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.

A friend brought me a loaf of bread from Tartine Bread Company. It’s a bread company I really admire. They make bread differently than I do. Every once in a while i reduce my inoculation and slow down the fermentation process the way they do just because I respect their methods and success. This picture is their signature loaf. I can pick their loaves out of a crowd of unlabeled loaves.