 Re: flour or cornmeal
XJim,
I've tried lots of things to make my peels work better. All I'm after is slip, not taste or addition, with the exception of bagels and some rolls. After a lot of experimentation, I've settled on stone ground brown rice flour for my breads. It's a bit coarser than finely milled flour and does not burn as easily. Gives plenty of slip, even for high hydration breads like Pain a l'Ancienne (Peter Reinhart). I find that what's left on the bottoms of the breads is easily brushed off after baking.
As an aside, I baked a bunch of those baguette yesterday. The hearth was hot (610), but my schedule demanded I get moving. Took 8 minutes to reach an internal temp of 205 F. No scorching or burning, well caramelized, great spring.
Jim |