My starter has been active but no leavening after seven days.  Started with 1C flour and 1C water.  Replacing half of the starter w/ fresh AP flour and distilled water every 12 hours or so.  I get small bubbles and hooch but no big rise.  I'd read a tip to use your oven as a proofing box by turning on the oven light to heat the inside.  I am reading 78ºF on the middle rack where I have my jar of starter and now have about 1/4" of leavening above my mark.  Good stuff!

Room temp in our house is around 68-69 so this heat for the starter seems welcome.  Wish I woulda started day one in the oven with the 78ºF.  Imagine it'd be further along by now.

Hans

P.S. - the next time I make a starter, it will be with 2T of water and equal weight of flour.  I am using 1/2C of each and it's been a bit wasteful when I could achieve the same with smaller quantities and bulk up later when I want to bake bread.

Hi,

So i was mulling over baking techniques and adding a few things together. Namely:

- professional restaurant ovens are optimally sized to bake whatever they're baking. eg pizzeria ovens are just tall enough to clear a pizza. this reduces wasted energy, heating only a volume of air that is in contact with the baked good.

- heating a small space is cheaper and quicker than heating a large space.

- the Oven in an Oven method traps moisture from the dough and keeps it close to the crust.

- most baked goods do not fill up an entire oven. a 16 lb turkey does, but not three one-lb loaves.

ok, so the distillation of all that is: can we modify our kitchen ovens to bake bread in the most efficient way possible?

essentially, can we form an insulating barrier inside the oven, effectively minimizing the amount of energy needed to keep it hot?

has anyone attempted this? i'd be very interested in trying something like this, considering that when i make 1 lb of bread, i have to heat up a space maybe 20-30x larger than i need to.

Here's a pic of our latest toy -- a wood-fired oven ala Alan Scott. It makes wonderful bread and pizza as well as other tasty things. For example, after the bread is done, the oven is just right for loading up with a large pork butt or two. 12-14 hrs. later, perfect pulled pork to put on those fresh sandwich buns!

I'm new to this forum and I'm finding lots of useful information on breadmaking. All but what kind of mixer to buy, that is. Based on what I've read here, it'll be either a new KA or a Bosch. (It seems that no matter what I choose, 50% will be sure I made the wrong choice!) ;-)

ClimbHi
Pittsburgh, PA

Here's a look at my newest kitchen toy -- a wood-fired oven ala Alan Scott. It's just outside my kitchen door on our back porch. This thing is a blast to use and turns out great meals, including bread. One of the neatest uses we've found so far is that, after the bread is cooked, the oven is just right for loading up with a large pork butt or two. 12-14 hrs later, perfect pulled pork to put on those fresh sandwich buns!

ClimbHi

What would be a good choice for a gas oven for baking bread?

My wife and I received a Williams-Sonoma baking stone for our wedding, and I used it for a few pizzas, rolls, etc. I remember browsing the owner's manual, but think I threw it away. I also think I may have tried to use soap to get some burned on pizza dough off the stone.

Here is what got me into The Fresh Loaf, dealing with this and a similar oven.

Hello all,