Visited a bakery in Portland that uses steam injection ovens. Game changer for crust.

I was in Portland last weekend for a friend's thing and stopped by this little bakery called Tabor Bread. They let me hang out in the back for a bit (super nice folks) and showed me their steam injection oven setup. I always thought a water pan in a home oven was enough, but the way the steam hits the dough right at the start creates this thin, crackly crust I've never been able to get at home. The baker said they run steam for the first 10 minutes then vent it all out. Any of you ever tried modifying your home oven to get closer to that effect? I'm thinking about getting a lava rock pan but not sure if it's worth the hassle.

3 comments

3 Comments

nora11025d ago

Oh man, have you tried the lava rock trick yet? I did that at home a few months ago and it's actually legit, lol. I just got a cheap pan from the hardware store, filled it with lava rocks, and preheat it for a while before dumping in a cup of boiling water. The crust on my sourdough got way closer to that Portland bakery vibe, though not quite as perfect as the steam injection ovens. I read somewhere that the commercial ovens get steam at like 300 degrees super fast, which is hard to match at home but still worth messing around with. Tabor Bread sounds incredible btw, I'm adding it to my list for next time I'm out there.

kellys7825d ago

Dude yes, the lava rock thing is totally legit. I tried it after seeing it on some bread nerd forum and it made a huge difference. My setup is janky though - I just use an old cast iron skillet I found at a thrift store with some aquarium rocks I washed really well. The steam blast is real, gives that nice crackly crust. But yeah, it’s still not as good as those bakery ovens. I’ve also messed around with spraying water on the walls of the oven during the first 10 minutes and that helps too but it’s a pain. Add Tabor Bread to your list for real, they know what they’re doing.

sarah_patel2525d ago

Honestly the aquarium rocks thing had me laughing for a solid minute @kellys78 because I tried the same desperate nonsense last year with some gravel from my driveway. Big mistake obviously, had to scrape crusty bits off my oven floor for days. But yeah the lava rock trick is the real deal even if our setups look like a science experiment gone wrong. I switched to using a cheap pizza steel from amazon and tray of water below it, way less messy. Still not bakery level though, those steam injection ovens are like a whole different planet of bread making. Tabor Bread is definitely on my list now too, need to see what actual pro steam can do.