SC - Steam in the Bread Oven

[Donna Hrynkiw]

Hello,

Last week I promised to try out several different methods of introducing
steam/moisture to a bread-baking oven. I regret having to tell you I
didn't do it. I baked three batches of bread last Saturday and four on
Sunday -- one each of a different recipe. (Preparing for an A&S display
next weekend.) I thought that it would be unfair to compare the effect of
spray-bottle moisture on a sourdough rye vs ice-cubes melting moisture on
a wheat/spelt loaf.

However -- I did have the opportunity to quickly read an article on exactly
this topic in the current issue of Taunton's "Fine Cooking" magazine. 
   http://www.taunton.com/fc/
The author of "Food Science - How steam affects breadbaking" was less
interested in the effect of moisture on the final crust as on its ability
to initially keep the surface of the bread soft and thus encourage a
higer oven spring. But there's a companion article "Get a Good Crust
on Rustic Breads -- Make your oven steamy, watch the temperature, and
don't forget the salt". I need to go buy my own copy of FC so I can
read both articles in detail.

What kinds of bread did I make?
Country White Loaf (sourdough, round, scored on top, lovely)
Porridge Rye (First attempt, okay but not great. Porridge levain to
   which the author, Ortiz, wanted me to add commercial yeast -- I used
   my starter) 
Sourdough Rye (Also a first attempt, not very successful. I think I
   should have let it rise longer.)
Basic Spelt Bread (Second try with this recipe, I upped the proportion
   of spelt to flour from 1 to 5 to 2 to 4, and tried baking it as a
   round loaf rather than in bread pans. Turned out better than I expected.
   Also added spelt flakes as a decorative topping.)
Two batches of Basic Rich White Loaf (Which I turned into a half-and-half
   white and whole wheat.  My first try at baking with flour I'd ground
   myself -- a friend loaned me his home flour mill. First batch was
   made into the familiar family loafs for my husband, the second was
   made into a large braided loaf for the display.)
And... and... I can't for the life of me remember what the last batch was!

The Spelt loaves were a noteable success. The braided loaf, while not a
failure, wasn't as nice as some as I've made in the past -- it had to
wait too long to be baked. Next time I'll recognize the need to set it
in a cooler place. The Sourdough Rye was, uh, rather dense -- even more
dense than I'd expect a rye to be; but good flavour. I'll definitely try
this one again.

I found millet meal at a local organic food store. Anybody tried baking
with millet? Also found spelt and barley grain -- anybody have any
experience with grinding these? I may just send a half-cupful through the
grinder just to see what they do.

Elizabeth
==================
|*>  Gaudium est in Factio (The Joy is in the Doing.)
|    Mistress Elizabeth "E.B." Braidwood, Northern Region, An Tir
|    braidwood at antir.sca.org  or donna at kwantlen.bc.ca
"Look, a miniature Northern War Banner."  --Don Mathieu

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