February 20, 2022 - 3:23am
Cold oven start trial
Tried a cold oven start today...Interestingly I baked for 30min on stone, covered with a pot, when I removed the lid, there was hardly any oven spring. But after another 25min, it came out not too bad I suppose. :)
Crust was crispy and interior soft and moist. I suppose I could have proofed the loaf a little longer. Anyone uses the cold oven start method? Have a great sunday!
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Nice open crumb. This is an example of open crumb does not necessary correlate with open spring, which has been my experience as well. Thanks.
you might want to try baking the bread on a baking sheet instead of on a stone, The baking sheet will come up to temperature much more quickly, due to its lower mass. It might drive oven spring to occur earlier and more.
Paul
Based on my couple experiments with “cold” start and a baking steel, I’ve concluded the method doesn’t work and produces a flat loaf. As you ramp up the oven heat, the air temp above the loaf is much higher than the steel below it. There’s minimal heat going into the bottom of the loaf driving the gases up. Instead, the heat is migrating into the loaf from the top down. The top crust sets before the bottom and it spreads.
I think the method might work in a Dutch Oven where the amount the loaf can spread is controlled. Once it reaches the walls of the DO, it has nowhere to go but up. On a steel/stone with no restrictions, it just tends to spread. At least that’s been my experience…