Contrary to popular belief, when you're baking at home, you don't need a baking stone or a steamy environment in the oven. Those things are very nice to have, but they just aren't necessary to create a good product.While I don't bake at home often, on those occasions that I do want to get steam in the oven, I have a method that works very well. Start off by putting a sheet pan or baking pan (something with walls) on the bottom-most shelf of the oven. Place on that something that is heavy and retains heat. Some people use lava rocks that you can get at garden centers, but I use nuts and bolts. A colleague told me about that once, and I found that worked well and they were far easier to come by than a lava rock.
Bring your oven up to temperature with the nuts/bolts/pan set up in place. Whatever medium you use, make sure to give it plenty of time to hot. When the oven has been heated to the recipe-prescribed temperature, put your bread on the rack, pour some water (about a cup) over your steam-creating rig and close the oven door as quickly as possible. The hardware will evaporate the water, creating plenty of steam for that artisan loaf. Make sure to let everything cool down thoroughly when you're done baking before removing it from the oven.
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