steaming strategy for home gas oven
Would be nice if you all could help me strategize better steaming in my gas oven for either multiple loaves or uniquely shaped breads.
My gas oven has several vents along the top of the door, and therefore, typically recommended steaming methods such as wet towels, ice, chains, etc, do not work. Not really a problem so far because a stainless steel bowl inverted over a 14x14x5/8 kiln shelf works very well. The difference between no steam and the SS bowl is quite distinct.
Of course, a dutch oven would work as well, but I don't have one.
Now I'd to to bake more loaves at once and more oddly shaped breads such as baguettes, fooeygassies [sic], etc.
Without getting a new oven, the only thing I can think of: get a custom sized stone to fit the interior of my oven, and a hotel pan.
For the stone, I can do either a single 14x22 stone, or, get two stones (some variation of either two 14x11, or a 14x14 and 14x8) - the point of the multiple stones is to make storage easier or allow it to fit my pizza oven.
I can get a 21x12x6 hotel pan at my local restaurant supply store - I haven't double-checked yet whether the LxW measurements are the interior cavity, or include the lip (which would make the cavity smaller).
This combo would let me do 2-3 batards at once, or 3-4 baguettes. What I don't like is that hotel pan - it's pretty much single use and I don't really have a place to store it when not baking. This full size pan is pretty huge.
Any better ideas? I'm not interested in the multiple-dutch oven solution, either.
Thank you for your time!