KK as Steam Oven for Bread

[MacKenzie]

Quote from tekobo, "Am I right?  Or is Macqueenzie?"

 

I hope I don't have to forfeit my title over this.

 

 

 

 

[tekobo]

When I first saw Pequod's pile of chain at the start of this thread I thought, there is no way I am doing that!  However, as Mac says, one heavy aluminium disk in a cake tin feels like a neat solution.  Thank you, MacQ for asking for clarity and thank you @Syzygies for explaining so carefully. 

[Syzygies]

3 hours ago, tekobo said:

When I first saw Pequod's pile of chain at the start of this thread I thought, there is no way I am doing that!

Bouchon Bakery recommended stones. Huh. I figured get water inside stones, heat to 450 F, you're making a bomb. No way. I started with cast iron and steel, and stumbled onto aluminum.

[Pequod]

I like this newfangled aluminum disk approach. Not going to buy one yet because we're going into austerity mode as we are preparing to move. But it does mean that I can leave the chain behind! Woohoo!

 

9 hours ago, MacKenzie said:

Quote from tekobo, "Am I right?  Or is Macqueenzie?"

 

I hope I don't have to forfeit my title over this.

Maybe not your title, but the tiara might be a bit dinged. 

[MacKenzie]

My disc is in my hot little hands thanks to a good friend. 

I made a white sourdough bread loaf today using steam. Wow what a loaf it turned out to be, must more oven spring than I have ever gotten with this recipe. I had to use a foil pan over my loaf to capture more steam. Tried it the other day and most of the steam came out thru all the vents in my gas oven.

I did put 2 batches of ice in 3 mins. apart, won't have this problem on a KK.

Can't wait to cut it but still too hot. It is light as a feather

Thanks, Syzygies.  

[MacKenzie]

Crumb shot.

[MacKenzie]

All that bread sitting on the counter kept calling me, so I broke down and made a grilled cheese sandwich using smoked cheddar cheese.

Here it is using a phone camera.

[Syzygies]

21 hours ago, MacKenzie said:

I had to use a foil pan over my loaf to capture more steam. Tried it the other day and most of the steam came out thru all the vents in my gas oven.

The density of steam is roughly 600g per cubic meter. So for example, 400g of water or ice turns into 2/3rds of a cubic meter of steam. A typical range-style home oven has a volume of less than 1/6th cubic meter. Our KKs are similar, depending on the size. So there's enough steam to fill an oven or KK four times over. The surplus will indeed come whooshing out!

One wants to reach the point of diminishing returns. If you only partially fill the oven with steam, you're only partially affecting the loaf of bread. The water from a few sprays of a plant spritzer is at most half a cubic foot if one is lucky, with a very partial effect on the bread. On the other hand, 200g of water or ice would be nearly as effective as 400g. I've never seen you settle for nearly!

[MacKenzie]

 

 

 

The first time I used the steam I could see the steam pouring out of the stove, my small kitchen was like a sauna. 

The second time I used the steam, the foil pan time I didn't see that huge burst of steam coming out of the stove. I used some 2 inch steel tubing to raise the foil pan up to give more height for the oven spring.

I do want to bake a loaf in the KK but over the winter I'll be doing it in the kitchen oven.

[aconserva]

So instead of using the Kamado to generate the steam could you use a steam generator something like this to pipe steam in the port at the bottom?  Would that be the same thing or will this not produce enough steam for this application.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Earlex-SS77USSG-Generator-1-3-Gallon-capacity/dp/B005JRF43M?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1

[Syzygies]

53 minutes ago, aconserva said:

So instead of using the Kamado to generate the steam could you use a steam generator something like this to pipe steam in the port at the bottom?

A commercial bread oven, which we're modeling, provides a wallop of steam in the first minutes of the bake. That device can boil enough water, but over a longer period. I don't believe it recreates our goal, but the effect could be interesting? I try to avoid overly complicated solutions to simple problems, so I'm unlikely to try this. But if I had this device already for woodworking, the temptation would be irresistible.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Syzygies
The "edit" scarlet letter should go here to autocorrect. All I was doing was correcting a spelling I typed right in the first place.

[MacKenzie]

I used the cake pan with aluminium disc for this sour dough bread. Can't wait to cut and taste it. It is going to fit nicely into the toaster.

[MacKenzie]

Sliced and taste tested.

Here's how to spoil your dinner.  

 

[MacKenzie]

Used my steam disc on this loaf of sourdough, can't wait to cut it to see the crumb and to see how sour it is.

[MacKenzie]

Crumb. 

[Jeff_Ver]

Holy sh#t, I could not even imagine I could use my Kamado Joe as a breadmaker! Really satisfied with pictures

[Pequod]

4 hours ago, Jeff_Ver said:

Holy sh#t, I could not even imagine I could use my Kamado Joe as a breadmaker! Really satisfied with pictures

You can definitely bake bread in a Kamado Joe. Doing so with steam might be a bit dicey, though.

[Jeff_Ver]

18 hours ago, Pequod said:

You can definitely bake bread in a Kamado Joe. Doing so with steam might be a bit dicey, though.

And would it be possible for a kettle like Weber's, for example? I am choosing a present for my close friend and thinking about buying a charcoal grill before Black Friday, looknig through this list https://grillguru.org/best-charcoal-grill/. Of course, KJ is on top of the list, but I won't handle this price. So want to find something not that expensive

[Pequod]

5 hours ago, Jeff_Ver said:

And would it be possible for a kettle like Weber's, for example? I am choosing a present for my close friend and thinking about buying a charcoal grill before Black Friday, looknig through this list https://grillguru.org/best-charcoal-grill/. Of course, KJ is on top of the list, but I won't handle this price. So want to find something not that expensive

You can bake bread and pizza in any grill that can handle a baking stone. No way you’d do steam in a kettle, but nothing wrong with baking “naked” (keep yer drawers on...talking about lack of steam). A Weber Kettle is, IMO, still one of the best grills out there for the price. Add a Slow n’ Sear and it makes a great smoker too. It’s everybody’s first grill for a darn good reason. Once you’re ready to drop a tad more on the best of the best, Komodo Kamado is where you want to be. Skip Kamado Joe entirely.

[Bruce Pearson]

Mac! Those breads look soooooo deeeelicious. Crumb or no crumb they will both end up in the sour dough cemetary lol. Your are the bomb!