April 12, 2020 - 8:16am
Is a steel plate helpful for general bread baking
I have a garden variety gas stove/oven in my apartment. Wondering if adding a steel plate make it better for bread - sourdough and regular.
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Is a steel plate helpful for general bread baking
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Welcome to TFL. (I've been here since Sep 2019.)
No, steel is generally not as good for bread as a stone. Steel is mainly for pizza with a crisp bottom crust.
But... with a gas oven, you really need some kind of an enclosed vessel to keep steam. Gas ovens are vented and lose steam too quickly.
Cast iron dutch oven, borosilicate/Pyrex covered casserole, covered roaster (such as Graniteware), or even an inverted pot/pan/roaster/bowl over a baking stone.
Then, in order to not burn the underside of your loaf, a pan or cookie sheet or sheet of aluminum foil on the rack below the rack that holds your baking vessel. That will help shield the underside of hour loaf from too much direct heat.
Good luck, and bon appétit.
Thanks for the input. Every thing I saw about steel seemed to lean towards pizza.
Shame is - some years ago I had a Fibrament stone and sold it as I was “done with bread” ...☹️ Now that there is so much good info on forums like this and You Tube my interest has been renewed.