Brick oven baking
- Thread starter msievers
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
kitchenelf
Chef Extraordinaire
No, it's not hype. But I don't have enough time right now to explain! LOL 
But there are lots of benefits to a brick oven - it really does bake bread better along with many other things.
But there are lots of benefits to a brick oven - it really does bake bread better along with many other things.
BubbaGourmet
Senior Cook
The benefits to baking in a brick oven are not that many...but they are important. First, a standard enamel wall steel oven is designed to bounce heat in all directions ostensibly to cook the food more evenly. The result is somewhat inconsistent, but this is more due to people misunderstanding the way things work (by the way...check out "how stuff works.com"). Most people preheat their ovens until the light goes out. The problem there is that the AIR in the oven NEAR THE THERMOSTAT is at the set temp. The walls are not. Thus, the first twenty minutes in the oven, the heat is so inconsistent that perfect results are seldom encounterd. The trick with a standard is to preheat for 30 minutes THEN put the food in.
A brick oven will absorb the heat rather than bounce it around. This means that it will take a good bit longer to reach the required temp for cooking. It also means that it LOSES it's heat less rapidly and when it radiates the heat it has gained, the nature of the material is such that the heat is radiated EVENLY around the food. No hot spots, no cold spots, and 400 degrees is 400 degrees. In addition, foods cooked directly on the bricks surface get a nice long sort of a SEARING effect resulting in crispier crusts.
There are now available brick oven inserts for conventional home ovens. They aren't cheap (around $250.00) but if you do a lot of baking, they are a pretty good investment as you will be happier with your results.
I apologize for the tome.
A brick oven will absorb the heat rather than bounce it around. This means that it will take a good bit longer to reach the required temp for cooking. It also means that it LOSES it's heat less rapidly and when it radiates the heat it has gained, the nature of the material is such that the heat is radiated EVENLY around the food. No hot spots, no cold spots, and 400 degrees is 400 degrees. In addition, foods cooked directly on the bricks surface get a nice long sort of a SEARING effect resulting in crispier crusts.
There are now available brick oven inserts for conventional home ovens. They aren't cheap (around $250.00) but if you do a lot of baking, they are a pretty good investment as you will be happier with your results.
I apologize for the tome.
