Steam in the oven during the first few minutes of baking bread has many benefits. The moist steam reinvigorates the yeast in the dough. Steam gives bread dough time to expand: the added moisture keeps the dough from drying out before it has time to rise. Steam also produces bread with a thin, chewy crust and seductive shine, what you see in the loaf of country wheat bread pictured here. Breads baked without steam may have an irregular shape and an unpleasant thick crust.When you think like a baker, you know the importance of steam in the oven during baking.
Here are some tricks for getting a chewy crust on your home baked bread by using steam in your oven.
Steaming Your Oven When Using a Baking Stone
To create steam in a home oven, place a small pan of water in the bottom of the oven. A small cast iron pan is a good choice. It retains heat and the water that is poured into it turns quickly into steam. We carefully toss about ½ cup of boiling water into the heated pan right before sliding bread onto the baking stone. (We use our electric water kettle, which also heats water for my tea.) The small amount of water evaporates within 4 or 5 minutes, just enough time for the dough to quickly swell to its full volume.
Some people toss ice cubes into the heated pan. It’s easy, but think of the time it takes for the ice to melt then heat up to 212°F before there is any steam. That’s enough time for your bread dough to crust over. Misting loaves or the inside of your oven with a spray bottle rarely produces enough steam to make a difference.
In order for bread to brown, the oven must be dry. It’s important to use only enough water to create a burst of steam early in the bake.
A small amount of steam at the start of a bake benefits other types of baked goods too. I steam the oven when I bake muffins or quick breads made with chemical leavening (baking powder and baking soda) too.
Steaming Your Oven When Using a Bread Cloche
For crusty boules we use a baking cloche from Emile Henry. There is no need for a pan of water on the bottom of the oven or for a baking stone.
A cloche replicates the conditions found in a traditional dome-shaped wood oven. The cloche, from the French word for bell, covers the dough while it bakes. Moisture in the dough is trapped under the cloche. It turns to steam, which keeps the bread dough moist during baking. The dough expands, swelling into a plump loaf of bread. Once all of the moisture evaporates, the bread begins to brown.
Spraying Your Bread After Baking
A small amount of steam during the last few minutes of baking or as soon as you take your bread out of the oven can give a nice shine to the surface of bread dough. Here is where that spray bottle of water comes in handy. Spritz the bread lightly and watch the surface develop a nice sheen.
FAQs
There are three main benefits of steaming bread. First, it keeps the crust moist preventing it from solidifying too soon and thus helping the bread expand more. Second, it promotes good crust coloration and shine. Third, it makes the crust thinner and crispier.
What strengthens gluten and adds flavor moderates yeast so breads do not rise too quickly? ›
The role of salt in yeast recipes:
Salt also strengthens the gluten structure of the dough, so that the leavening gas bubbles don't expand too quicky in order to produce bread with a fine grain and crumb texture.
Does steam in the oven make bread crusty? ›
Steam also helps produce a really crisp crust. When the surface of the dough reaches 180°F, the starches in the slowly forming crust start absorbing moisture. They eventually become so saturated that they burst and liquefy. As the bread continues to cook, this starch gel turns into a brittle and glossy shell.
What happens if you add too much flour to yeast bread? ›
Too much flour can make your dough stiff and dry. And we all know what happens if there's not enough liquid for the yeast to use: It doesn't work how it should. So, be mindful of your measurements and how much flour your dough picks up in the kneading process.
How do you make yeast taste stronger in bread? ›
Longer fermentation gives bread stronger flavors. “A yeasty aroma and acidic flavors start to develop, adding more flavor to the finished bread,” Blakeslee said. Some bakers choose to do the extra step of making a sponge in order to add a slight sour and tangy flavor to the bread.
What ingredient gives a tender texture and enhances flavor in yeast breads? ›
Sugar is added both for flavor, and to provide food for the yeast that is easily fermentable. Sugar is used, even in savory breads, because it enhances flavor, texture and also causes the crust to brown. Refrigerator dough contains more yeast and more sugar so the dough can stay fresh for a longer period of time.
What does steam do in the baking process when making bread? ›
For your bread to rise to its potential, that outer, taut skin on your loaf needs to be able to expand and stretch before hardening off. Steam in the oven and subsequently on the surface of your loaves helps keep that skin pliable and stretchy during baking.
What is the function of steam bake in oven? ›
Steam baking, which adds steam into a hot oven, helps breads of all kinds rise completely as they bake. Steam capability is also great for baking more delicate items like custards. It can offer the same protection as a water bath without actually needing to use a water bath.
Why use steam in an oven? ›
Cooking with steam is a well-known superior option for health, cutting down on oil-heavy frying methods, nutrient-leaching boiling and longer, dryer baking times. Steam is also increasingly being used to seal in the flavour of meals, making meat tender and succulent, and vegetables sweeter and more colourful.
What is the effect of steam in baking? ›
Steam is responsible of preserving the extensibility of the surface of the dough during the oven-spring phase and giving a nice gloss of the crust (Chang, 2006), improving crust colour, and promoting heat penetration into the loaf interior (Ahrné et al., 2007).
