Has anyone used a Covered Baker?

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

I was wondering if any of you have or have heard of the covered baking dish that is desigend to bake crusty french bread that's crispy outside and a moist chewy inside. They are made of clay and run about $50.00. I just don't want to invest only to find out they aren't necessary.

Thanks, Cathy

[Mama Mangia]

Well - I make crusty Italian bread - and I spritz the loaves with water (light spray) after the first 5 minutes of baking and again after the first 10 minutes of baking. Crusty on the outside - soft on the inside.

And my little spritz bottle only cost me 59 cents.

And I have spritzed my French bread as well.

Works for me.

[KYHeirloomer]

Mama, you're spritzing the actual loaves, rather than the sides and bottom of the oven?

And, have you tried the trick about adding ice-cubes to a pan when you put the dough in? I haven't tried it, yet, but it's said to 1. add more moisture than spraying (almost the equal of steam injection, I'm told), and, 2. be safer.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

If it is a moisture issue could we not simply place a little pan of water in bottom shelf of the stove?

I do like the idea of not spending $50.00 unnecessarily, I guess I just get caught up in these Baker's catalogue's and think "How nifty I WANT THAT"! And I am getting a little older and wiser and realizing I don't need every "Gimmick" out there. But when I had my pizza stone I LOVED it! And I was thinking maybe this clay gadget to bake bread in might be really terrific! But it sound like a wate of money, if all I have to do is spritz a little!

Thanks ALL, Cathy

[Mama Mangia]

I spritz the loaf of bread - not the oven - not the door - the bread. No pan of water beneath it. Been done like that for generations in my family - why stop now. No way would I add ice cubes to the pan for MY bread!

[KYHeirloomer]

Hey, Mama, if it ain't broke, no need to fix it. I was just asking.

Yes, Cathy, you can put a pan of water under the bread. Some bakers, such as Peter Reinhart, go that route. The idea is to heat the pan as the oven preheats, then pour-in a cup of water when you put the dough in, creating a burst of steam.

He usually combines that technique with spritzing the oven (rather than the bread).

Dan Leader recommends the ice-cubes in the pre-heated pan. His idea is that every time you open the oven to spritz you are lowering the temperature radically. With the ice-cubes you don't have to keep opening the door. Plus there's a safety issue. One drip on the glass door and you could be in the market for a new stove---or worse.

All of these techniques, and others, are meant as ways the home baker can replicate the injected-steam systems available on commercial ovens. And it's that steam that helps create a crisp crust.

If you care about the science behind it, first understand that a crust is formed by the caremalization of natural sugars (themselves a byproduct of the fermentation process). Steam (or any moisture) helps promote the formation of a sugar slurry on the surface of the dough.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

That is very interesting. I do agree if you've got a system down why change mid-course. But I am going to try the hot pan with ice added. Good lordy I just hate the thought of breaking the darned oven door glass, I kind of picture a real klutz doing that number, and I am no klutz, but one never knows when one might change drastically overnight

Thanks KYH & MamaM

The CCC aint' for Klutz---just fo' de record!

[KYHeirloomer]

You don't have to be a klutz, Cathy. All it takes is for the spritzer to leak.

Happened to a friend of mine. One drop on the glass when the oven was at 550F. Rather dramatic, she told me. And, of course, a new stove.

I'm very careful, when spritzing, to not hold the sprayer over the glass door, and to make sure none of the spray hits the lightbulb.

[Cook Chatty Cathy]

Wow I'll bet that did scare her and it could have cut her as well, not to mention clean up! Speaking of cost here if it really did happen that you leaked on the glass door the cost of replacing the stove would be more than buying the covered baker! Hummmm Good food for thought, and the stove at the new house does have a glass door, unlike the one we use now.

By the way KYH I am now going to have room to grow all the herbs I want to, and plenty of sunny areas. I am so excited! And we even had to buy.... A lawnmower! I feel like a kid in a candy store! And now I want a nice sewing machine and .....................well the list is so long! I am just jumping with joy, and the very best part, the big move is taking place on Fri while I am at work and all over by the time I get off all I will have to do is unpack and decorate!!! Now what more could a gal ask for!

[KYHeirloomer]

Well, let's see......

A lady's maid.
A personal chef.
Somebody to dust, vacuum, and do the dishes.
A box of bon bons.
And, most of all, somebody to rub your feet.