December 18, 2018 - 1:16pm
Combo cooker height
i just got the Lodge combo cooker from Amazon. It doesn’t look tall enough although it’s the 3 quart. Measured from the outside the tallest piece measures 3-3/8inches. Either it makes a very small loaf or I got the wrong one. Any thoughts?
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Riley, what is the measurements for both the top and bottom? It is the combination of both heights that matter when used as a combo cooker for bread baking. Maybe you could provide the link to the cooker on Amazon.
Dan
Riley, Dan is right, you put the loaf on the bottom pan, that add the top . I haven't measured, but guess the height is probably around 4 inches. The goal is to have a vessel that is not very much bigger than the loaf, since that increases the humidity. If you had a 5 quart, you would have a lower humidity percentage.
Thanks. Yeah I get that. My neighbor just made a giant loaf of sourdough that would be way tall for this thing. I panicked. Different recipes I guess.
It's a little over 5" tall with the lid on. It just seemed a little short. Maybe that's OK. I'm just starting my sourdough journey here so I guess I'm used to giant loaves and tall pan breads. I linked up from several bread sites including this one to purchase it on Amazon so I guess it's the right one.
Riley, sorry, yes , you are right, you need to optimize the amount of dough for the size of the combo cooker that you have .I am usually making loaves with 454 grams of flour, and have no trouble with the height limit of the combo cooker.
Great thanks. Full steam ahead then. I appreciate your giving me a flour amount. I’m working on learning the percentages thing. Smaller loaves will work better for me anyway.
Riley , full steam ahead - nice line.
I should have mentioned I use 100% whole wheat, so I don't get the same oven spring as you get with regular flour, and I am usually around 80% hydration. My suggestion is that you play with different sizes till you find the ideal size for your cooker. If it the loaf is too small, the moisture level in the cooker will be lower than ideal, if the loaf is too large, it will either hit the top of the combo cooker , or get so close that it may get browned in spots. Also, if you decide you want to preheat the DO, I preheat each part separately on burners on my range - takes maybe 5 to 10 minutes, I much prefer that to preheating in the oven, which can take a long time.
So many variables, but this is so helpful. Today I did one simple KAF recipe of a yeasted un-panned loaf in a cold start oven and a cold cloche. I thought it would be a disaster but pretty good for a not too nuanced technique. It rose, browned eventually, and the crumb was pretty good for its type. I’ll just start practicing on these harder techniques. I really like the top of the stove idea. Less scary.
My starter is two days away from ready and then I’ll give it a go. Thanks for taking the time to clarify. As you can see I’m pretty new to this.