old favorite bread meets new oven
i have baked this multigrain bread many, many times in my home oven with much the same setup as anyone, ie, stone and steam. It has never failed. Great crust wonderful crumb. When given the chance to bake in a commercial oven I chose this bread. It's been nothing but trouble. the first bake was done on sheet pans at the usual temp for this bread, 450F. It was too fast, finishing the crust in 15 min of a 30 min bake time and leaving the crumb wet and very under baked. On the next bake i added unglazed quarry tile to the pans, reduced the temp to 425F and baked for 30min. The crust was just a bit too dark, not bad, but overbaked just the same. The internal temps ranged 208- 212F, but the crumb was still too wet.
The oven is a Moffat E35 w/ steam injection. I steamed 3 short bursts during the first 5 mins. Convection fan on high, vent closed until the final 15 min.
I'd like to rule out the oven before I begin adjusting my dough.
Any thoughts??
Try turning off the fan, if that is possible..You might find that it helps tremendously..Convection ovens are not really the ideal type of oven for baking breads..IMO, most of them bake too quickly, with too many hot and cold spots..
Ovens that are designed to be used with refractory stones or tiles virtually never have fans in them..They are designed so that the natural convection currents that occur from the movement of the heat source (wood fire, gas fire, electric coil) as the heat flows from hot to cold areas in the oven are sufficient to effeciently move the hot air evenly within the oven, and to bake breads..Some styles of ovens rotate like a carousel with the stones on a horizontal platform, while others have shelves with stones on them that rotate vertically like a Ferris wheel around a central shaft..Both types of these rotating ovens create currents by virtue of their moving parts, although the hot air currents are FAR gentler than those created by the fans in convection ovens..
Bruce
Thanks Bruce. I can't turn the fan off but I can turn it down. Hi-lo setting. I anticipated some trouble with this oven based on it's design but it's been a frustrating week not being able to produce a loaf I was proud enough to share. Ciabatta's have been the exception. Less dense, I guess.
Have you thought of using Susan's magic bowl cover? Or an aluminum turkey baking pan? It will allow the dough to cook without browning on the outside for the first half of the cooking. After you remove the pan, the bread can brown.
Interesting problem...
Patricia
thank you Patricia. this would be a nice fix for a single piece. I have been slowly reducing the bake temp. and am finally getting a good result. at least for Ciabatta.
some sourdoughs are next followed by the troublsome multi grain...;0