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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

clanSkeen wrote:

> > tvoivozhd---I have baked good bread in a conventional electric or
> > gas-fired oven.  My mother's wood-fired range was better, and an outside
> > clay oven fired quite hot by wood or charcoal, and ashes withdrawn to
> > make room for bread dough shoved in with a paddle, makes the absolute
> > best.
> >    
>
> In a gas oven at least (have little experience with electric), bread can be
> improved by using tiles on the racks (swimming pool tiles, just regular very
> hard vitreous tiles available at any home supply) helps (also good for
> pizza), and using a VERY hot oven (450).  To use it this way you can use the
> same slide technique of the outdoor ovens and avoid pans.  Put a pan of
> water in for the first ten minutes only.  If you use a very hot oven you
> cannot use sugar in the recipe because that is one of the *real* main
> reasons for sugar (whatever the form) in bread -- to brown it, not to help
> the yeast which are quite happy with the flour.
>
> A wood cookstove actually works very very well once you figure out how hot
> is exactly right and how to keep it just that hot.  And you can throw water
> in it which works better than the pan of water technique.
>
> Anyway, I really enjoy bread and breadmaking I guess you can tell.
>
> Denise
>  
tvoivozhd---never thought of using tiles---dearth of the imagination no 
doubt.