been going back and forth with spritzing and or steaming.
I have tried both and just one or the other.
But it occurs to me after watching some vids, that some almost coat the dough with spritz at the very top and that's it. One and done, so to speak.
I've been spritzing perhaps 5 or 6 times every 5 mins four times and then let the bake finish up. This sometimes leads to explosive spring and surface crack in the loaf.
Any thoughts, feedback, experiments, with a method of spritzing for a sandwich load type bread, if that is any different from a boule or whatever.?
Method #1
The pan sandwich loaf. No steam. No spiritz. Wash the top with
A. Egg cut with whole milk
B. Whole milk only
C. Corn starch glaze
Method #2
The Artisan free standing hearth bread. Heavy steam spritz top after scoring.
No wash.
I've never gotten spritzing a hearth loaf to give satisfactory results compared with my usual steaming method. For a glaze, I like egg yolk cut with a little water. It gives a smoother, shinier, better-colored glaze than whole egg or milk alone. I use it on rolls and such-like but haven't tried it on a regular-size loaf.
TomP
If you are in the camp of hating crust blisters, then spritzing is not for you. On the other hand, if you love the the Twilight Zone giant lady episode blisters, then spritzing is the ticket!
If you like the rustic flour coated look, definitely do not spritz. However, if you fancy a more refined natural shine then definitely spritzing after the score is the only way. Short of not flouring the loaves at all.
Ahem, not flouring the loaves is my preferred way.
More than one way. I only four if I feel I need to in order to get a decent score. Or if I actually want that cooked four rustic effect.
That being said I do like the blisters that spritzing seems to cause a favorable environment for.
Modernist cuisine did some experiments a while ago. Steam (or spritzing) is not the primary factor when it comes to oven spring. It is the primary factor when it comes to crust. Scoring is the primary factor when it comes to oven spring. Of course in combination with the final proof.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91F6fMgqeg
definitely not a wash or floured for a multigrain sandwich loaf for me.
blisters scoring good. guess I'll try a heavier hand at the beginning of the bake and let it go from there.
Although there isn't a need - 1 coating is enough - that's all that's needed. Enjoy!