bread suddenly sticking to my dutch ovens
Greetings,
I've been baking sourdough loaves in a pair of dutch ovens for about 6 months, working mostly through the Forkish and Tartine books. Until this week everything has gone so smoothly - a series of successes, with me baking anywhere between one and five times a week.
All of a sudden this week I've started having problems with the bread sticking to the dutch ovens. I use two, one is a Lodge cast iron 4qt dutch oven, and the other is a terra cotta dutch oven, also 4 quarts.
After my first disaster, where I lost the entire crust of the one in the cast iron, I got to work scrubbing and reseasoning that pot, and I also scrubbed up the terra cotta pot as best I could. When I was done they both looked marvelous and smooth.
Today I made a pair of tartine olive loaves, and...same problem. Completely lost the crust in the cast iron. The Terra Cotta faired a bit better, with just a small hole in the crust.
Could this have something to do with the summer heat? I've read here and elsewhere that you can line the ovens with parchment paper, but I don't understand why I would all of a sudden have to do that after so many loaves went so well. Is there something else I could be missing?
Thanks for your advice!
suddenly sticking but I had the same thing happen to me. After losing a crust or two, I just have rounds of parchment paper that I reuse for the bottoms. Problem solved!
Just a theory:
You have 2 different dutch ovens, i doubt they both failed at the same time. Maybe your oven is having an issue? One of the heating elements might not be working properly. Maybe is not sealing like it used too.
If your oven is not heating up as fast as it used too, it is possible your dutch ovens are not getting as hot as they used too prior to putting the dough in. That could cause the dough to stick.
and make sure there isn't a baking sheet sitting on the bottom of the oven. I did that two weeks ago. (Blush)
I noticed my mini oven outside gets lazy in this heat and preheat is shorter but not as hot. Give the bake 5 more minutes. Sticking can be the loaf isn't done yet.
No parchment? Toss in a quick tiny dusting of flour into the pot before the dough.
I have the same problem, and the same solution as the poster upthread: simple 10” rounds of parchment, which are good for 4-8 bakes, depending on the dough. Saves me plenty of cursing and imperfect loaves which no one will buy. Don’t cheap out on the parchment....be sure to get Quilon coated (silicone) or the wetter doughs will stick to the cheaper, thinner parchment. Ask me how I know, LOL.
Take a look at these. I have used them for years with good success, but never on breads. I have an induction stove and I use them between the pot and the glass top to prevent scratching. They handle the heat well. I think some use them for cake baking. The bottom link is one of many. They come in various sizes.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196UOVSG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Danny
NOTE - I have had parchment sticking problems. If memory serves me well it was related to moisture. Possibly super high hydration and definitelty spritzing the loaves heavily while on the paper. On one occassion I tried ice cubes in the pot and they melted and glued the paper to the bottom of the loaves.