If your idea of the mechanism were correct, I would expect spraying the loaf to ruin the effect, since it very clearly slows down the process of surface hearing of the loaf (all that extra energy to input just to get the water warm). Additionally, while steam is great for heat transfer, once condensed on a surface is water, and it requires just as much energy to heat up that water as originally conferred to the surface through condensation. In other words you actually do not get an overall faster heat-up process for the loaf or the oven as a whole.

• Reply