2nd loaf, better than the first
But still have a long way to go. Did follow a recipe from start to finish as recommended here. I think it was underbaked after all was said and done. The crust is soft (my wife likes that ) and the crumb is VERY stretchy with extremely moist texture. Nice holes though, and good taste.
So! Onward and forward to loaf three that hopefully will be better.
Oh, I baked it in a preheated DO covered for 30 minutes. (500 degrees, first ten then dropped to 475 for remainder). The DO was on a pizza stone. The bottom of the bread started getting too dark, so I took it out.
Not an impressive amount of oven rise, but much better than last time.
I'm worried that the oven might be part of the problem, but will carry on!
Thank you all for your tips, recommendations, suggestions and directions! Couldn't do it without you.
and the DO on the rack above it. the only time I have ever burnt the bottom was when my DO sat on the stone!
good luck with the next bake!
Leslie
I am glad that you persevered and got a tasty loaf.
I do the same as stated by Leslie. My pizza stones are on the rack below the one I use for my Dutch ovens. I also have settled on the following for baking my bread:
1. Preheat oven with Dutch ovens inside to 500F for at least 45 minutes (It takes about 30 minutes for the oven to reach temp and I wait about 15 minutes longer)
2. Bakes loaves in Dutch ovens at 500F for 20 minutes.
3. Drop temp to 450 F for another 10 minutes
4. Take lid off Dutch ovens.
5. Bake at least another 20 minutes. Usually it is 25 minutes before the crust is the colour I want.
6. Test that the internal temp is at least 205 F. I prefer it to be around 208 -210 F but 205 F is my minimum.
As for oven spring, having the loaf slightly underproofed helps with that as does the shaping. I use the envelope fold method and have been getting much better looking breads for the most part. Be sure to do a preshape, a rest and then a final shape.
Hope this helps.
Thank you both! I'll try the DO on the rack ABOVE the stone!
Now, new question. I just read elsewhere that one should never preheat an empty DO for fear of ruining it. I have a Le Creuset that I've been using. If I crack it, I'm in SERIOUS trouble with my wife!
So, do you preheat with some water in the DO? Or have you never had a problem preheating it dry?
but then again they are not Le Creuset. I too would hesitate to put such expensive cookware dry in the oven if it goes against the manufacturer's instructions. Why don't you give Le Creuset a call or email them?
I checked their website and it doesn't say anything specifically about preheating an empty DO in an oven. I think I'll err on the side of caution for this though. It's way too costly an item for me to take a chance on ruining it by heating it dry.
Or, maybe I'll give it a try with some water in it (but then, dumping the water, then putting in the dough would be a pain in the neck, or rather back, to me).
but it is an old enamelled steel roaster and is brilliant. Recently I bought a terracotta pot in the shape of a bowl, seasoned it and now use it the same way, ie heat it up with the oven. In this instance I bake on parchment directly onto the stone and cover with the pot. It works a treat! and only cost a few dollars too. This way I can bake a batard and boule at the same time - a tight fit across the oven but it works. Sometimes I plug the hole in the pot with aluminium foil and sometimes I don't, works well either way.
take care with your Le Creuset though, others here will be able to help with what they do.
Leslie