July 15, 2023 - 6:31am
How to get more crispy crust / add more steam?
Okay, I was pretty successful with my first loaf of artisan bread! May have over-kneaded, maybe the dough was a bit too sticky, not sure. But tasted great!
Main question: How to get more crispy crust? I put in my smallish cast iron pan, bottom rack, preheated to 450, boiled water, put bread in oven, added 1c boiling water to pan. Lots of steam at first, but as everything settled in, the pan was only lightly simmering. Maybe boiled off 1/2c in the 20 min. bake time. Bread had a crust, but not crispy.
The over-kneading... bread was very fine texture, no big bubbles. I was very gentle for 2nd knead. I was using a recipe from King Arthur -- which when we lived in Vermont, used to go there frequently!
Tnx!
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A cup of water should be enough - it's enough in my oven and that oven vents the steam quickly. A higher oven temperature will cook the crust more, or a longer baking time.
I have experimented with baking stones and with each of the following in order, I got more loaf volume and a better crust:
- A pizza stone;
- Two layers of stone. My second layer was unglazed quarry tiles;
- A baking steel. This was the best, although it's a heavy beast.
It's important to let the oven have enough time to heat up completely. The oven sensor may think the oven is at 425 deg F, but many parts of the oven won't really be at that temperature yet. The whole oven needs to be heat-soaked for some time for best results. With a baking stone and even more so a steel, you will need more time, say a good hour. I often start to preheat my oven when I shape a loaf and start it proofing.
Also, like many others I fill my steam pan with rocks. Lava rocks probably would be best, but I have more solid ones. The added surface area of the hot rocks generates a larger burst of steam before the whole pan cools down too much. They are available from landscaping or garden stores for not much money, or you might be able to scavenge some.
A longer bake time will dry out the interior of the loaf more. This may let the crust crisp up more since it will be absorbing less water coming out of the loaf. I usually bake my loaves to an interior temperature of 206 - 208 deg F and generally get nice crisp crusts. That's at sea level - if you are at altitude you won't be able to reach those temperatures but around 5 deg F below the boiling temperature of water at your location would be equivalent. If you are at altitude and haven't looked up the boiling point of water, at 6000 ft it's about 201 deg F (I used to live at that altitude, that's why I know).
My loaves, using 10 - 15 oz of flour at around 70% hydration normally bake for 38 - 40 minutes at 400 - 425 deg F. If your loaves take very different times, your oven temperature may not be calibrated very well and you should check it with an oven thermometer (cheap) or an infra-red non-contact thermometer (not cheap but may be worth it).
Finally, don't wrap or package your bread until at least the next day, or even longer. Otherwise even a nice crispy crust is likely to go soft as moisture from the interior gets trapped by the packaging.
Good luck,
TomP
Ahha! Okay, so the loaves came out at 198 deg.. I did NOT let the oven preheat longer than the "beep" we're up to temp - although I'm aware of what you said. The recipe said 20 min. @ 450. I did 22 min., and got that 198 deg.
Baking stone: I've thought of that. I'll get one. Lava rocks: I read somewhere about using them.
I don't know how to check for "hydration."
I was focused on a lot of things... getting the dough right, shaping it before final proofing, the oven, etc.
Then I told my wife, "we need a steam injection oven." Her reaction was pretty funny.. to me at least :)
"The recipe said 20 min. @ 450. I did 22 min., and got that 198 deg."
Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention is that I always preheat to a higher temperature than the planned baking temperature. When you open the oven door and insert the cold loaves and baking sheets or whatever, the oven temperature will drop. Preheating higher counteracts this to some extent. After the loaves are in, lower the setting to the planned temperature.
No matter what the recipe or oven setting say, the right temperature is the one that gets the interior and the crust cooked at the same time as you like them. If the crust needs more cooking than the crumb, increase the temperature next time. If the crust comes out overcooked and the insides are fine, lower the temperature next time. Given that home ovens vary all over the place, and don't have uniform temperature everywhere inside, and that your flour, water, dough temperature, etc. won't be exactly the same as the recipe writer's, there's no reason to insist on the exact temperatures and times in a recipe. They are only starting points.
TomP
I've only ever used a baking stone. Stop/remove the steam apparatus at the fifteen minute mark. Finish in a drying oven. I bake various type of bread and the same principle applies across the range.
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Beautiful loaves!! Looks like a nice oven too..
At least I'm having fun with my new venture :)
Thanks. Continue to work on the wife for a steam injection oven. :)
Instead of a drying oven, I sometimes leave the baked loaves in the same oven after turning off the heat, maybe slightly propping the door ajar or even not. Just 4 or 5 minutes is all I do, when I do it at all.
For normal home ovens, I don't think it's necessary to take out the steam apparatus. The steam will have escaped by then (although all my ovens were on the old side, I think it's still true that most ovens vent much of the steam). And handling very hot metal, and facing a steamy environment if there is one, are potentially hazardous.