Bread-Bakers v102.n042.16

 >Does anyone heat their oven to 50F/10C (plus or minus) above the baking
 >temperature prior to putting the bread in the oven, spritzing, etc. and
 >then immediately lowering the heat to the normal baking temperature?


Yes, I do that most of the time. I think Peter Reinhart mentions that 
method in his Breadbaker's Apprentice book too. That's where I first read 
about it and it makes perfect sense. I have found that the oven tends to 
cool down when putting the bread in. Over time I have been baking at higher 
temps anyway, started out at 400, then 450 and now have been wondering what 
would happen if I did keep it on 500 for the first 10 minutes or so. 
Haven't tried the 500 approach yet, but might do that soon.

Karen
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Karen, mom to Cees, Tim, Tara, Jane, Kate and Erik
Our Homepage http://www.plomp.com/homepage.html
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