April 17, 2022 - 4:20am
Brainstorming adaptations homeoven baking
Hi Fresh Loaf! Ive been reading the website for years now, but finally made an account!
Ive been reading the breadbakers apprentice and am excited to try out some recipes. Ive made some pate fermentee but Ive run into a problem.
I'm disabled and I have some issues with lifting things and especially handling hot things back and forth. In Reinhart's book when I bake a french loaf it wants me to spray water into the oven and add a steam pan ect. I'm not sure how feasible this is for me without greatly increasing the chance I'm going to burn myself. I know steam is very important for making bread hence my question.
Does anyone have any tips for me to make this safer to do or alternatives that mean I'm not handling hot liquids and the like?
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You can make great tasting bread without steam. In my opinion the benefits aren't worth getting burned for.
I start with a cold oven which allows my loaf to expand before the crust sets up.
Check out this post: https://foodbodsourdough.com/cold-oven-baking/
And here is a nice comparison: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/07/05/baking-in-a-cold-dutch-oven
Thank you so much! I will have to try this with the bread recipe given in the book!
ZeeZee,
One option may be to use a large Granite Ware roaster. I have used the large rectangular roaster with great success in the past. It essentially becomes an oven inside your oven and because it’s a relatively small volume, the moisture from the loaf makes its own steam. Just mist the loaf before putting the lid on and putting it in the oven.
https://graniteware.com/products/Roasting/10
Here’s a bake showing the setup. You can add a loaf pan with towels as a steam source, but that requires taking it out after 20 minutes. As Gary mentioned, it’s not necessary for a good bake.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/67440/groats-and-oats-take-2-dialing-it
Good luck!
My first French loaf is rising in its bowl, so I think I will try the cold oven method today!