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14d โข ๐ฅ Saturday Bake Along
๐ฅ For everyone asking about steam (and the steam vs. gas oven question)
One of our members asked about getting good steam in a gas oven. I lost track of the original post in the inbox before I could reply directly, so I'm answering it here for everyone.
Before I dig in, let me say this: gas vs. electric matters less than most bakers think. The vent in a gas oven pulls moisture out faster than electric, but the fix is the same either way.
Stop trying to fight your oven. Create a sealed chamber instead.
The easiest fix: use a Dutch oven.
The lid traps moisture released from the dough itself during the first phase of the bake. Doesn't matter what kind of oven you have, the Dutch oven makes its own steam. Bake covered for the first 20 minutes, uncover for the rest. Solves 90% of steam problems for both gas and electric.
If you don't have a Dutch oven, layer your steam:
A cast iron or steel pan on the bottom rack, preheated with the oven. Pour 1 cup of boiling water into it the moment you load the bread. Boiling, not cold. Cold water cools the pan and produces less steam.
A few ice cubes tossed onto the oven floor at the same time. They melt slowly and release sustained steam.
Cover the loaf with a metal bowl, roasting pan, or even an inverted aluminum foil pan for the first 15 to 20 minutes. Same principle as a Dutch oven, just scrappier. Works better than you'd think.
Why this matters more than gas vs. electric:
The first 10 to 15 minutes of the bake are when steam does its job. It keeps the crust soft so the loaf can fully expand (oven spring), then helps the crust crisp and brown later. After that, you actually want the steam gone. So whether your oven holds steam well or vents it fast, the goal is the same: trap moisture early, release it later.
The real takeaway: Don't overthink the oven type. Focus on the chamber.
If you've been struggling with flat, dense, pale loaves, fix the steam first. Then come back and tell me how it went.
I'm dropping two videos from my YouTube channel below that go deeper on this. Lesson 1 covers why steam matters and what your oven is actually doing. Lesson 2 walks through the enclosed baking environment, which is the foundation of every steam method I just described.
Henry โญ๐ฅ
๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ : ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฅ-๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ช๐จ๐๐๐ช๐ก, ๐๐ค ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ค๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐. ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ค๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐จ๐ง๐ค๐ค๐ข ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค. ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ๐จ ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ'๐จ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐จ๐๐ง๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง.
Perfection is not required. Progress is.
Henry โญ๐ฅ
19
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๐ฅ For everyone asking about steam (and the steam vs. gas oven question)
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