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Birkmann Baking stone
Why preheat the oven when baking bread?
9.10.2024
Video: Valentina Sproge-Werndli
Camera: Aline Piazza, Davide Arizzoli
Co-author: Simon Balissat
Translation: Eva Francis
If you don’t have time or want to save energy, you might be tempted to skip preheating the oven. But will your bread turn out just as well if you stick it in the cold oven? I tested it for you.
You love baking bread, but want to save electricity and therefore avoid preheating the oven for a long time? Or did someone tell you about that super-fast and tasty bread that you can put in the oven while it’s still heating up?
Stop!
Before you waste valuable time and ingredients, please take a quick look at the header video. For English subtitles, click the gear icon, «Subtitles/CC» and «Auto-translate». Simon and I tested what happens if you bake bread with and without preheating the oven first. The result? Surprising. Read on to find out more, including how to make your bread ten times better without having to spend hours reading baking books or watching video tutorials.
Baking stone – works wonders for bread
When it comes to baking bread, I want the best result with the least possible effort. I want it to taste like shop-bought bread, but not have all those unnecessary additives. I want it to be airy, crispy and just really tasty.
And one of the easiest ways to make this possible is with a baking stone. Add this to the oven and you’ll bake bread that’s to die for – all without having to improve your baking skills.
Why a baking stone?
The inside of a professional bakery oven is lined with fireclay tiles, which heat up with the oven. The dough pieces are placed directly on the hot stones for baking. The direct heat from below makes the bread more voluminous, airy and crispy. A baking stone is your solution to achieving this exact effect at home.
A baking stone is a flat stone slab, usually around two to three centimetres thick, made of fireclay or soapstone. You place it on the oven rack and bake the bread on it. Which material you choose is primarily a question of price. The result’s almost the same for all stones. The thicker the stone, the better it stores heat. Therefore, if you have the choice, take the thicker one.
Been wondering if a pizza stone is exactly the same as a bread baking stone, just round? Yes, it is. For baking bread, a rectangular stone’s more convenient, as you can make better use of the space in the oven and, if you want, bake several smaller rolls on it.
How to use a baking stone
Slide the rack into the oven on the lowest shelf and place the baking stone on it. Then heat the oven to the temperature specified in the recipe for about 40 minutes. I know, 40 minutes is a long time, but it’s necessary, as the stone needs to be really hot. If you skip the preheating, you’ll end up with bread like in the header video.
Once the oven’s heated up, use a pizza screen (usually comes with the baking stone) to push the dough onto the hot baking stone in the oven. You can place large loaves directly on the stone without a baking tray or baking paper and bake it for as long as the recipe says. I usually place small rolls on baking paper and then slide them onto the stone in one go. That’s easier.
Long story short: if you want good bread for breakfast, preheat your oven. If I want to save energy, I’d rather skip having a shower and wash myself with a flannel instead. Because eating mediocre bread is definitely not for me.
Judith Erdin
Bloggerin und Backbuch-Autorin von Streusel.ch
simon.balissat@digitecgalaxus.chBaking book author, food blogger and content creator by day. Other people's cat lover, peanut butter junkie and houseplant hospice nurse by night.
Cooking
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