Baking bread...

[Externet]

What differs if baking starts in cold or pre-heated oven ?  Besides time taken to be done ?   Ending 5 minutes earlier or later-  But what about results ?

[CharonY]

Depends on what you bake. When you start cold you obviously have a transition time when things heat up, which can be a good or bad thing. If you have something that is rather cold for example it can help to get the inside more cooked without scorching the outside (though you could achieve that we adjusting heat, too).

For products where you e.g. have a lot of yeast, it can lead to over-proofing (e.g. spilling things out of your form). Very thin (and other) baking goods that need high heat for a short amount of time, are more likely to dry out before being cooked through.

[Phi for All]

I have a sandwich bread recipe that's fairly yeasty, takes some kneading, and it starts in a cold oven. I recall something about getting a more even bake (cooked through to the middle) and a nice, tight crumb when the dough and oven come to temp together. That recipe also uses a pan of hot water beneath the loaves for a nice outer texture. It doesn't take long to proof the dough, as CharonY mentions, but I always make myself wait at least half an hour, but no more than an hour.

My country bread recipes use a dutch oven, and that thing needs to be super hot to start. They say to preheat the cast iron to 450F for AN HOUR, but I only do about 20 minutes and it works just fine (seems wasteful to have an empty baking dish in there for an hour). Those breads tend not to have much yeast, more water, take about five hours to proof, and have a more open, airier crumb. 

[mistermack]

In general, the objective is a decent crust, with an inside that is baked but not dry. 

Smaller things like bread rolls benefit from a hot oven, that will brown off the crust before the inside starts to dry. Bigger loaves want lower temperatures, and longer times, so that the heat has time to penetrate, without burning the crust. 

You could achieve that by starting from cold, but it's unpredictable, as ovens will vary as how quick they reach full temperature, so what works for the recipe writer might work for your oven. So I would prefer heating the oven up before putting the bread in. That way you can learn from how it goes and adjust the heat settings accordingly. 

My favourite bake is french baguette mix, rolled in a mix of flax seeds and sesame seeds. I make the dough in the bread machine, and take it out before it starts to bake. Then roll out the sticks, cover and allow to rise. Then heat the oven to 200 deg fan oven, with a tray of boiling water on the floor, and put the sticks in and bake till they are a bit darker than golden. Yummy, but addictive. 

[MPMin]

On 10/24/2023 at 10:16 AM, Externet said:

What differs if baking starts in cold or pre-heated oven ?  Besides time taken to be done ?   Ending 5 minutes earlier or later-  But what about results ?

If you are talking about starting bread in a cold oven then consider two things, one is that the proofing and rising temperatures will be similar to the cold oven, the other is how long the oven takes to reach baking temperature, the longer it take to heat up the greater the adverse effects will be.

if you take bread that’s ready to be baked but place it in a cold oven, as the oven begins to heat up, the yeast will continue making gas until the yeast reaches about 30C, as the heat transfer will take longer to reach the centre due to the low initial temperature, you’ll have yeast still making gas on the inside while the outside is beginning to set, this will most likely result in the loaf splitting open.

The extended time in the oven will most likely result in a much thicker and dryer crust and a dryer bread over all.

Baking bread normally but ending the baking 5 mins earlier will most likely result in a doughy under cooked centre.

As for cakes, unlike breads, cakes lack the gluten structure of breads and can not hold bubbles of gas as well as bread does, also, gas production in cakes starts the moment an acid is introduced to the bicarbonate, that means gas production begins to decrease from the commencement of production, hence starting a cake in a cold oven will most likely result in a mud cake like texture as most of the gas would most likely escape before the cake has had a chance to rise and set. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by MPMin

[mistermack]

12 minutes ago, MPMin said:

The extended time in the oven will most likely result in a much thicker and dryer crust and a dryer bread over all.

It does. Thicker, dryer and much harder. The way to get a thin crispy crust is to put a tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven, and heat it to full temperature before putting in the bread. This is especially true for smaller breads like crusty rolls and French sticks. 

It's a bit inconvenient, because you can't use the oven to let the dough rise. Well, you can, but you would have to take the bread out, heat up the oven to full temperature and put the bread back in. And doing that can shake down the risen dough, unless you're really gentle. So you really need a separate warm place to allow the bread to rise. 

[Externet]

On 11/4/2023 at 8:06 PM, mistermack said:

...doing that can shake down the risen dough, unless you're really gentle. So you really need a separate warm place to allow the bread to rise. 

From the separate warm place for rising, moving to the hot oven; will get shaken too. 

Nice details I did not know.  Thanks MPMin and mistermack

 

MPMin: Am an idiot for breads but the champion for cakes in the microwave oven.  Really. 

[Sensei]

30 minutes ago, Externet said:

Nice details I did not know. 

..when you don't know something, experiment.. do two or more and adjust the settings, remember/store the results and compare..

 

This way you will gain more knowledge than simply asking on the forum. In any field, not only in cooking.

 

BTW, I'm not fond of liver unless I have to, but I tried (because of the discount, $4 for 1 kg) hare liver.. Wow! Completely different from pork, beef or poultry liver!

 

When I see my salesgirls in the meat store I am now joking: when will the liver from the bear.. "Any news from the Canada?" etc.

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Sensei

[MPMin]

9 hours ago, Externet said:

From the separate warm place for rising, moving to the hot oven; will get shaken too. 

Shaking down risen bread (deflation) is usually only a problem when the bread has been over proofed or over hydrated. 
 

To anyone who wants to get serious about making bread at home I highly recommend investing in a decent heat sink, which will also double as an excellent pizza stone (steel).