Watch the cooling rack placement at the fair demo last Saturday

I was doing a bread demo at the county fair in Des Moines and set my baguettes on a rack right above the proofer vent. 20 minutes later the bottoms were soggy and the tops cracked, looked like a total amateur move in front of like 40 people. The vent was pushing warm damp air straight up, and I never even thought about it since I use a wood table at the shop. Now I check any surface airflow before I cool anything, even at home. Anyone run into weird heat or moisture spots in their kitchen that messed up a bake?

1 comments

1 Comment

thomas8629d ago

Well, that damp heat from below is a classic hidden killer, but I have seen the opposite problem too. A strong fan or AC vent blowing across a cooling rack can dry out the crust so fast it splits and pulls away from the crumb. Before I set anything down to cool now, I wave my hand around the spot to feel for any draft, hot or cold.