Using someone else's oven
I am on a 9-day vacation and I am loving it. The only downside of being away from home is that I don't get to bake properly. Obviously, the people who live here don't use their oven much. The first day I got here I noticed the oven a bit on the hot side, especially the top element. I tried to bake two loaf of sourdough sesame bread using just 350F on the lower rack, thinking I would cover the loafs with tin foil by 10 minutes. In about 6 minutes I smelled burnt! I faced the dilemma of choosing between a burnt loaf or a flat loaf. I thought at least a flat loaf was edible so I opened to the oven and quickly threw a sheet of tin oil over the top. Just that brief moment I saw top crust and sesame seeds were almost black and my heart sunk. My heart sunk even further when I finally took the two loafs out, they had deflated and lost about 25% of their volume. They tasted fine but just looked a bit black top and a bit flat. I never knew how much I would miss my oven until I had to leave home. I don't think I can wait another week before baking again. So I will give this oven another try. Next time I will decrease the temperature by 25F and keep the food on the lower rack. What do you think?