expansion of the gas cells. As the steam
condenses onto the dough surface, it forms a
film of water that temporarily prevents the
loaf surface from drying out into a crust, thus
keeping it flexible and elastic so that it
doesn’t hinder the initial rapid expansion of
the loaf, the “oven spring.” The overall result
is a larger, lighter loaf. In addition, the hot
water film gelates starch at the loaf surface
into a thin, transparent coating that later dries
into an attractively glossy crust.
Professional bakers often inject steam
under low pressure into the oven for the first
several minutes of baking. In home ovens,
spraying water or throwing ice cubes into the
hot chamber can produce enough steam to
improve the oven spring and crust gloss.
Early Baking: Oven Spring When the bread
first enters the oven, heat moves into the
bottom of the dough from the oven floor or
pan, and into the top from the oven ceiling