Baking stone vs. dutch
I’ve been baking sourdough since mid December, and have probably baked about 150 loaves in this time. For most of this time I have used a Dutch oven of some sort, and recently decided to move to a baking stone so that I could bake multiple loaves, 3 to 4 at a time
I cannot nail down using this baking stone! I’ve played with the temperature, I’ve moved the rack up and down, I’ve tried all the different ways of adding steam, but for whatever reason, I just cannot get my loaves on the baking stone to turn out like my loaves from a Dutch oven.
I’m in experimenting kind of guy, so I have done many many side-by-side test of this to make sure it wasn’t just an issue of differences in dough used, different shaping method, different temperatures, etc.
here’s my method for baking. Preheat oven to 500 for one hour with either the baking stone or Dutch oven preheating the whole time. Then I bake at 450 for 20 mins lid on (or 20 mins with steam if using stone) and then 25 mins lid off (steam pulled from oven if using stone).
if using a stone, I use the method of pouring boiling water over rolled towels in one pan, and then in another pan I have four feet of stainless steel chain (preheated of course) which I pour boiling water over for the initial steam flash.
I am totally vexed because my loaves on the stone are terrible comparatively. what am I doing wrong here???? The loaves made on the stone look like compressed footballs. Crumbs are tighter as you’d expect as well
providing photo evidence here for reference.
Dutch oven on left, baking stone on right (from exact same dough batch, same shaping, same style and shape bannetons, same heat and timing)
Dutch oven
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Baking stone :(
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I also lower the oven temperature after I remove the steam source but make sure you give them a full bake.
I bake at 238 C (460F) then lower to 215 C (420 F).
Gavin
Yes. I remove the steam “devices” after the first 20 mins of the bake when I bake on the stone. I can always tell after that first 29 mins though that the loaf didn’t spring like it does in a Dutch too.
I’ve noticed that these baking stone loaves tend to have the bottoms rounded a bit too, loaves are almost ball shaped. Just cannot figure out what’s happening, though I think I’ve hiked it down (see what I did there? Lol) to bring a steam related issue.
at this point though, I don’t know what else I could do to make it steamier in my oven. I already block off the vent, use two diff steam sources, still struggling. I see other folks throw a cup of water in a preheated empty pan and their loaves spring like crazy, just don’t get it. and I know it’s not a fermentation issue, they’re back to perfect as soon as I bake in a Dutch.
but I’m really seeking to up production levels so that I can do 10-12 loaves in one go and it’ll take forever doing one loaf at a time!
…when I moved to the stone from the DO. I couldn’t get as gorgeous and crusty loaf anymore. Eventually, I figured out that I could use an inverted graniteware (lightweight enameled steel) roasting pan to simulate the Dutch oven steam trap. I would place 8-12 ice cubes around the batard, cover with the bottom half of the baker and bake for the first 20-25 minutes, then uncover to develop crust color. I thought it worked quite a bit better.
I’ve seen some people recommend hanging a portion of the covering pan off the stone edge and providing steam in a pan underneath the stone, but I came to like the ice cube method. I should also mention that other people use a stainless steam tray or bowl to similar purpose. I like the baker (from a thrift store) because the handles make handling simpler and safer.
I have since retired my old oven and replaced it with one that injects steam, so my memory of technique is at least two years old.
Cheers,
Phil
Starting to feel like I’m doomed to inly being able to bake with a lid on in some way, it’s a bummer because that kills my dream of doing 3-4 loaves at a time
Definitely not doomed!
Danni hasn’t posted in awhile but she always used 6 Dutch ovens at a time and did two full bakes for a total of 12 loaves . Her bakes were flawless week after week year in and year out. I’ve messaged her through this site so you could also do that . Read her posts and you will see that your bakes can be in bulk with the DO as well.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/65936/wild-rice-sourdough-cranberries
I may have to go this route until I can talk my wife into me getting a Rofco in the garage lol
The game changer for me was blocking the vents with foil to keep the steam in the oven.
Also, I'm baking on a baking steel, and am wondering if a steel would be different to a stone.
-Jon
I’ve blocked the vents, wondering if I need wet towels to block the door as well? Just seems like so many people casually toss in a cup of water and turn out great loaves without doing anything else lol. Meanwhile I’m building a rocket ship just to keep in some steam
There's rocket ships and then there's Dan Ayo's steam generator - just in case you're worried about over engineering things there is always someone here who has engineered even more.
Lol yeah I did this same thing but with a converted tea kettle and brass tubing into my oven vents… couldn’t get the pressure right though so that rocket never took off. Saw the steam generator video and looked into it but saw him mentioning low pressure steam was actually better so never pursued the pressure pot method really
I had pretty much the same problem when I moved to a deck oven. The Ball shape I found was due to the top heat being to high, this was fixed with turning the top element off during the first 10 mins of the bake, steam removed after 15 mins.
Alternatively if possible in your oven, place a roasting pan above the breads when you bake for the first 20 mins, I placed towels in there for steaming, towels were removed and pan is placed back under the stone to keep it hot for the next bake. I used this method for a couple of months with great results, roasting pan it between the green lines in the attached image.
So you did what, boiling water in a roasting pan with towels over the top of the bread to start? Then empty and store below loaves just to keep it hot?
is the thought that doing the towels above helps keep the top of the dough cooler for the first half of the bake?
yes, that was what I was trying to do when I started, keep the direct heat off the top of the loaves allowing them to open up.
If I’m covering the vent, where else are the weak spots on a new GE electric oven for steam leakage? Door? There’s a big opening in the back where the convection fan sits, maybe I can cover that opening with a cookie sheet if steam is venting there as well
to the size of the oven....specifically...how much space is between the edges of the stone and the walls & door of the oven?
Baking stone is 13.5” x 20”… oven is 16 x 24
:). ...sh...still thinking...
Nobody? Dang it, looks like I’m rocking dual Dutch ovens until I can convince the wife on getting a Pico Plus then
Hello! I know its been months since you posted this question but I would like to add my share of experience with open bake on a pizza stone. ( I switched from DO, because I have been baking more to sell to my neighbours. )
There have been some things that have worked for me.
1. A baking tray on top level heated up during the preheat. Pour water on it after loading the loaves on the pizza stone.
2. Lava rocks bottom rack, not directly under the pizza stone but slightly forward of oven so it steams up.
3. I preheat up 250c, turn down to 230 after loading and pouring water into the top baking tray and lava rocks. I close the door
4. I have the water pump spray, the pressure spray? And I crack the smallest oepning and spray inside.
5. Most imprtantly, and the one that really helps with oven spring. The 5 minute score. I open the door and slice under and spray water again for the loss steam.
It’s like a whole science experiment happening but I’ve gotten used to it. I don’t have any other choice because I usually have 8 to 10 loaves of order and my oven can only bake 2 at a time. I live in a country that doesn’t sell the Rackmaster, and other deck ovens are gas with no stone base. Anyways, hope this helps!
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