I call it the Bread-erator 2015, and it has a place of honor in my kitchen. It’s had the same beneficial effect on my bread in each of the five different ovens I’ve baked in. The foil pan has outlasted numerous other kitchen gadgets that took up too much space or were too annoying to pack and unpack. In my experience, the foil roasting pan works with all sorts of crusty bread, and it's nice because, without the restrictions of the Dutch oven, you can try loaves with different shapes (I sometimes make short baguettes this way). Now, five years (and five moves) later, I am still using that same battered aluminum foil roasting pan for every loaf of bread I bake. The crumb was more airy, and the crust more flavorful, than any other loaf I’d made. All of the problems that had plagued my previous loaves were gone: This one was shapely, with a freckled golden-brown crust that crackled softly as the loaf cooled. As soon as the loaf of bread came out the oven twenty minutes later, I knew all was well. I removed the roasting pan cover for the second half of the baking time and crossed my fingers. Peeking at my loaf in progress revealed that it had risen nicely, but had not browned at all. Halfway through trying my improvised steam chamber for the first time, I had a moment of self-doubt. To test the limits of frugality, I decided to try an alternative: an aluminum foil roasting pan that I bought for $4 at my local grocery store. But cursory internet research showed me that even a “cheap” Dutch oven would cost me at least a week’s grocery budget, and I wanted to improve my results without spending money on equipment that I couldn’t afford. The Dutch oven trend seems to have started with Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread recipe and technique, which took the baking world by storm after it was published in the New York Times in 2006. This mimics the effect of a professional steam injection oven, where an infusion of hot steam during the first few minutes of baking keeps the crust from solidifying before the bread has fully expanded. Many bread bakers online tout the benefits of baking loaves in a Dutch oven to create a steam chamber inside of a home oven. I took to the internet to look for answers. ![]() As my roommates gamely crunched on croutons, I kept trying different recipes and different rise times, but it didn’t seem to help. I made many batches of croutons, finding that frying even lousy bread in a generous amount of olive oil made something delicious. Although I baked with enthusiasm, my early loaves of bread were disappointing-pale, poorly risen, and lacking in flavor. I was an underemployed recent graduate trying to save some cash by taking up a hobby that produced food. When I started baking bread five years ago, I had more time on my hands than money. In Basically on a Budget, we'll talk tips, ingredients, and recipes that'll help you save money and eat well.
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