Find out if there are any news in steam injection systems

[mirloblanclo]

Hello all.

I have been looking for a steam injection system for my oven. I have found information in old posts (more than 10 years, where the links to the photos are broken), and I would like to know if there are new solutions in these years, or can someone share some photos. I am looking for something more sophisticated than a simple spray, but not as complex as pressurized systems.

Here I link an almost professional system:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Vixcv7pSs

This system is discussed in this post:

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...injection-test

In this post I found a good solution, but I'm not sure I fully understand the idea; Has anyone built it ?:

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...team-injection

In the post you can read:

"To fill the interior of a stone bread oven, you need nothing more than a small outlet that goes into the oven, that and a garden hose, a stem valve (to better control the release of steam) and then a ten foot of copper wrapping in a 6 "diameter coil or bypass the stem valve and buy a crock pot and some compression fittings at any hardware store and put the crock pot next to the stove on a single burner when you're baking bread, quickly connect the valve of the steamer to a few feet of soft copper that is well above the height of the bread pointing towards where the loaves will be, then just look at the dial on the flame because you will be amazed at the volume of steam that ' final. "

I think this idea is the same that can be seen in these two images; basically a small tank with a way to access the interior of the oven. One thing I don't understand is why you need to use a steam valve, if you are going to have water in this section. Can this solution be combined with some kind of control where we can check how much steam is inside the oven?:

The last one is from this site:


Another site where I found a discussion on the topic:

[CoastalPizza]

I have a 1/2" dia. port in the oven's side. I have a stainless steel tube with a funnel on top that goes through the port and then directs water into a dutch oven filled with brick and chain. The thermal mass of the preheated dutch oven and contents are more than enough to blast out all the steam I need. Here are a few pictures:

[david s]

Excellent idea. I use a small pie tin that I fill with hot water prior to loading the bread in the oven. Another technique is to throw in some ice cubes directly on the oven floor. The steam is really only important at the start of the bake to prevent the top of the loaves from early crusting which holds down the rise. I do remember someone saying that a fully loaded WFO does not require any steam because as the oven is sealed there’s sufficient moisture from all the bread dough.

[Gulf]

David's comment about a "fully loaded WFO....." brings something that I do into mind. I rarely bake a lot of bread at a time and I have a very large oven. Nor do I want to complicate things very much at the oven with steam injection. I think that getting enough steam into that large of area would be difficult. What I do is use for one or two loaves is sort of a la cloche. The vessel incases the loaf and traps the steam into a small area for baking. I never bought a real stoneware cloche that is made for that purpose. I first tried my dutch ovens. But, now I use my very affordable, general purpose graniteware. I have three sizes of the ovals. I use the 13" or the 15" for a loaf.

[UtahBeehiver]

Joe, Thanks for keeping me straight.

[mirloblanclo]

Thanks for the answers.

I will use a similar system with a conduit and a container inside the oven. Another question is what properties must have the tube that connects the interior with the exterior; 1/2" and stainless steel, any specs on the thickness? I had a bread oven and where I used a copper tube to insert a thermometer, but it ended up warped by the heat. This time I am considering a new oven to make pizzas and bread, so I will have much higher temperatures.

Finally, is there a way to know the steam that the oven will have inside at all times and if it is adequate for cooking or is it simply a matter of ensuring that it has sufficient value during the first 10 or 15 minutes?

Thanks.

[SableSprings]

I'm not sure if you'll find a way (electronically/mechanically) to monitor the inside steam level. I do loads of 8-10 loaves in my 39" oven and give them a misting spray with a handheld pressure garden plant sprayer. The steam in the chamber is just to keep that crust from setting until the oven spring is well underway. I bake my baguettes at around 575F for 15 minutes & get plenty of spring without having to manipulate a "fancy" steam injection system.

As a baker just gifting loaves to my neighborhood (15-20 loaves a week), I think just using my gun IR for cooking floor temp & giving my oven chamber a 3-4 second spray mist just after loading works very well...and I really like keeping it simple. I also believe (as noted in the previous posts) that having a full load of bread generates a lot of steam & if you're only doing one or two loaves--using a dutch oven or cloche is the best option. Lots of opinions & methods here, but the bottom line is your experience & techniques with the wfo to produce your "perfect loaves" is a very personal & unique journey... just enjoy the ride