shansen10's blog

Today I baked 10 loaves in my simple gas oven, 4 at a time, and I am not displeased with the results.  They are for donation at our church tomorrow; we provide food for those in need once a month.  My motives in baking were also selfish in that the more I bake, the better baker i  become.  6 loaves are from the formula for "White Bread Plus" in Joy of Cooking, and 4 are Sourdough Bread from Sourdough Cookery by Rita Davenport.

When I bake baguettes, they are coming out too dark on the bottom, too light on top.  I have a baking stone in the floor of my oven (GE Profile gas) and I place the loaves in the perforated baguette trays in the middle of the oven.  Also, the thermometer I place inside the oven reads a lower temperature than what the digital oven temperature indicator says, by anywhere from 25 to 50 degrees.