The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hi! Time for intro, and questions

serenityhill's picture
serenityhill

Hi! Time for intro, and questions

(taking a bow) I'm Johanna, nice to meet y'all!

I'm living proof that TFL is great for any baker at any point in the learning curve.  Your creativity encourages me on so many levels!

I use a Breadman Ultimate when I'm being lazy, but currently my only other baking appliance is a countertop 1.5 cu. ft GE micro-convection oven, used in convection mode.  It does a decent job for basic breads, remembering that I can't do 500 degF in it, or use a baking stone, or my light bill would be thru the roof and I'd probably kill the oven.  I'll start posting some results, if only to show others with limited equipment that it can be done.

The thought just occurred to me... has anyone here tried baking bread in a crock-pot on high?  Think I might try.  I found on a site called Holy Scrap Hot Springs http://blog.holyscraphotsprings.com/2010/05/clay-pot-sun-oven-bread.html descriptions of baking bread in a solar oven, I know I can build one easy.

I'm considering adding a gas burner to the smoker my dad built ca. 1977, so I can bake in a Dutch oven, though I s'pose I could build a limestone oven around it and use my abundant cedar (Ashe juniper) for fuel.  I wonder if I could eventually build my house around it?

The other thing I might contribute to the group is some perspective on domestic appliances.  I made my living as an appliance tech in the '70's, and remain an appliance geek to this day.

Anyone else in Central Texas/Hill Country?  I'm on the south side of Canyon Lake.

toddough's picture
toddough

Hi Johanna,

I have been scouring TFL forums to try and find proof that convection microwaves work well for bread baking.  I am building a tiny house for myself and my wife and we are trying to choose an oven that can do as much as possible and only use 120V.  Have you had success baking bread in your convection microwave?  I make free-form, hearth loaves the most, so I'm hoping that the convection mode in this type of microwave can give a good crispy crust.  Thanks for any anecdotes you can offer.

Also I saw in your original post that you live near Canyon Lake.  We are just to the north in Austin.