Armed with a spray bottle. Target advice?
A search on TFL on spraying the oven for steam generated plenty of results...
...seems most use the caking tray or pan + ice cup or hot water approach. Problem is, right now my oven only has two racks so I need both of them for trays...
I thought I'd try the spray bottle to "get my feet wet." I have an electric oven. My question is....while I understand that many spray the WALLS of the oven to generate steam...can I just spray the bread DIRECTLY?
How is the heating element on the bottom going to respond to sprayed water??
Also...if I want to crank out more from my home oven...can I add more racks and just rotate top to bottom at the half-way point?? (one door opening of the oven)....or will they come out all different colors and levels of done-ness?
Thank you!
There are alot of really sad stories of ovens shorting out and glass door explosions from using this method.
use the method by Sylvia
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20162/oven-steaming-my-new-favorite-way
Oh lawd! I don't want anything exploding!
I read the link you sent....she seems to just be baking on *one* rack...and I need to use trays and bake on *both* racks...so I'm not sure how I'd ever fit those pans. (But it IS a cool technique!)
Will spraying the bread directly half-way through help at all?
is done a lot in continental europe.
Spraying white bread before the bake (after removing excess flour) gives a shiniy surface and makes seeds stick better.
Spraying before and after the bake can produce a crackled surface.
Spraing before can also lead to a blistered surface.
I would strongly advise against using a spray bottle for anything except what Juergen suggests. I've been disappointed to see the likes of Peter Reinhart (BBA) and Thomas Keller & Sebastian Rouxel (Bouchon Bakery), aiming sprayers and (I'm not joking) Super Soakers into heated, presumably electric, ovens. Even a child who more appropriately wields a Super Soaker knows that water and electricity don't mix. If you want to steam your oven safely and effectively, seach TFL with keyword "steaming" to find dozens of methods, or just go with Sylvia's "new favorite way" (link above).
Tom