Thank you so much for this! I don't know what I would do without my Dutch ovens. I bought my first one when I was initially learning about bread making. I knew it was ideal because of the steam situation, but it's great to learn a little more about what's truly going on in there. It's funny... we have a vintage bus that we converted into an RV to travel in for part of the year and we literally spend hours configuring the drawers to find the perfect Dutch oven storage spot because it is a MUST, even when we're on the road! (And it works great in our bus' convection oven.)
I've been using a cast iron rib roaster (Broil King 69615 Cast Iron Rib Roaster on Amazon) to bake a "loaf-shaped" loaf. I make the batch 33% larger relative to a loaf designed for a dutch oven.
I use a Forneau Oven which frees me from the constraints (round loaves and one loaf at a time) that are listed above. Also no handling heavy hot lids or removing the bulk mass of hot cast iron from the oven. You can even make a slightly short epi baguette.
So I just discovered that I am not supposed to preheat empty enameled dutch oven pans? I have been successfully using my smaller Le Creuset to make my loaves with the hot start method, but just got nervous that I have damaged/could damage my pot if I continued... Do you have any specific advice on that? I picked up a Lodge combo cooker just in case!
Great article, lots of helpful info here. One addition: I've also found that the inverted-vessel-atop-baking stone (not steel) works great, but especially great when an ice cube or two are placed directly on the stone before covering with your vessel to really pack the void with steam for that initial spring. Melting cubes function better on a completely flat (and porous / absorbent) stone than they do inside a vessel like an enameled DO with rounded edges that risk water pooling under your loaf and creating a weird bottom crust. Typically I add two cubes when I load the loaf, and one more about ten minutes in. These tweaks and many of the ones you mention have been a breakthrough for my final loaf height and that beautiful real burst-open look cascading from the score.
I've always found that instructions for sourdough baking are dramatically lacking in detail around the score and the especially the bake, which have an immense impact on your final result (if you lean perfectionist like me). Much appreciate the detail you've contributed.
Great article. When you check oven spring after 15-20 minutes, how do you know if it’s time to remove the lid or go longer? I’ve just been following what the timer tells me to do.
I love learning the "Why?" after using the method so successfully for a while--thanks! When you turn on the convection fan, do you need to adjust the temperature?
I recently treated myself to a bread sling (https://www.breadsling.com/). It works pretty well, but only for loaves up to about 600 g of flour.
Speaking of cold start...I've found that it produces better oven spring for me for pan loaves than hot start. I haven't tested it rigorously, but I'm pretty sure this is true. Have you experienced this or experimented with it?
Time to ditch lava rocks! I've been doing it ever since I bought a lame in combination with a large upside-down bowl (KAB's technique). Lava rocks ARE fussy, and I have a gas oven so there's no point. I'm going to retire them as mulch for my plants and start using just the bowl or a dutch oven.
This answered a lot of questions that were starting to pop into my mind as I become more comfortable with sourdough! (I've been with you since Day 1 of Quarantiny!)
The only question I have is, do you have any recommendations on how to remove the loaf from a Dutch oven (standard Le Creuset) once it has completed the steaming phase? I'm worried I will damage the crust that has formed if I invert it and I'm not sure the parchment is strong enough at that point to lift the loaf.
Great read. I use a baking stone that fits the width and depth of my oven. I then use the top of a cloche to create the dutch oven effect. Once that loaf has baked for 15-20 minutes, I lift it off and put in a new loaf. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I've been baking breads with a Dutch oven for a few years but was often underwhelmed by the uneven baking of the bread's side, after removing the lid. Removing the bread after the first 20 min and using convection was *chef's kiss*. Thanks
I want to bake several loaves as holiday gifts but my two Dutch ovens won't fit in my oven at the same time. You mention taking the first loaf out to brown on the rack while putting a second loaf in the Dutch oven to spring. Does the second (and third, etc.) loaf cook well enough even though I've lowered the oven temp from 475* to 425*? I tried leaving the oven at 475* last night but my first loaf got too brown. Second question, I have a convection fan but have never used it. Do you adjust the oven temp when you turn on the fan?
Pass the Dutchie
Thank you so much for this! I don't know what I would do without my Dutch ovens. I bought my first one when I was initially learning about bread making. I knew it was ideal because of the steam situation, but it's great to learn a little more about what's truly going on in there. It's funny... we have a vintage bus that we converted into an RV to travel in for part of the year and we literally spend hours configuring the drawers to find the perfect Dutch oven storage spot because it is a MUST, even when we're on the road! (And it works great in our bus' convection oven.)
I've been using a cast iron rib roaster (Broil King 69615 Cast Iron Rib Roaster on Amazon) to bake a "loaf-shaped" loaf. I make the batch 33% larger relative to a loaf designed for a dutch oven.
I use a Forneau Oven which frees me from the constraints (round loaves and one loaf at a time) that are listed above. Also no handling heavy hot lids or removing the bulk mass of hot cast iron from the oven. You can even make a slightly short epi baguette.
So I just discovered that I am not supposed to preheat empty enameled dutch oven pans? I have been successfully using my smaller Le Creuset to make my loaves with the hot start method, but just got nervous that I have damaged/could damage my pot if I continued... Do you have any specific advice on that? I picked up a Lodge combo cooker just in case!
Great article, lots of helpful info here. One addition: I've also found that the inverted-vessel-atop-baking stone (not steel) works great, but especially great when an ice cube or two are placed directly on the stone before covering with your vessel to really pack the void with steam for that initial spring. Melting cubes function better on a completely flat (and porous / absorbent) stone than they do inside a vessel like an enameled DO with rounded edges that risk water pooling under your loaf and creating a weird bottom crust. Typically I add two cubes when I load the loaf, and one more about ten minutes in. These tweaks and many of the ones you mention have been a breakthrough for my final loaf height and that beautiful real burst-open look cascading from the score.
I've always found that instructions for sourdough baking are dramatically lacking in detail around the score and the especially the bake, which have an immense impact on your final result (if you lean perfectionist like me). Much appreciate the detail you've contributed.
Great article. When you check oven spring after 15-20 minutes, how do you know if it’s time to remove the lid or go longer? I’ve just been following what the timer tells me to do.
I love learning the "Why?" after using the method so successfully for a while--thanks! When you turn on the convection fan, do you need to adjust the temperature?
Lowering the raw loaf is always tricky for me. I wish I had purchased a combo cooker (https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/cast-iron-combo-cooker?sku=LCC3) instead of a traditional Dutch oven.
I recently treated myself to a bread sling (https://www.breadsling.com/). It works pretty well, but only for loaves up to about 600 g of flour.
Speaking of cold start...I've found that it produces better oven spring for me for pan loaves than hot start. I haven't tested it rigorously, but I'm pretty sure this is true. Have you experienced this or experimented with it?
Time to ditch lava rocks! I've been doing it ever since I bought a lame in combination with a large upside-down bowl (KAB's technique). Lava rocks ARE fussy, and I have a gas oven so there's no point. I'm going to retire them as mulch for my plants and start using just the bowl or a dutch oven.
Don’t electric ovens vent too?
This answered a lot of questions that were starting to pop into my mind as I become more comfortable with sourdough! (I've been with you since Day 1 of Quarantiny!)
The only question I have is, do you have any recommendations on how to remove the loaf from a Dutch oven (standard Le Creuset) once it has completed the steaming phase? I'm worried I will damage the crust that has formed if I invert it and I'm not sure the parchment is strong enough at that point to lift the loaf.
Thank you for literally EVERYTHING!
How would you compare a clay baker to a cast iron Dutch oven?
Have you ever sealed a Dutch oven with a piece of aluminum foil?
Great read. I use a baking stone that fits the width and depth of my oven. I then use the top of a cloche to create the dutch oven effect. Once that loaf has baked for 15-20 minutes, I lift it off and put in a new loaf. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I've been baking breads with a Dutch oven for a few years but was often underwhelmed by the uneven baking of the bread's side, after removing the lid. Removing the bread after the first 20 min and using convection was *chef's kiss*. Thanks
I want to bake several loaves as holiday gifts but my two Dutch ovens won't fit in my oven at the same time. You mention taking the first loaf out to brown on the rack while putting a second loaf in the Dutch oven to spring. Does the second (and third, etc.) loaf cook well enough even though I've lowered the oven temp from 475* to 425*? I tried leaving the oven at 475* last night but my first loaf got too brown. Second question, I have a convection fan but have never used it. Do you adjust the oven temp when you turn on the fan?