The Bread Test – Putting Our Offset Smoker to Work

When it comes to offset smokers, one of the most common questions we get asked is: “How even is the heat across the cooking chamber?”

Instead of just telling people, we wanted to show it. That’s where the classic “biscuit test” comes in. Traditionally, pitmasters use canned biscuits (or scones, in Kiwi terms) to map out the heat spots in a smoker. Since we didn’t have biscuits on hand, we swapped them out for something every Kiwi pantry has — plain white bread.

It works just the same, and it’s a great way to prove how our smokers perform.

Setting Up the Test

We fired up one of our Rawsteelco offset smokers and brought it to a steady 275–300°F — the sweet spot for low-and-slow cooking. The firebox was running clean, with thin blue smoke rolling out the stack.

Once we were locked in, we laid slices of bread evenly across the main cooking grate, as well as a few up on the top rack. The idea is simple: the bread acts as a heat map. Lighter toast marks = cooler zones. Darker toast marks = hotter zones. Burnt bread? That means a runaway hotspot.

The Results

After a short cook, we lifted the lid and pulled the bread. The results told the story. No burnt bread – a big win straight away. Our smoker ran smooth and clean the whole time. Even coloring – across the majority of the chamber, the bread came out evenly toasted, proving the airflow is working exactly how it should. Subtle differences – as expected, there were slight variations between the firebox side and the chimney side, but nothing extreme. These are the kind of differences pitmasters use to their advantage when cooking different cuts of meat.