May 25, 2020 - 11:59am
Baking bread in a low pizza oven?
The only oven I own is a pizza oven (Effeuno p134h), and I really want to use it to make breads too.
The oven is very low (about 11cm inner height) and so naturally the heating elements are very close to whatever I bake.
I was thinking about using a dutch oven but most pots are too high, so maybe I could use the pot upside-down on the stone, without the lid.
So my questions are - would the upside-down dutch over work with the heat elements so close to it? And could the humidity created by it damage the stone below?
Share
The web page says 9cm inside height, = 3.5"
That does not look like enough room for a dutch oven or upside down pan, unless your bread is flat or short.
For baking bread, you would want to use "mainly" the bottom heat, not the top heat, anyway. It looks like it has separate controls for the top heating element, and for the bottom heating element. That is good.
For artisan bread, it would also depend if the oven can retain moisture. (It is advertised as a pizza oven, so I don't know.)
The web page says it has forced ventilation, but that is unlcear whether it is the baking chamber that is ventilated, or if it is the layer of air _in between_ the inner-wall and outer-wall.
You might get a low bread pan in there, as long as it is under 3.5"/9cm, and the bread does not rise too much.
Cast iron skillets or pans would be good, but since the oven has a built-in stone, they might not be needed.
I think it would be a good oven for focaccia, fougasse, lefse, naan, chapatti, roti, parathi, pita, manakish, barbari, lavash, tortillas, arepas, cornbread, bannock, and other flatbreads. And pizza, of course.
--
Can it be used for baking "bread"? That depends on what your definition of "bread" is. ?
Thanks for the detailed answer!!
So assuming something like that could fit
http://www.peterhof.cc/cast-iron-cookware/695-camping-casserole-with-lid.html
Could it be used to bake bread, or even half-sized loaf?
That is exactly the kind of thing that many bakers use for artisan bread.
However.... the purpose of a covered baking vessel is to hold in steam. If your oven holds steam by itself, then you can save money by not buying it, and bake your bread on the stone that is already in your oven.
Could you use their "contact form" and ask them how well the oven holds steam for bread baking? Ask if the "ventilation" means the baking chamber is ventilated or if it means the space between the inner and outer walls.
Here is another idea. Maybe you already have the kind of cast iron or steel pot that can be used in an oven. If it fits in your 9cm tall pizza oven, perhaps you could cover it with aluminum foil to keep in steam.
An oven-safe Pyrex (borosilicate) glass bowl can work too, I have done that many times, covering it with aluminum foil. However, I put it on the metal oven rack. Putting it on a hot stone may cause it to crack. So there is some danger there.
Some say to NOT pre-heat glass bowls (or casserole dishes) before putting the cool dough in. But some say you can. I always pre-heated my glass baking bowls/casseroles.
Interesting! Actually the ventilators only start when the oven gets to about 300C, so I guess at bread temperature it won't be a problem.
I will try without a dutch oven and see how it goes. Should the bottom heat set to lower than top one, to prevent burning the bottom?
Also.. by how much does the bread grow during baking? Because if it rises too much to touch the exposed top heat sources, I think it would instantly catch on fire :O
" Should the bottom heat set to lower than top one, to prevent burning the bottom?"
Depends.
Loaf type bread bakes best with bottom heat only. If you bake a loaf type bread with top heat, it will set (harden) the upper crust and the loaf will not expand, or it expands out the side or bottom in a little balloon.
Here is an example of someone who tried to bake with top heat, and then fixed the problem when it was switched to bottom heat: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/63133/need-some-doctoring-please
You also have to be careful you do not set the bottom heat too high. (One small note: _After_ your loaf has finished rising/expanding, then _maybe_ you can turn on the top heating element a little, but not much. It would take some experimentation, but it might help you to achieve the perfect brown color to the upper crust, without burning the bottom crust.)
Flatbread doesn't care so much, bottom heat only, or both top&bottom, because it does not expand like loaf bread, and you can cook both sides at once, or you can flip it over to even out the cooking.
--
One minor note: Usually, you can use both upper and lower heating elements to _pre heat_ your oven to get it to the proper temperature. But when the oven arrives at the proper baking temperature, you must turn off the upper (top) heating element when you put the loaf type dough in the oven.
aLso note: the thermostats will likely measure the air temperature, not the stone temperature. Read the manual to find out for sure, and to learn how to do a proper "pre-heat." So the oven may need to be left on for a certain number of minutes after the "air" temperature is reached, in order for the stone to "catch up." The manual should explain better. Maybe the lower thermostat does measure stone temperature, I do not know.
--
"Also.. by how much does the bread grow during baking?"
Only you can find out, because it will be your ingredients, your recipe, your oven, your oven settings. Start your experiments with a small loaf, and then make bigger loaves as you learn.
Buona fortuna, e buon appetito.
As usual, Dave is spot on. I have a small electric pizza oven, though not as nice as yours, with the top element on at all, it burns the top of the loaf, with it off, I don't get much browning. So as Dave says, turn the top on a little at the end of the bake - for me it only needed a few minutes to get some browning.
then _maybe_ you can turn on the top heating element a little, but not much. It would take some experimentation, but it might help you to achieve the perfect brown color to the upper crust, without burning the bottom crust.)