May 1, 2012 - 9:39am
Don't try this at home....but seriously who has?
DISCLAIMER: yes, what I'm asking about and probably going to try is a horrible, dangerous idea and no one (myself included) should attempt to make such a device
but, has any other crazy person (Faith, perhaps? ;>) built a live steam injector for an oven that was not originally equiped with one? basically, all you need is a heat source, an enclosed vessel to hold the water, a nozzle that you can turn off and on in the baking chamber, and a safety valve to keep this device from exploding and scalding anyone nearby, right?
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http://www.pidsilvia.com/whypid.htm
And I (may or may not have modified) the Silvia's steam wand such that it (could or could not have been co-opted) for oven-steaming.
The oven (may or may not have been) less open to such a modification than the espresso machine itself.
This (may or may not have resulted) in one or more of the following conclusions:
If anyone here works for Travelers Insurance, I (may or may not have written) the above.
Not much that hasn't been already tried by TFL members.
Here's one link: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18648/selfmade-steaminjected-oven
Use the search function and you'll probably find more.
Happy hunting....
It didn't explode.
It just cracked from the lower left-corner.
Then again, I guess it did kinda' explode-crack, but not as bad as what you're imagining–more like a really bad automobile windshield crack.
The oven was old, so I ended up just buying another oven/range. It would have been something like $70-80 USD + install to repair.
Not in a home oven, but off to the side of a commercial deck oven I added an electric pressure cooker with a flexible hose and then steel line that runs into the back of the burner chamber aimed up at the baking chamber. It is not ideal and not as much steam as I would like but it does work much better than no steam at all.
Jeff
with the right incentive any steaming scheme is possible in any oven anywhere. My first exposure to this site was a guy, no woman would do it (since they are not insane), who had a lawn sprayer hooked up to spray his oven when the bread went in. I had no idea then that commercial bakers actually frequented the site and I made a snide remark like -'how big an oven do you have man ? I'm rolling on the floor, just the thought of such a thing is beyond belief.' Now it seems completely normal and I apologize to the fine baker wh0 was showing his steaming method that is completely understandable now..
The Fresh Loaf makes you grow - until you burst.
About 5 years ago I bought a device from these guys that comes as a kit. You get a hand steamer and a stainless restaurant pan with a handle on the top and a hole in the front. It works very well at providing a large amount of steam in a confined area to help develop a nice professional looking crust. I haven't used it in a while but when I want to get a really beautiful crust, that's what I count on. Since then, I have discovered covered baking works 99% as well without the bother of a steam generator. A large Stainless Steel bowl or a turkey roaster lid that fits on your stone works perfectly. The advantage of baking covered is there is no need to steam the oven. That means you have no risk of cracking the oven door glass (been there done that) and no risk of damaging the electronics that control the oven, with excessive moisture. If you are curious about covered baking, search on "magic bowl" Here is Susan's post which started us all down this path.
Eric