June 3, 2011 - 8:42am
Problem with loaves burning on bottom
I have a stone in the bottom of my gas ovenb. Even when I put loaves on the highest rack, they still brown more on the bottom than on the top. Should I try moving the stone to the top of the oven?
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"...they still brown more on the bottom than on the top." The bottom of a loaf baked on a stone will nearly always be darker than the top. How much darker? - that's the question. If your loaf isn't burnt I wouldn't be concerned about it.
Your stone should be approximately centered in the oven, neither too high nor too low. Depending on how the burners are designed, gas ovens tend to be hotter near the bottom (direct heat radiated from the oven's botton where the burner's heat is concentrated) which often produces a hotter stone than you might want. Try using a layer of parchment paper between your loaf and the stone and, if necessary, reduce the oven temperature after loading the loaf onto the stone.
Thanks for your prompt reply. I'll try the parchment paper next time I bake.
FWIW . I use a stone that covers the oven rack, with stone on a rack placed in lower third of the oven. I also use a large aluminum baking pan holding a cast iron skillet on the rack under the stone into which I pour a cup of hot water at the beginning of the baking cycle to create a blast of steam during the first 10-12 minutes of the baking cycle.
My stone allows an inch or so of space on each side, between the outer edges of the stone and the walls of the oven, to allow free space for the heat to flow. I bake the loaves on pans lined with parchment, lightly dusted with coarse semolina flour. The semolina on the parchment acts as a insulator to keep the bottoms of the loaves from scorching. After baking and cooling the loaves on wire racks, simply brush the excess semolina off the bottom of the loaves using a stiff brush (over the sink).
Best of luck in your baking endeavors,
Howard
and crowds to the oven walls, heat is not circulating well in the oven. There should be at least an inch between the stone and the walls including the door.
Thanks, Mini,
I do have 2" clearance on each side and front and back. I'm wondering if I should move the stone up a rack (but then I will lose baking space; I like to try to bake 8 baguettes at a time, rotating shelves halfway through). Or should I try putting the stone at the top of the oven, and baking below?
Sue
I (and I suspect most other people here:-) am used to putting the bread directly on the baking stone, and don't have much experience with using a stone only for its thermal mass and heat dispersion. So this is an awfully big guess-
Baking stones are definitely quite helpful at the higher temperatures desired by pizza crust. But in a home oven (which doesn't heat as fast as most commercial ovens) and at bread temperatures, there's some argument whether the "thermal mass" really does much. It's certainly worth your trying baking both with and without a baking stone (how's that for not personally taking a position either way on a potentially contentious subject?-).
If it turns out that "thermal mass" is demoted and all that's left is "heat dispersion", you may find that cookie sheets (quarter sheet pans?) nested together with a bit of air space between the bottoms provides even better heat dispersion while taking up a bit less space.
If you're not putting the bread directly on the baking stone, the question that leaps to attention is what are the loaves on? Are they on metal sheets? perforated metal pans? racks? or what? My own prognostication is that attention to whatever your loaves are resting on -rather than to the baking stone- is more likely to change the color of the bottoms.
I seem to have written a jumbled mess, so let me try to say the same things again, except in just a few sentences: 1) If you're not baking directly on the baking stone, I'm not sure with a home gas oven the baking stone is doing you much of any good, and so I suggest you experiment with not using it at all. 2) If heat in your oven is very uneven and you need heat dispersal, try two or three metal cookie sheets nested together with a little air space between each one. 3) For changing the bottoms of your loaves, concentrate your attention on whatever the loaves directly rest on ...rather than on a baking stone or something else elsewhere in the oven.
I've been using a new (to me) oven since moving into this rented house and was having issues with the bottom of my breads getting too dark when placed on parchment on a single pan, even when switching the top pan with the one on the lower rack midway. So I double stacked my pans and this solved the issue.
Since I needed two active pans, however, and I didn't have a fourth pan to stack under the second loaf, I decided to use a silicone pad under the bread (doing without the parchment in this case) and this too gave enough insulation from the heat of the metal to avoid overdoing the bottom of the bread.
is the one method I have not tried. I've baked on the perforated baguette forms and on sheet pans, with and without parchment, with the same results.
I'll try removing the stone and see what happens. Thanks for your help!
Let us know what happens!
(My personal guess is removing the stone will not solve the problem; my own guess is the stone is irrelevant to the problem, neither causing nor curing it. But I'm interested to hear what actually happens. [My initial reason for suggesting removing the stone was simply to have a little more room and one less complicating factor. I never meant -but most likely didn't say very clearly- that removing the stone might be "the solution" to overbaked bottom crust.)
It sounds like your oven heat is very uneven. Is this a fair statement? Have you noticed uneven heating with things other than bread in your oven? (or do you use the oven only for bread so there's nothing else to notice?). What temperature do you bake the bread at? If the heat is markedly uneven, there could be a problem with the vent, with the insulation, or with the door seal. Do any of those things sound likely?
My guess is one of the various tricks with cookie pans is going to solve the problem. For example, what about baking the loaves in the perforated forms but putting those forms on cookie sheets rather than directly on the racks?
After 7 or 8 minutes, slide a cookie sheet under the loaves.
My old oven I had lined with saltillo tiles and it was really nice... in my new place, I haven't done anything with the oven, and haven't noticed -any- difference with breads. I haven't setup for pizza yet, and that may be where the difference will show up. I bake my freeform breads on an Airbake cookie sheet (which is essentially what Chuck is simulating with several stacked sheets that have air in between them). I don't have any bottom crust issues at all, never have, so since it ain't broken, I continue using them. For commercial yeasted breads, I do the final proof right on the sheet. For sourdoughs, I proof in a suitable form and transfer them to the sheet. There is a definite lag between when the sheet touching the dough gets up to temperature and the top crust, which hits heat immediately. It has always provided a well-balanced top versus bottom crust which my family prefers. Crust is a personal issue for everyone, so you have to experiment until you find what works, and what works every time for you. Obviously, something burnt doesn't really work for anyone. ; ) Good luck with your search for the solution! All good ideas in here, and shouldn't cost much to try.
- Keith
Thanks to all (flournwater, holds99, rainbowz, fminparis, MiniOven, Keith) for you many helpful insights and suggestions.
First, my oven heat is definitely uneven, both from top to bottom and side to side (right side hotter than left), so that I have to do a complete rotate and turn midway through baking.
Second, I didn't mention this, but twice a month I like to bake 8-12 baguettes for group meetings. I use 2 perforated baguette forms holding 3 baguettes each, and 2 quarter sheets. I also have a Silicon pad, but have never tried it in breadbaking - I will now.
I will also try doubling up the sheets and removing the stone. Even thouogh it's in the high 90's here, my sourdough starter is calling me and I am itching to bake. I'm due to bake forf a meeting Monday night, so I'll try some things this weekend and will post the results.
Again, thanks for all the input!
Sue
That's a great idea - I think I'll try it this weekend, instead of making baguettes.
Thanks, Bob.
Sue