samg31•20h ago

Trying to replicate my grandma's bread in a rental oven was a disaster

I was on a trip to Tuscany and wanted to bake my family's sourdough bread. The rental apartment had an oven with symbols instead of temperature numbers. I guessed the setting, but after hours, the bread was flat and dense. The local flour felt different, and the yeast didn't rise like back home. It was a real letdown, wasting a day and good ingredients. Now I know to check oven temps with a thermometer when baking away. It's a reminder that baking needs control, even on vacation. Maybe I should stick to buying bread from local bakeries next time.

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.jake20h ago

Those oven symbols are the worst, just little pictures of bread or a fan. Which one did you end up picking and why? The local flour thing is huge, it acts so different. Was it a really fine tipo 00 flour or something else? Makes you wonder if you'd even try again with a thermometer next trip, or if the local bakery is just the way to go.

the_wyatt20h ago

Oven symbols are like cryptic puzzles, @mitchell.jake. I chose the bread picture hoping for the best, but it just scorched the bottom. The flour was a super fine tipo 00 that made the dough way too sticky. Honestly next trip I might bring a thermometer, but at this point the bakery down the street seems unbeatable lmao.