Barb at King Arthur

June 24, 2017 at 3:04pm

In reply to by Amy (not verified)

Hi Amy, you are very fortunate indeed! Proper steaming may well make the use of a cloche unnecessary. Most breads will benefit from a little steam prior to loading the bread and then a good burst of steam once the bread is in the oven. Without knowing your particular oven, it's hard for me to say exactly how much steam to use, or whether the steam should be on high. It may take a little experimentation on your part to come up with the best method. In professional ovens often you'll only add a second or two of steam before loading, and then 5-6 seconds of steam after the bread is in the oven (but even this will vary considerably depending on the type of oven being used). Keep in mind that if your oven is very airtight it will be helpful to vent the steam after 15 minutes in order to finish the bake in a dry oven. If you're worried about wasting good bread with faulty steaming, you may want to make up some dough you don't mind wasting and practice different combinations of steam to see what yields the best results. Barb
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