The Box
THE BAGUETTE BAKING BOX
How The Box Works
The Baguette Baking Box is a rectangular stainless steel box with a lid. It measures 19.25"L x 9.5" W x 6.25"D.
The basic concept behind the Baguette Baking Box is simple: Baguettes need steam to form the delicious, crispy crust we’ve come to expect, and if you don’t have a steam-injection oven, you need another way to generate and capture steam during the baking process. The technology of the Baguette Baking Box, when combined with bread dough made using the Foolproof Baguette recipe, generates and captures the steam needed to create an ideal crust, and to bake the inside of your baguette (the “crumb”) to delicious perfection.
Three key elements contribute to this result: 1) Dough made using the Foolproof Baguette recipe contains extra water, and some of that water turns to steam during baking. 2) Before baking, while the baguette dough is rising in the baguette tray, the Baguette Baking Box is preheated in a 475° oven. Preheating the box ensures that steam will begin to form around the dough the moment the box is closed and placed in the oven. (The high heat also helps achieve maximum expansion of the dough, or “oven spring”). 3) In addition to the extra water in the dough, moisture is introduced with ice cubes. Just before placing the baguette tray in the preheated Baguette Baking Box, you drop two ice cubes into a trough located under the handle of the tray. The ice cubes begin to melt immediately after the box is closed and placed in the oven. Water from the melting ice drips through the perforated baguette tray and into a channel that distributes the water throughout the length of the box. As that water turns to steam, the steam circulates back up through the perforations in the tray, and surrounds the loaves as they bake.
After the steam has helped form a crust, you remove the lid from the box and any remaining steam escapes. You then return the open box to the oven for the crust to reach a crisp golden brown. My Foolproof Baguette recipe calls for baking your baguettes for 24 minutes with the lid on and 18-20 minutes with the lid off, but you can adjust those times to suit your own idea of the perfect color and the perfect degree of crispiness.
How The Box is Made
Each Baguette Baking Box is made from high-quality, food-grade stainless steel, and features a hand-crafted finish that complements any kitchen. At the Bread Baking Box Company, we pride ourselves in our materials and workmanship. We start with flat pieces of heavy-gauge stainless steel. One at a time, we bend those flat pieces into boxes and lids, and we meticulously weld each corner together. We then grind, clean and polish each weld. We bend smaller pieces of stainless steel to make handles for the boxes and the lids. We then attach each handle with two copper rivets to ensure stability and durability, so you never have to worry that our handles will twist or melt in a hot oven. Finally, we polish each box to achieve a distinctive and sophisticated look and feel. This polishing process gives each box and each lid its own unique pattern of swirls and lines.
While we do use machines in this process, we don’t use robots or automation, so each one of our boxes is truly one-of-a-kind. If you look closely, you’ll notice lines or marks from the bending or grinding process, and you’ll see patterns, shading or other variations created during the polishing process. These are not defects! To the contrary, they evidence the artisanal quality of each individual box.
The baguette tray that fits inside the box - made from perforated aluminum - is carefully molded to produce round, crispy baguettes by maximizing steam circulation during the critical first stage of baking. We use aluminum to minimize weight without compromising strength. The baguette tray does not contain any "non-stick" chemicals, so parchment paper is used to prevent baguettes from sticking to the aluminum during baking.
We make each tray by pressing a flat piece of perforated aluminum into a specially-designed die. For durability and strength we attach the stainless steel handle using two copper rivets. The handle allows for easy lifting with just one hand, and just like the handle on the box lid, the tray handle is roomy enough to hold while wearing a thick oven mitt.
The third component in the set is a stainless steel plate with a channel down the center. This plate sits at the bottom of the box, underneath the baguette tray, and is preheated together with the box. When you place the baguette tray in the preheated box, and cold water from melting ice cubes drips through the perforations in the baguette tray, it falls into the center channel, protecting the bottom of the box against warping. The channel also distributes the water along the length of the box, helping to ensure that as the water turns to steam, the steam surrounds the baguettes evenly.
To construct the plate we start with another flat piece of stainless steel. We carefully bend each plate, making sure it will fit well into the box and lie securely under the baguette baking tray.
About Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy consisting of steel (iron and carbon), nickel and chromium. It contains no lead, and is the most recycled material in the world.
Chromium and nickel enhance the performance of stainless steel in important ways. The nickel adds luster, provides hardness, and helps prevent corrosion. It also makes the alloy stable, helping to ensure that no metal is transferred to your food during cooking. Chromium enhances durability by binding to the stainless steel surface and protecting against corrosion.
Stainless steel is hard and strong. It maintains these qualities at extremely high temperatures, and because of its non-porous surface, it doesn’t react with food or affect flavor, making it one of the safest and most desirable cooking and baking materials. Stainless also resists chipping, bending and cracking, and is easy to clean. For all these reasons, stainless steel is frequently used in commercial kitchens.
Note, however, that if handled improperly stainless steel can scratch and warp. In addition, at high heat stainless steel can become discolored. To prevent scratches and warping, and to remove discoloration if it develops, carefully review and follow these Use and Care Instructions
before using your Baguette Baking Box.
About Aluminum
Aluminum is an excellent choice for our baguette tray for a number of reasons. It’s strong, light, scratch-resistant and easy to clean. It can withstand high heat, and because it’s a good heat conductor, it contributes to more evenly-baked baguettes. The baguette tray contains no lead.
Aluminum is one of the most recycled materials, and the most recyclable
material, on the market today. Aluminum is considered a sustainable metal, meaning it can be recycled again and again with no loss in material or quality. According to recent reports, nearly 75% of all aluminum produced in the U.S. remains in use today.