Mastering the Convection Steam Oven

SLOW ROAST MODE

PERFECTLY ROASTED MEATS, DONE EXACTLY WHEN YOU WANT THEM.

Here’s the scenario: you want to serve beef tenderloin cooked perfectly to medium rare for a dinner

party this evening at 7. Where would you begin? There are a multitude of details you need to know

in order to pull off this meal. At what internal temperature is beef tenderloin cooked to medium

rare? What oven mode should I use? What temperature should I set the oven to? How long will it

take to cook? What time should I put it in so it can rest after I remove it from the oven?

Find recipe on page 70

AUTO STEAM BAKE MODE

Steam is the critical element in the baking process of

breads and pastries. Flooding the oven cavity with steam

at the beginning of the baking process provides the

opportunity for a pair of critical reactions to take place.

The rst is slowing down the baking

process by lowering the surface

temperature of the bread as water

condenses on the raw loaf. This

moisture keeps the crust from

forming during the “oven spring”

period of baking and allows the

bread to rapidly expand as the yeast

goes through a nal burst of fermentation. Keeping the

dough’s surface exible for as long as possible allows

the dough to expand, resulting in an airy texture.

The second reaction is what delivers the great sheen

and glazed nish on beautifully baked breads. The

gelatinization (the moist, gummy layer) on the exterior of

the bread begins to bake out, yielding a rich, shiny nish.

Baking bread without steam produces loaves of bread

that do not spring as high and crusts that underwhelm

with drab exteriors and lack depth of avor. Baking

bread with steam will produce the kind of loaves,

rolls, and pastries you’ve always dreamed of.

AUTO STEAM BAKE MODE

HOW ARTISAN BAKERS GET THAT CRACKLY, SHINY CRUST.

Harness the power of a professional deck oven, like the ones used in artisan bread bakeries, in

your home kitchen. The glossy, crackled, and glazed nish to great breads, the sheen on a perfectly

uffy pastry – these are hard, if not impossible, to achieve in a standard oven. Many home bakers

strive for these delicious results, only to fall short with drab loaves of bread and dull pastries.

FLOODING THE OVEN CAVITY

WITH STEAM AT THE BEGINNING

OF THE BAKING PROCESS

PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY

FOR A PAIR OF CRITICAL

REACTIONS TO TAKE PLACE.