Local bakery's steam trick for crusty bread blew my mind

I stopped by the family-run spot on Elm Street yesterday to grab a loaf. The owner casually mentioned they use a pan of water in the oven for the first few minutes. Tried it this morning with my basic white loaf, and the crust came out perfectly crisp. It's such a simple fix for my usual soggy tops. What other easy oven hacks do you use?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_morgan1d ago

Oh that steam trick is a game changer... I fought with sad, soft loaves for years until a baker friend told me to just toss an ice cube into the bottom of the oven when I put the bread in. The burst of steam makes all the difference. Another thing that helped me was baking on a preheated pizza stone... it gives that bottom crust a way better crunch than just a sheet pan.

stellab825h ago

My kettle pre-steam before baking adds to @gonzalez.phoenix's spray for a shiny crust.

gonzalez.phoenix1d ago

Betty's right about the ice cube, but I've found that a spray bottle works even better for controlling steam. You can mist the oven walls a few times during the first few minutes of baking. That constant steam really helps the crust spring up and get shiny. A baking steel is another step up from a pizza stone because it holds heat longer and gives an insane crunch. The key is getting that initial blast of heat into the dough fast. My loaves went from flat to bakery-level once I combined both methods.