Why open baking is so dang hard (and how to make it easier!)
When I started making four loaves of sourdough at a time, I knew I was ready to graduate from baking in a dutch oven. The problem was how to recreate that same moist environment of a covered pot. Baking bread in a conventional home oven can be a truly frustrating experience. The dry heat leads to a crust that seals over before full oven spring can be achieved. STEAM is essential in the first part of baking because it keeps the dough surface pliable, not only allowing maximum oven spring but also creating a beautiful, glossy, blistered crust.
Here’s the technique I recommend for creating enough steam to sustain the expansion period for the first 20-25 minutes of baking:
Equipment:
2 rectangular roasting pans that can fit side by side on the bottom of your oven
2-3 cotton hand towels (or tea towels)
2 cups of boiled water
2 cups of ice cubes
Place ONE of the empty roasting pans on the bottom of your oven so it sits below your baking stone or steel and heats up with your preheating oven. Place it to the left or the right, leaving enough space to slide the second pan into the oven when we’re ready.
In the second roasting pan, tightly roll two or three cotton hand towels and tuck them snugly in the pan.
Fill your kettle with two cups of water and bring to a boil.
Just before scoring your bread, pour the boiled water over the rolled towels until they are completely saturated. (Don’t worry about them burning in the oven - we will remove them before they have the chance to totally dry out!) Place the towel pan in the bottom of the oven, next to the empty pan that has been preheating this whole time.
Score your dough and transfer it into the oven, onto your baking stone or steel.
Slide out the empty roasting pan so that it’s halfway clear of the grate above, and wearing long oven mitts to protect your arms, dump the ice into the pan. Quickly push the pan back into the oven and close the door.
Allow the dough to bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove BOTH roasting pans from the oven. Continue baking according to your recipe.