20240825 Multipurpose Walmart Toaster Oven Proofer - Vollkornbrot with CLAS

Over the years, you’ve no doubt heard me rant about the Brod & Taylor 'proofer'. Anyone who’s used it knows it has a major design flaw—its insulation is terrible. This leads to frustrating temperature fluctuations, which are a real pain in the  when you need precise temperature control, like when I’m making a thermophilic starter. They market it as a multipurpose, space-saving tool, but it can’t even do its main job right: being a reliable proofer. I’ve felt completely ripped off paying hundreds of dollars for a piece of crap like that.

While I had no better choice then, things are different now—I have the $50 Walmart toaster oven. With an additional ~ $10 investment in soldering plates from Aliexpress, I can turn it into a well-insulated, reliable proofer using a thermostat I already have. These soldering plates heat up incredibly fast—reaching 260°C in just 30 seconds! I make sure to position the plates so their wires don’t come into contact with anything inside the oven.They provide a consistent and reliable heat source but also cool down quickly. You can easily remove them using stainless steel tongs or oven mitts.   

Plus, I can bake bread in this small oven without preheating it, so proving my bread in it doesn’t interfere with prepping the oven for baking, which is often necessary with a conventional big oven.

The bread shown is a Vollkornbrot made with 80% whole rye and 20% whole wheat, 650g each in a 7" x 3.5" x 3" (17.5cm x 9cm x 8cm) tin.To bake this bread in the Walmart toaster oven, I:

1. Place the TRAY (not the rack) in the lowest slot.
2. Put the graniteware roaster (15" oval end-to-end) directly on the TRAY.
3. Line the roaster with two layers of aluminum foil.
4. Put the lid on the roaster.
5. Seal the oven glass from the inside with a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

Here are my baking settings: 

1. Cold oven, no preheat
2. Toast feature
3. 450°F x 15 mins, check, rotate
4. 450°F x 15 mins, check, rotate
5. 450°F x 8 minutes, check, top the loaves with a layer of aluminum foil
6. 450°F x 7 mins, check
7. 450°F x 5 mins

see it with better lighting: