Christine and the BSK's Profile

@DCarl1 yeah, you can do it in a dutch oven on low heat!

There's a difference between kitchen gadgets and kitchen tools. A kitchen tool, such as a KitchenAid, comes in handy for several things. A kitchen gadget is a one-trick pony.

I use my stand mixer way more than I use my microwave and not just for baking. Pancakes, whipped cream, etc. etc.

I think if you're writing a blog and using pictures and you want variety, these would be great. They're inexpensive and eye pleasing.

I love these home hacks. I've made many loaves of bread over the past couple months and it's always great to see techniques in action.

Just to clear up-- adding steam to an oven makes it more like a "hearth" oven and is ideal for artisan breads of any kind. Basically if you want one of those crusts that just cracks when you break the bread, a hearth oven is ideal.

I tried this method, @sarahrae, and I am SO in love with it. I've done cast iron, spritzing, etc. etc., but nothing has worked as well at producing and keeping steam in the oven as this one. I can't reccommend this method enough.

Also, when I did do this with a cast iron pan, it completely rusted the pan, so keep that in mind.

A steam-filled oven is perfect for making a crisper crust. I have baked all my bread on a regular cookie sheet and if anything, I've saved a lot of burn bread bottoms.

Just remember if you have glass in the oven (i.e. a glass window on the door) to cover it while adding the water-- otherwise cold water hot glass = explosion! (Well, if you're preheating the muffin-tin with the oven and then adding water to create some more steam)

Joy the Baker has some tasty vegan recipes that are drool worthy: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/07/vegan-chocolate-avocado-cake/