![]() On the left is the loaf started in a preheated pot, and on the right the loaf baked in a cold oven.īoth loaves are almost exactly the same height. In comparison, the Dutch oven has a wider, flatter bottom, which allows the dough to spread and flatten slightly.ĭetermined to give the cold-start method a fair chance, I repeat the experiment making both loaves in the Bread and Potato Pot - baking one in a preheated pot and starting the other in a cold oven. The Bread and Potato Pot has a smaller, more spherical bottom. She has a keen eye for details when it comes to baking pans and other kitchen tools, and she wonders if the difference between the two loaves could be a result of the different shape of the pots. I stand back, admiring my handiwork, when a member of our merchandising team, Rosie, enters the test kitchen. Both would make fantastic toast, I promise. The loaf on the left was started in a cold oven, while the loaf on the right was baked in a preheated Bread and Potato Pot.Įven though the loaves look a bit different, the insides reveal a remarkably similar crumb structure. The dough made in the preheated pot has more oven spring, meaning it rose taller while it baked. It has a nicely browned crust and the slashes open while it bakes, giving the loaf an artisan look.īut when it's placed next to a loaf made in a preheated pot, it doesn’t look quite as glamorous or lofty. The loaf that's started in a cold oven looks pretty on its own. Steam is essential to baking crispy loaves of bread - you can see the wonders it does in this post by my fellow blogger and bread baker, Barb.īut just how much steam does the cold-start method capture? Is it as effective as putting your risen dough right into a hot pot? ![]() The result? A decent loaf of homemade bread! How baking in a cold Dutch oven comparesīaking in a cold Dutch oven doesn't only protect the integrity of your pots, it also helps capture steam. If you want a nicely caramelized loaf, remove the lid when there are about 5 to 10 minutes left in the bake time to let the top brown. Once everything is fully preheated, start the baking time (usually about 25 to 35 minutes). Set the oven to the baking temperature called for in the recipe, and let it go! Your goal is to have the dough finish rising when the oven and pot reach the full temperature. ![]() Place the pot with the almost-fully-risen dough into a cold oven. When you poke the dough with your finger, the indent should fill in slowly - this is how you’ll know it’s ready to go into the oven. When the dough is almost finished rising, cover the pot with a lid. Place the shaped dough into a lightly greased or parchment-lined Dutch oven, and let it rise for the second time. Let the dough rise once at room temperature and then shape into a boule, or whatever shape you like. This Dutch oven made by Emile Henry is perfect for baking bread using a cold-oven start, but you can use almost any Dutch oven like this - though you'd definitely want to check the manufacturer's instructions about preheating. (We like the No-Knead Crusty White Bread recipe for its ease and quintessential crusty bread texture.) Start by preparing your dough as instructed in the recipe. There are just a few tricks to achieving fantastic results: You’ve got to know your oven and watch your dough closely as it rises. Some of our bread recipes call for baking in a cold Dutch oven, but you can use this approach to bake almost any crusty bread. Baking in a cold Dutch oven: how it works No oven mitts are needed here - the oven, pot, and dough inside are all room temperature. It prevents any sort of thermal damage that might occur to the pot if it's heated empty. Putting the pot into a cold oven allows it to warm slowly as the oven heats up. This is when you might want to consider baking in a cold Dutch oven - the oven isn't cold the entire time, of course, but just at the start. But what about all the other Dutch ovens that can’t be preheated empty, for fear of damage? So if you’ve got a bread baking crock that can be preheated empty (like this Bread and Potato Pot), it’s certainly worth trying this method. Here are loaves made in a preheated pot (right) with those baked on a sheet pan (left). The results of this method were impressive - loaves baked to crisp, crusty, golden-brown perfection. In our initial exploration of bread baking in a Dutch oven, we investigated using a preheated pot to bake no-knead bread. This topic deserves a full-on investigation! So when readers began asking about bread baking in a cold Dutch oven, we started plotting. When new questions are posed, we put our baking brains to work finding the answer. Suggestions aren’t brushed to the wayside but taken seriously. Customer feedback is highly regarded at King Arthur Flour - really, it is.
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