"Kenneth" > wrote in message
...
> To get the benefits of steam, it must be generated outside the oven...

Pardon me, Kenneth, but IMHO that's a bunch of hooey. Many commercial deck
ovens (Bongards included) generate their steam inside the oven by spraying
water on heated metal plates (how does your Bongard generate steam?). Why
shouldn't the same technique work well for the home baker? In fact, it
works quite well for me. At the bottom of my oven, I have a roasting pan
full of cleaned landscaping stones that is heated when the oven preheats
(with apologies to D. Adams). When I load my loaves into the oven, I toss
1/2 - 1 cup of extremely hot water onto the stones and quickly close the
door, thus producing voluminous amounts of steam. The result is a nice,
shiny crisp crust (photos previously posted).

- Steve Brandt