Yesterday I baked a sourdough loaf in my oven. The loaf was out in the open, just the loaf on a stone. Prior to baking, I sprayed the loaf with water. It came out all crust. The crust was way too thick and way too hard. There was no oven spring and as a result, the crumb was dense.
Today, using the exact same formula, I got out the Lodge D.O. and baked in there, spraying with water just as previously. As if by magic, the loaf had oven spring! The crumb was more open. The crust was not thick and hard but was much thinner and much less hard.
All this from a Dutch oven?
Baking on the stone with the loaf out in the open, I would first humidify the oven by spraying water directly into it. There must be something about the way a Dutch oven traps steam. Either that or it has magic.
Home ovens vent steam, a DO prevents the steam from escaping.
I know that. The question is, what effect does this steam trapping have on the bread?
Steam keeps the crust soft to allow expansion. Should the crust bake too quickly it'll prevent oven spring. Or you won't get as much oven spring as you could.
Once oven spring is to the max then carry on without steam to get that crusty crust.
instead of a little spritz of water the crust will be much like the DO. The best crust I get is in the little counter mini oven where we use 2 of Sylvia's steaming cups in the very small space - comes out better than a DO. Small space + lots of steam means the best crust and why DDO's are hard to beat.
What is Mega Steam? It's not the smoke fluid used with model railroads, is it? When I put the loaf in after spraying it, it is dripping with water. It gets a good drenching, not just a little mist. It's possible, however, that much of the steam escapes through the oven door. It doesn't seal very well.
El P: I get your theory. My loaves are 60% hydration or less. They're not big enough to reach the sides of the D.O. so your theory that the D.O. itself is acting as a mold of sorts doesn't hold. I judge oven spring by expansion of the slashes in the crust. If there is good oven spring they will open up by a good 1/4 inch.
What has me gobstruck is the change in the thickness and texture of the crust. Without the D.O. the crust is very thick and very hard.
(2) of Sylvia's steaming pans with a rolled up kitchen towel in each and half full of water on each side of the bottom rack of the oven with (1) of David Snyder's lava rock pans also half full of water between them, When the oven hits 550 F the two stones (top and bottom) are still 15 minutes behind the air temperature so that is when the Mega steam goes in. 15 minutes later the Mega Steam is billowing and the stones are now up to 550 F and the oven is perfect for the bread. I also throw a half cup of water in the bottom of the oven as close to door to get the steam back up to mega standards immediately. This is as close as i can get to a commercial steam injection oven designed specifically for bread,
Do not open the door of the oven with you face anywhere near the door or you will get the worst face burn ever.
Spritzing the loaf is not steam in any sense of the word but perfect for DO baking.
Happy Baking
Some time ago I posted this, describing my steaming method. I've been using it weekly for 2.5 years now -- same towels, same aluminum pan. It produces a tremendous amount of steam and doesn't require introducing any free water directly into the oven (that can damage heating elements and break glass): just wet towels and ice cubes. My only mods since that post are:
I've been meaning to post again about the steam curtain for some time, just to let people know about it. Thanks for giving me an excuse to do so.
Tom
When the oven gets to 425 the water on the loaf will turn to steam whether inside a D.O or not. The reason for introducing steam in the first place is to moisten the crust. Perhaps when not in the D.O. the water just boils off and the steam escapes. I have a feeling steam is escaping out the oven door or somewhere when not inside a D.O.
I'm not sure what the big mystery is here. The DO keeps the water vapor confined, resulting in a higher concentration of water vapor around the loaf. This keeps the crust from setting too early, allowing the loaf to expand more and resulting in a thinner, softer crust. dabrownman is achieving the same result by using a lot more water to keep the concentration of water vapor high inside the entire volume of the oven, even though the oven is venting some of it away.
The first time I used a Dutch oven, it was a revelation. It made me realize how much more water I needed to use to produce steam inside the oven (for loaves that don't fit inside the Dutch oven).
I was astonished by the profound effect a D.O. had on crust thickness.
Tom: Unless you're doing large baguettes or batards, wouldn't it be simpler just to use a Dutch oven?
I wouldn't put any kind of fabric in a hot oven, even if it is soaked in water.
Point taken, mix, but at these temperatures, wet cotton is safe (as scores of Sylvia's Magic Towels devotees can attest).
Chez nous, our only electric oven is a small wall unit (our range is gas) that doesn't accomodate even two 1-kg boules, much less anything but stubby baguettes or pairs of batards that inevitably end up touching each other. I only have time to do one SD bake a week so that's always a big 2 kg miche that happens to fit perfectly on the stone pictured in my original steam curtain post. I find the steam curtain method much easier and safer than and at least as effective as a DO.
And there's nothing like pulling a big crispy brown 2 kg miche out of the oven and setting it on the rack to sing and cool.
Tom
"Are Dutch Ovens Magic?"
yes...and no
Take a tin can and fill it with water. Place inside a 425-degree oven. The water will turn to water vapor and there will be enough water that the can won't go dry during the bake.
How are curtains, wet towels, cast-iron vessels, ice cubes, lava rocks, etc. better? Anything you place in a 425-degree oven will eventually reach 425 degrees given enough time, and water will turn to water vapor.
Simply placing a can of water in a hot oven and creating vapor is not gonna cut it. The vapor is likely to vent at the same rate it's being generated. And even if you have a well sealed oven, humid air is a far cry from an oven saturated with steam.
Saturation is what you're looking for.
The DO provides a small area that traps nearly all the moisture a baking loaf generates. This saturates the air well-enough to allow for maximum expansion. When combined with the "thermal shock" of such an intensely hot environment, you get that wonderful oven spring.
Cheers!
Trevor
Lately, I've essentially done what mixinator has suggested, and it generates more than enough water vapor for loaves that don't fit in my Dutch oven. I use cast-iron steamers meant for a grill, but they work well in the oven too.
You mean using a tin can full of water?
Air cannot be more than 100% saturated with water vapor. If you can get the saturation in an enclosed space up to 100% saturation, that's as high as you can go.
Water heated above 212F, such as in a 425F oven, will vaporize. There would have to be enough water in a tin can to fully saturate the air in the space. I'm sticking with the theory that a Dutch oven is better sealed than a typical oven and does a better job of keeping the water vapor inside. When I bake in a Dutch oven and I take the lid off, I always get a face full of steam.
My new 2-quart Lodge D.O. just arrived today! The 5-quart was a bit too big.
I actually use these:
http://www.amazon.com/Charcoal-Companion-CC4071-Moistly-Humidifier/dp/B0045Y0QGA
I got them cheaply when Surlatable was clearing them out a few months ago.
A Dutch oven will definitely keep more moisture in the air, but after a certain point, it doesn't really matter. And the Dutch oven works only if the loaf fits inside. The small boules I make are perfect for my Dutch oven; the larger boule and the batards I typically make won't fit. That's when I use the grill humidifier. I used to just toss in a bit of water into the oven. That worked fine too.
I bought a Lodge Dutch oven, the one where the lid can serve as a frying pan. That way I can put it into the oven upside down, with the lid on the bottom. It's easier to slide the loaf onto the lid and then cover it than to get the loaf into the Dutch oven centered well. It usually hit the side and ended up lopsided.