How to Make Your Own Bread Oven

Make a handsome loaf of bread in your home oven.

Baking bread in a home oven often produces disappointingly different results from breads baked in a professional bread oven. In a professional bakery, the ovens can reach much higher temperatures, allowing a crust to form on the bread more quickly without drying out the bread in the process. Professional ovens also incorporate steam, allowing the crusts to form a pleasing shine and a more even browning. You can transform your home oven to mimic the qualities of a professional bread oven.

Things You'll Need

• Oven
• Pizza stone
• Loaf of bread to be baked
• Small bowl of water
• Kitchen brush
• Baking pan with raised sides
• Ice cubes
• Wooden pizza paddle

Instructions

1. Arrange your oven racks so that the lowest rack is at the second-lowest position. Place additional racks high up on other rungs and out of the way. Place a pizza stone on the low rack to preheat with the oven.

2. Preheat the oven to a temperature 50 degrees hotter than called for in the recipe. This will take into account the heat loss from when you open the door to put in the loaf.

3. Place a loaf of bread dough on a wooden pizza paddle to allow a smooth transfer into the oven and onto the pizza stone. Dip a kitchen brush into a bowl of water and brush a generous amount of water on the loaf of bread.

4. Pour two cups of ice cubes onto a baking pan with raised sides.

5. Open the door to the preheated oven quickly, placing the pan with ice cubes on the floor of the oven and transferring loaf of bread from the paddle onto the pizza stone. Work quickly and shut the door to avoid losing heat. Turn the oven back to its recommended temperature.

Tips & Warnings

• Work carefully when opening the preheated oven to avoid burns.

References

• Backwoods Home Magazine: Modify Your Oven to Bake Great Bread