Re: Today’s Bread

yes. The entrapment of steam is the thing that makes it work.

I mostly agree but believe a side by side with more mass, such as cast iron , would show somewhat better results for that.  OTOH, I used a SS hotel pan (which I am resorting to more and more often as my bones and joints deteriorate due to myeloma) to cover a dough launched on well heated tiles in my post just above.

Whether you are correct or I am, I feel we are not miles apart. I am mostly coming clean about not doing as much work as some do, or as I myself once did.  Except for precious few exceptional bakeries, any method we have discussed here places us far ahead of what is commonly available both in terms of providing for our families and friends and in satisfying our own burning curiosities. IMO YMMV, etc.