consistent hearth temp Heat Management Discuss consistent hearth temp in the Oven Management forums; I was wondering if anybody has any tips for getting the hearth temp consitent in all areas when baking bread. ...

[Salv B]

I was wondering if anybody has any tips for getting the hearth temp consitent in all areas when baking bread. I generally bake bread after pizza and find that the side of the oven where the coals were is always hotter than the opposite side. For example three quadrants are around 550 F but the back quadrant on the side where the coals were is 600 F. I have tried raking the coals over the whole of the hearth floor before taking them out with limited success. I have found that the bread cooked in the hotter quadrant is usually a little burnt underneath!

[david s]

Try cooking your bread on trays. This tends to even out temp differences and avoids burning the bottom of your loaves.

[egalecki]

I've had trouble with hot spots too. I find that I have to rake the coals all over for at least half an hour, and then I have to rake it out, clean it up, and put the door on for another half an hour (my door is insulated) for the temperature to really moderate all over the dome and floor. I also check my floor bricks with my IR thermometer.

I have had several batches of bread without burned bottoms now. Prior to developing a little patience (which I am notoriously short of) I would get loaves with half the bottom burned and half not- you could see the pattern of hot bricks and cooler ones! Give them time to even each other out.

[DrakeRemoray]

I think Elizabeth is spot on.

This has been a problem for me too. I think the best thing to do is rake the coals around for a soak (for like 1/2 hour) then scrape them out and let the oven equalize sometimes for as much as an hour.

The biggest problem for me is letting the oven cool enough. Usually after pizza I am ready to throw the bread in and get on with it. Sometimes all that bread is ready and the oven is not, it can be a problem! I swab, spray, leave the oven door off for a while...anything to cool it down. I really just have to have shorter pizza sessions. We tend to cook pizza over 2 or 3 hours....

[Salv B]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I definitely need to be more patient and leave the coals raked over the floor longer and then let the oven moderate longer once I have removed the coals. I usually cook bread at the end of a long pizza night as well - but I am on leave this week so I am actually going to do a bread bake during the day and then cook a roast after for dinner. I will try out the more patient approach!