Baking Bread in Dutch Oven KA

By mariannefeldman

https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2015/10/15/artisan-sourdough-bread-tips-part-3/

Ingredients

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Details

Adapted from blog.kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

If you don’t have a pot that can be preheated empty, you can still get great results with the following two methods of Dutch oven baking. With either method, you’ll want to prepare the pot by spraying or rubbing oil into the sides of the pot and then sprinkling the bottom of the pot with a coarse flour, such as the rice flour/all-purpose flour blend I recommended in Part 2. Semolina or cornmeal will also work well for this purpose. Another option is to grease the sides of the pot and place a parchment round on the bottom of the pot.

o avoid thermal shock, let your loaf warm up a bit after taking it out of the refrigerator. Give it at least 45 minutes at room temperature in the vessel you plan to bake it in before placing it in either a cold or preheated oven.

Method 1: Put the dough and pot in the center of a cold oven. Set the oven to 450°F, turn it on, and set a timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, remove the lid and allow the bread to continue baking until it’s a dark golden brown, probably an additional 25-30 minutes. Since ovens and baking pots can vary quite a bit, set your timer for 15 minutes, and check the bread periodically after that.

Artisan sourdough bread tips via @kingarthurflour

Method 2: Preheat the oven to 450°F, giving it at least 30 minutes to come up to temperature. Place the loaf in its lidded pot into the preheated oven and set the timer for 25 minutes. Remove the lid after 25 minutes and set the timer for 15 minutes, checking the loaf periodically after that until it’s a rich golden brown.

With either method if you find that your loaf isn’t browning enough on the sides and bottom, it’s fine to finish the bake outside the pot, directly on the oven rack.

Artisan sourdough bread tips via @kingarthurflour

You can also simulate the closed environment of a cloche or Dutch oven using a pizza stone and a metal bowl. There’s no need to allow the loaf to come to room temperature when using this method, and you may find that the loaf spreads less if you bake it directly from the refrigerator.

Preheat both the stone and a metal pan below the stone for a full hour at 450°F. Transfer the loaf to the hot stone, using parchment paper or a peel, and place a stainless steel bowl (I use an 8-quart mixing bowl) over the loaf, leaving a portion of the bowl hanging over the stone in front, so that the opening lines up with the pan below. To add steam, pour 1/2 cup boiling water into the hot metal pan below. The resulting steam will rise into the bowl.

NOTE: Long oven mitts and care are necessary for this method to prevent a steam burn! I don’t have oven mitts on in the picture above, as the photo was taken when the oven was cold, so I could illustrate the oven set up. Also, many bakers have suggested that a towel should always cover your glass door prior to steaming. Water drops that splash on the hot glass can cause it to break.