August 30, 2007 - 8:12pm

Crackly Crisp Crusts w/o Steam
In the BBA (p.276) there is a photo of beautiful loaves with crackly crisp crusts that were baked in the wood-fired oven of the Bennet Valley bakery. Yet, brick ovens like this one do not have steam-injection. Aren't we all introducing steam in order to achieve crisp crusts (in addition to ovenspring)? Does this mean that our steaming really only contributes ovenspring, and other conditions (perhaps the dry heat that remains after the steam evaporates) is what produces the crackly crust? Any thoughts are much appreciated.
