Steam injection oven

[gap]

Hi All,

our experiments are continuing with chocolate processing and we're in a (lucky?) position where the kitchen we're working in is about to have a commercial steam injection oven installed. From the Beckett books, I know a lot of commercial roasters pre-treat with steam to aid in bacteria kill and also for flavour development.

Has anyone tried using a kitchen steam injection oven to achieve the same result? Any broad guidelines on where/how we should start?

I'm guessing to inject the steam at the start, have a 90-100C period in the oven to dry the beans and then proceed with a normal roast profile. I'm not sure if the steam/drying process will impact on a standard roast profile we use that doesn't include those steps.

[Sebastian]

Great to see you thinking about this Gap. While i've never tried this exact oven, the principle is sound and think you're going in the right direction!

[gap]

Thanks Sebastian. We're a few months off installation, but I'll report progress once I have some.

[Freddo]

Good idea. I would worry that the steam would introduce too much moisture in to the beans. Would the subsequent roasting evaporate the water sufficiently?