The Fresh Loaf

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Getting good crust with baking steel

the_partisan's picture
the_partisan

Getting good crust with baking steel

I recently got a baking steel and have been baking sourdough buns/rolls with it. They seem to cook a lot quicker with the steel compared to before (about 6-7 minutes vs 13 minutes on a regular tray) but the crust turns very soft after a few minutes out of the oven. How can I get a crust on these buns? I guess it has something to do with injecting steam, but I'm not sure what the best way would be. Does convection/fan vs conventional make any difference?

The ones below is 80% hydration, 20% whole wheat and 30% high extraction wheat. They are baked right after dividing, bit like a ciabatta. Taste and texture is great, just I would like a bit more crust on the outside.. Is this even achievable in a home oven?

 

eddieruko's picture
eddieruko

couple questions... are you using parchment paper? how long is your preheat?

tgrayson's picture
tgrayson

You probably need to turn down the heat...the exterior is cooking faster than the interior, which means there's still a lot of moisture inside when you pull them out of the oven.

That said, you do need steam, and even with steam, the crust won't stay crispy for more than a few hours. I only turn my convection on once the exterior starts to brown.

the_partisan's picture
the_partisan

OK thanks, I'll lower the heat (maybe 220C?) without any fan next time, and try to inject some steam.. Could I also try cooking them longer (>99C inside?) so that most of the moisture inside is gone?

the_partisan's picture
the_partisan

I had another go with making the buns with steam. I put a cast iron griddle under the baking steel and warmed the oven to 250C. After putting the rolls in I poured about  a cup of boiling water into the griddle and let it steam for the first 8 minutes, then took the griddle out and let it brown for another 8 minutes or so. Crust was much better this time and you can see the micro blisters. I would probably let it steam a little longer and not all the rolls had as good crust, some of them were very good some were less so.