February 15, 2022 - 12:58pm
Sourdough bread without ear
Hi Bakers, I've been making sourdough bread for about 1 year and the bread taste delicious but I am not able to get the ear, I am not using the dutch oven but baking stone and I spray water to create steam before bake. Is it possible to get the spring without the dutch oven?
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Clearly, you're getting plenty of oven spring. My guess would be that the crust is baking out quicker in the open oven than it would in a closed vessel, such as the dutch oven. This probably prevents the ear from developing. Do you have a turkey roast pan? Before I bought my dutch oven, I baked baguettes in my turkey roaster and it worked fine. You could probably get the same effect by turning it upside down and using it as a lid atop your stone. Bake ~15-18 minutes covered, then remove the lid to finish off to your liking...
For your reply, I'll give it a go! I red your last post, very enlightening, I aim at that sort of shape! I was put off to buy the Dutch oven as I prefer oval shape bread and I wasn't sure weather it fits, which one are you using?
Thanks!
Tom
Glad to help. Be sure to report back!
I totally forgot to answer your question about the dutch oven...
I got this Lagostina 7qt one on special for $99 (in Canada). It's large enough for boules and batars. The enamel has started to crack on the inside... they say not to preheat them empty. I know that plenty of people do so with higher-end dutch oven's with no issues. (Le Creuset comes to mind.) The black Lodge ones, or combination cookers work well too. Hope this helps!