One of the greatest drawbacks to home bread baking is the fact that most conventional ovens can’t reach temperatures hot enough for ideal artisan bread baking. My ovens only allow a temp of 550. Most professional bakeries, especially those with wood fired ovens reach a minimum of 800 degress with 1,000 not unheard of. Besides the high temperatures, inventions like steam injected ovens have transformed professional break baking. The bright side? Now manufacturers of home ovens are beginning to make efforts to provide foodies with semi-professinoal equipment.
So how can you hearth bake at home? It’s actually quite easy. There are a few dynamics at work here. Before you even start to preheat your oven check the shelving. Here are a few tips…Make sure your racks are in the proper position. If you can fit all your loaves/buns/etc. on one shelf, place the shelf in the middle slot. If you are using two shelves, you will probably need to switch shelves half way through to ensure even baking and the best color.
Using a quality oven stone (most commonly known as a pizza stone) makes for a great outcome. Once the stone comes to temperature, it retains its heat rather well. It is important not to place a cold stone in a hot oven as it will result in fractures and or cracking. Always place your stone in the oven before you preheat it. Make sure the stone is at leat 1.5″ from the oven walls. If you use two stones like I do, place one to the right and one to the left. This allows for air circulation on the sides and through the center. You can also stack two stones close to each other if you’re baking on only one stone, the bottom one (see picture below). Stacking like this ensures a very even bake. Allow plenty of time for your preheat. The stones will require additional time to come to temperature. Be prepared to spend about $80 for a quality stone. With proper care it will last for many years.
Preheating your oven to a temperature of 25-50 degrees higher than the suggested baking temp allows for heat loss when the oven doors are open. The swing in temp can mean the difference between an OK crust and an artisan crust. Make sure you lower the temperature after loading the ovens.
If you have a steam injected oven, lucky you. It’s a wonderful thing. If not, cheat! Place a small pan in the bottom of your oven during the preheat. I use an old brownie pan. It should be away from the stone so as to allow the steam to rise freely. Please be careful not to spill on your oven’s glass. Cold water and 500 degree glass can be a recipe for disaster. You don’t want to crack your glass! The same applies to the stone. If you use a spray container, spray the oven walls, not the stone or oven glass.
Here are a couple of link for sourcing quality baking stones:
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- Hearth baking, both stones used
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- Hearth baking, single stone
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- Hearth baking, bottom stone only.
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