Comments on: Taking your bread to the next level with steam

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 12:44:32 +0000

I've thought about doing this for years... ever since I became intrigued with Leidenheimers poboy loaves.. pressure pots are easy to come by.. especially the ones without the weighted pressure caps.. without a doubt a humid baking environment is an absolute for achieving that perfect crust that seems elusive to so many. thanks for your post and pics!..

By: rfusca

rfusca — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 04:49:23 +0000

Well it really depends on the bread. For many of my breads, I usually steam for the first ten minutes at 500 F. Turn off the steam, turn the oven down to 375F, open the door for 2 minutes, close the door and bake for 20-25 minutes.

The article talks about the pans of water. Basically you're talking about more steam, about getting the oven hotter because you're not using its heat to make steam, and the ability to stop the steam. You can over steam the bread.

By: skm

skm — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:49:01 +0000

Sounds good. I'm ready to try it.

Can you give me some idea about the timing: you mention you can turn the steam on for a time then turn it off when you want to.

OK, so when do you turn it on and when do you turn it off? How do you know when to turn it off?

Does using the steam modify the time it takes to cook the bread? Does it modify the temperature at which you bake the bread? Or do you follow your recipe and past experience, just adding the steam for a certain number of minutes?

If this is different than a pan of boiling water in the oven, how is it different and how does the bread come out different each way?

By: Pooya

Pooya — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:32:31 +0000

Or you can just leave the skillet in there while it preheats and creates steam! Is that really not easier than hacking pressure cookers and tubes and all that stuff?

By: Balroq

Balroq — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:31:19 +0000

Do you add steam for a long time?

By: rfusca

rfusca — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 22:06:07 +0000

It's truly not the same. The output isn't the same, the ease of use isn't the same (messing with boiling water with a hot oven door open), the result really isn't the same. I've done both...A LOT.

By: Pooya

Pooya — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 21:48:13 +0000

Just put a skillet with boiling water inside the oven when baking the bread! Have been doing that for years and works perfectly!

By: Peter Grace

Peter Grace — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:24:01 +0000

This is an interesting read! I have to admit that I use a sunbeam bread machine to make my breads, so I'm not sure how I'd retrofit this idea properly. All the same, pretty awesome.

By: rfusca

rfusca — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 03:12:17 +0000

Truth be told, its a bit of 'whatever fit'. I had a fixed size to start (the thread at the top of the pressure cooker), a fixed size at the end (the hot water line), and a few options for the valve in the middle. It was at the hardware store that I just started looking at brass fittings until I got the smallest bit of pieces that all connected together. The order is pressure cooker 'stem', coupler, valve, coupler, and hot water line.

By: Cos Callis

Cos Callis — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 22:59:06 +0000

Great article! I am looking at the adapter between the top and the valve and seeing a lot of Teflon tape. Would you add a shot of the disassembled components? Or maybe a diagram? I don't want you to 'tear apart' what you have, but if you could give a better idea of the connection I would appreciate it.