My new oven is quite big and because of my new baking stone that slightly bigger my oven door cannot closed almost as tight as it was (but not very open either) this is where I noticed that suddenly it became very hard for me to get an ear even though I have a great oven spring.
Recipe:
- Bread Flour (13%) 560gr
- WW Flour 140gr
- Water 560
- Cocoa Powder (Bloomed) 280gr
- Levain (miscalculate) 70gr
- Chocolate Chips 210gr
Process:
1. Autolyse All the flour and bloomed cocoa, withholding 5 % of water, for 1 hour
2. BF for 4+ hours
3. Preshape and Bench Rest for 25 minutes
4. Straight to the fridge 3C for 16 hours
5. Score
6. Baked in Gas oven 250C for 20 minutes with steam from lava rock and 20 minutes dry bake
and the result as you can see one has a small ear and on the other one it fused together
My hypothesis is that because of the dimension of the oven and the slight problem of the oven door the steam is not enough when I baked two loaves at a time.
Should I spritz them with some water to help create more steam or is it either useless or can create too much steam which invent new kinds of problem?
Sounds like you have a oven problem which should be resolved first as you would loose heat and steam without the oven door completely shut.
Your stone should have 1-2 inches of clearance around all edges. This is needed for air flow throughout your oven. You can have the stone cut down to size if you wish.
Why would you intentionally bloom Cocoa?
@Ron, www.thespruceeats.com/how-to-bloom-cocoa-powder-5181856
It explains the "why" too.
Funny how the same term is used for cocoa powder and chocolate with very different meanings.
Thanks for the link.
@Plato:
1. I heartily agree with what DanAyo wrote. When a rectangular stone is up against the oven wall or door, I believe bad things can happen if hot spots are created due to lack of proper air circulation. And very bad, like maybe a fire, if the door is also cracked open.
2. Was your old oven gas or electric?