The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Covered Baking Revealed

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Covered Baking Revealed

I didn't want to hijack the other question where BROTKUNST suggested a turkey roaster cover so I thought I would start another thread.

I have been experimenting with various ways to cover the dough during baking for many Months. I have learned a lot about the effects of enclosing an area above the bread. The first thing that caught my attention was the clay cooker known as a Le Cloche. If you want a sure fire way to bake the NYT no knead recipe with out risking an expensive french pot then this is the answer. As often as not I just use the Bell top on top of the stone but it works without preheating a stone by simply placing the cloche bottom/top on the rack.

Next I tried the steam maker bread baker cover and steam generator. Yes it was expensive and yes it does work great. It is a little small and restricts the size to much for my style of baking but the addition of hot steam in an enclosed area was an eye opener. I can get beautiful baggett's just like I enjoyed in France and just as tasty. The flavor I later learned has little to do with the cover and everything to do with dough handling and fermenting. The special stainless cover has a hole in the cover where you blast steam into the interior and bake covered for 10-14 minutes depending on your desired crust. Again, the main thing to remember is that the stainless cover works. It's less important that the steam helps improve the crust. The dough creates some steam as it hits the hot stone or baking sheet as it warms up.

Then I met Susan of San Diego and her Magic Bowl. Susan bakes smallish Boules under a 4 liter clear glass bowl that are amazing! The interesting thing is that you can open the door briefly and check the progress of the oven spring and color of the dough. As she points out, the spring is still developing until the dough starts to get color or early browning. At that point she slides a spatula under the bowl and carefully removes the bowl to continue baking open. BROTKUNST at this point has demonstrated that a small object placed in the oven door will help release the steam and create a crispier crust. Even if you only try the bowl a few times, try it to get the feel for how your basic dough springs and how long it takes to get the skin set. Plus it's fun to see the dough spring as you peek.

Various other pots and pans you might have around the kitchen will work to cover the bread for the first 10-14 minutes. Measure your average free form loaf and make sure you use something that will allow for at least that much rise. I find that the cover helps improve the spring by about 20%. So a 5 inch rise uncovered might rise to 6 inches covered. The inexpensive Turkey roaster is a good thing to use because it has a handle built in the cover. You do need to ALWAYS use an oven mitt to protect your hand from the broiler coils. Some ovens use the upper heat elements during baking to provide a more even heat supply so this is worth understanding for safety. What ever you use I have found that the easier it is to place and remove the cover, the better I like it. All of my oven mitts have burn marks on the tops!

One other thing worth noting. I tried spraying water on the parchment paper around the dough before placing the dough on the baking sheet and the bowl on the dough. The additional water on the paper quickly turns to steam and I believe improves the crust somewhat. Be sure if you use a steel pan to bake on that it doesn't warp and "oil can" under heat. If it does warp out of flat, you won't get a good seal with any cover. I use a double layer "Insulated cookie sheet" that has a little raised fold up in the back that doesn't warp or a stone.

I hope this helps those looking for ideas and alternatives to creating a professional bakers steam oven. Using a cover will eliminate the need to toss water into the oven and usually produce better results if you are baking one loaf at a time.

 Eric

 

qahtan's picture
qahtan

avatrx1's picture
avatrx1

Do you need to preheat or soak the clay pot prior to covering the bread?

-Susie

browndog's picture
browndog

I've been using a stainless steel bowl rinsed with hot water. Works great.

susanfnp's picture
susanfnp

Eric,

Thank you for the nice summary of the advantages and methods of baking with a cover.

I have been using Qahtan's homemade cloche idea for some time and it really works great. I can fit two in my oven. I preheat them with the stone and leave them over the boules or small batards for about 15 minutes. The downside is that you can't see the loaves as they're baking, so I can see the allure of Susan's Magic Bowl.

I tried the Steam Maker Bread Baker and the problem I had was that I had to leave the oven door open for so long while injecting the steam that I felt like I was losing a lot of heat. The stainless steel cover by itself, without the added steam, as you and Brotkunst have noted, works well. But it too restricts the size of what you can bake, and I don't have the skills just yet to fashion my own, as Brotkunst plans to do.

I've tried all kinds of methods for getting steam into the oven. In the end, I have decided that this method works best for me when I want some nice long baguettes or other loaves that don't fit under my homemade cloches: I place a shallow pan filled with lava rocks (the kind used for barbecue grills) on the bottom rack of the oven below the stone. This is preheated along with the oven/stone. Two or three minutes before loading the bread, I place a damp dishtowel in the oven to pre-humidify the chamber, and remove it just prior to loading the bread. Once the bread is in, I pour about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of hot water onto the lava rocks and close the door quickly. I remove then pan after 10-15 minutes; even though the water may have completely evaporated, it's important to open the oven door to allow for venting of the moisture.

Susanfnp

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Susanfnp,

It's cool that the flower pot works for you. I love it when people find creative ways to solve problems. I've always been an Alpha type male and I'm married to an artist who is my exact opposite. Over the years some of the most amazing solutions have come from the creative side of our family that I have come to enjoy them.

The Steam Maker cover and the pot with the eye bolt both share one characteristic that bothers me and that's the fact that the handle is the last thing to cool off. There it is sitting in the way on the stove looking all nice and normal but the handle is possibly 450F. If I step out of the room, I'm always worried someone might get badly burned. That slug of stainless on top of the SMBB holds heat a long time.

I'm fortunate to have an electric wall oven with the vent right in the front top frame. I roll up a kitchen towel and lay it on top of the vent when I steam the oven and it works great. When the 12 minutes is up I slide the cloth off and hold the door open for a few seconds to let the steam escape and lately I have started propping the door open with a spatula the last 2-3 minutes.

Eric