Challenges with Convection Ovens
Hi Fresh Loaf Community,
I am new to the site and have a question on baking in a convection oven. I recently started working with said ovens in a commercial incubator kitchen. Although my breads use gluten free flours, I am finding that convection baking leaves my baguettes and bowls drier than in conventional ovens (less oven spring and tougher crust). I have recently used the tea towel technique to create more steam and allow more oven spring (gluten free flours are a little slower to rise in the oven). This is working well ( the crust doesn't end up as tough, but the spring isn't as lofty as I get in conventional oven baking). I am trying to find the optimal amount of steam and moisture to get a loftier loaf before it starts to brown. Are there any other methods I might use to create moisture at the beginning other than the tea towel method?
~Sisy
Instead of the storage drawer at the bottom they moved the oven down and made it a convection unit. Then in the space above the oven they put a smaller oven (not convection). The little oven had the element too close to the racks so it seemed to over cook everything - so we rarely used it.
The thing I learned about convection was that when I changed over from straight heat to convection the oven automatically dropped the temperature by 25 degrees (even though the display still had my set temperature on it). I have a strong suspicion that the altitude where I live (5900 feet) played a part, but on convection, stuff didn't cook as well or as fast as on straight heat. If I turned the heat up to accommodate for the temperature drop my cookies came out like hockey pucks. If I left it at the lower temp they came out dark on the edges and underdone in the middle. So, I decided it required further experimentation - which never happened because I got satisfactory results using the straight heat.
The other thing that bugged me about the oven was that there was a secondary fan for ventilation. The convection fan would be off if your weren't using the convection setting, but the ventilation fan ran whenever the oven was on, no matter what. When I would pour water into my steam pan, the ventilation fan would pump a large amount of it right out the exhaust vent. Also, just on a personal note, the hum caused by that fan was at a frequency that was particularly irritating to me.
I'm wondering if your oven is doing the same thing and venting some of your steam before it even gets a chance to affect the bread...
On a side note, when we moved, my wife and I chose not to get another convection oven and we're happier for it.
--Mike
Sisy
As Mike suggests, steam with convection is like putting a humidifier and a de-humidifier in the same room and letting them fight it out (that's an old Steven Wright joke).
If you can turn the convection off for the initial steam bake, that's what I would do. Turning convection on once steam is done I think is also advantageous.
When you say you are now using the Tea Towel method to add 'more' steam, does that mean your oven is 'steam injected'? Do you use a pan of hot water on the oven floor? I know TFL member 'alfonso' puts a tray of lava rocks on his oven floor as he pre-heats the oven and then adds boiling water as he puts the dough in.
I just place a broiling tray on the oven floor with about 2 cups of tap water when I begin to pre-heat the oven. By the time it comes to temp, I've got very good steam and after the first 10 minutes into the bake, the water is spent, so I don't have to remove a tray of hot water mid-bake. Easier and safer for me (and my glass oven door).
That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if lava rocks created better steam (more surface area), but I haven't tried it out yet (recently threw out all my old lava rocks. Ah, just in time to be a fool).
Good luck.
dobie
I have a Kitchen Aid convection oven that allows for a choice of regular or convection heating. I always pre-heat using convection as it heats up faster. I use the towel method for creating steam and for sourdough here's what I do:
I get plenty of steam using this technique as evidenced by the amount of steam coming out of the oven when I open the door.
Alan
No more lava rocks?
Does the towel method do better? I'll try the towels anyway next time.
dobie
I have to admit, that is one thing the convection setting did do well. It was able to preheat the oven in about half the time as the regular setting.
There was one thing that I wanted to ask about your original post. I think I may have glossed over it the first time I read it. What exactly is a "commercial incubator kitchen."
All the replies to your question so far have been from the perspective of home convection ovens. But I'm wondering, if you're in a commercial setting, if you may not have the ability to change the settings on the ovens...?
To answer a few different questions and comments at once:
I bake in an incubator kitchen that a wholesale foods distribution company created for community members. The company maintains the kitchen with commercial equipment that tenants can share. They also rent out metro shelves to place your personal equipment on, and rent out shelving in the cooler and warehouse storage area. This cuts down on paying a licensing fee for selling with out having to purchase the entire licensing for the kitchen itself. The application process includes looking at a new tenant's business plan, requiring food handler's card certification, and liability insurance. It's great for anyone who wants to try a start up food company.
In this kitchen, I have access to two Imperial electric convection ovens. There isn't an option to turn off the convection. I like the suggestions for creating heat with the tea towels. I think I haven't been creating enough steam with the tea towel method. I place a stainless steel bowl with a towel rolled up and pour hot water from the ta). It sounds like I need to lay the towels with some nap to them out on a larger pan. Is that right? Is the steam pouring out when you open the oven or just noticeably steaming though the vents.
Preheating to a higher temp with the steam and then bringing it down is something I am also going to experiment with. Then load the scored loaves and add an additional 3/4 cup of water.
I know that the suggestions on the TFL site suggest 5-8 minutes of steaming, but I think I am going to have to go to 10 minutes at least since my loaves are gluten free flours. They tend to be a little slow to spring since they are heavier and wetter (unto 95% - 100% water in the dough). I am still learning what works and what doesn't for gluten free sourdough breads.
Lastly, I haven't tried the lava rocks before. I love baking on stone in a conventional oven. My loaves turn out best like this, alas I am trying to produce on a larger scale now.
Thanks for all the advice!