addition to any other temperature variances), so we rotate the pans 1/2 way through the bake. A deeper deck might be more consistent after the first 12-18".

If it is a multideck oven, the bottom and top decks insulate the inner ones and heat also rises; I don't sweat this too much--I usually set my timer for 1-3 mins under and watch them. If I notice/remember, I may adjust the temperature.

If you want to get technical, get some good ole' white bread (the cheapest Hovis you can find), lay it out on some sheet pans, load all at once and bake for the 5-10 mins; however long it takes for the slowest ones to start browning. This will give you an idea what's going on with your heat.

I recommend rotating, regardless. You'll figure it out.

BazF's picture
BazF

Thanks Mini Oven.

I'll plough through Google and hopefully come up with something.

Barry

mcs's picture
mcs

I hate to advise on something I haven't actually done, but here goes.  How about you take your little brioche molds, and nest them into a commercial size muffin pan.  That way they can't slide around on you, plus the brioche molds end up being 'double panned' so the bottoms shouldn't burn. 

-Mark

BazF's picture
BazF

Thanks Mark - great idea!

Barry