Posted on April 26, 2010.
If I buy a french bread pan do I need to put the pan on a baking stone or on the grid? I want to give crusty French bread and I'll buy a pot to help keep its shape, but I need a baking stone, too? If yes, why?
You do not need a pan to maintain the form of bread. This is just a waste of money.
You do not need to buy a special baking stone if you do not already have one. My wife and I use unglazed Terra Cotta tiles in the bottom of our oven for this purpose. We have purchased a landscape nursery for less than $ 10, washed them to remove all dirt, placed them in the oven and heated to higher temperatures for sterilization. We leave them in the oven because they also arise from heating, even when the furnace is through its on / off cycles during baking and cooking more.
If you have a gas oven place the tiles directly on the oven floor. If the place of electricity from a rack at the lowest level above the coil and place the tiles on the grid.
When the bread is ready for the oven just a light dusting of cornmeal on the skin so that the bread to slide easily and not stick or stone tiles. If you are not using a skin sprinkle cornmeal on the tiles / stone and place the loaf on it.
To ensure a crisp crust, you can use water. Use a spray bottle and immediately after putting the bread in the oven a couple of good sprays spraying in the upper zone and close the door. Spray again halfway through cooking time. I know, it seems that the water using the crust softens, but it does not work. It will really make a crispy crust, so you do not use too much water.
