The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Breads on steel getting burnt

ColbaltBlue's picture
ColbaltBlue

Breads on steel getting burnt

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has baked with a steel and had it burn the bottom but the timing for baking is right? 

I have been iterating on

https://breadtopia.com/how-to-make-bagels/

I have been playing with the final proofing timing, the boiling time, etc but the bottoms get crispy. I have also started venturing out from cast iron Dutch oven breads and have the same problem, the bottom get over cooked. It's great for pizza though. 

This is the steel I have 

Baking Steel https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00N205G22/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_YwnGEb5PK8CZ5

 

Has anyone found a way to stop the burning?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nic

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

try reducing the temperature somewhat

ColbaltBlue's picture
ColbaltBlue

So the recipe calls for 500*F, I put them in for their first 4 minutes at that temperature, turned and dropped the temperature to 450*F for the remaining 13 minutes. 

I took them out 2 minutes later but they seemed blonder compared to the first batch which are darker in color but burnt on the bottom.

Would you start at 450*F and just bake longer overall?

I guess the other part I get confused by is commercial bakeries rave about how hot their ovens are, steel are better but then hotter in my oven isn't a good thing....

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

"... but the timing for baking is right?"

1.  Right for what?  Stone, a thin sheet pan, or a thick steel? Are  bagel recipes designed for baking on thin metal pans, stones, or thick steels?  What did the recipe-maker intend, or have in mind,  and then test their recipe on?

2. what do commercial bakers bake bagels on?  stone, thin steel pans held via racks, or thick steel?

3. What are the decks of "deck ovens" made of?  Steel or stone?

--

Part two:

"Burning the bottoms" can be a problem for baking bread in an iron dutch oven, too.  Maybe you can adapt solutions for that to bagels.  Here's what I've done to reduce burning/browning of the underside of round loaves in a cast iron dutch oven:

  1. put parchment paper on the inside bottom of the dutch oven.
  2. lightly sprinkle semolina or cornmeal under the parchment to create tiny air spaces that help insulate.
  3. move the dutch oven to a higher position in the oven, so that it gets less "radiant" heat from the bottom heating element.  Radiant heat varies inversely to the square of the distance.
  4. Put a cookie sheet, or other pan, or baking stone, or a sheet of aluminum foil, on the rack below the rack holding the dutch oven,  to "shade" the dutch oven from the radiant heat ("sunshine" heat) of the lower heating element.  Just like your car stays cooler in the shade than in the sun on a summer day.  "convection", transfer of heat via air, stays the same, but "radiant" is another thing.  Those bottom heating elements "radiate" just like the sun.

Hope this helps.  (And your bagels look great!  Love the multi-seeded ones.)

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

try reducing the temperature somewhat, ok, a lot.

The problem with steel is that it transfers heat right away and burns the bottoms before you can turn down the heat.  Take a frying pan for example.  Would you drop your pancakes in on high heat after the pan is super hot?  Or would you start just above medium and work up until you got nice insides and nice color?   

A stone on the other hand transfers heat differently and the recipe pictures look more like a stone. 

 My husband gave me a scrape of stainless steel once to use in my little mini oven in China.  Naturally the first thing I baked on it burned the bottom, just like frying too hot in a pan on the stove.  When I reduced the temp, I got better results.  You may find it takes longer to bake.    Check out temperatures for frying on the stove and compare.

While we're at it, a dark surface will heat up more than a shiny one.