The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Baking Bread in a Chicken Brick

Reynard's picture
Reynard

Baking Bread in a Chicken Brick

A few days ago in another thread, I wondered whether a chicken brick might be an alternative to some of the significantly more expensive options for baking breads in pots etc. So I said I'd give it a go as I have a couple of the things stashed in my cupboard... You all have to bear in mind that I'm still a bread newbie with a lot to learn, but I'm always up for trying something new. ;-)

Here's my oval chicken brick. The other is chicken-shaped, and perhaps a little heavier gauge than this one. I let it soak in cold water for about 15 mins before wiping it dry prior to use.

 

 

I made up a batch of bog-standard white bread; 750g white bread flour, 2 teaspoons salt, 15g lard, 1.5 teaspoons dried active yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, 450 ml tepid water. 500g of the dough went to make a fruit loaf, the rest was used for this experiment. Did a stretch & fold halfway through the bulk ferment (which I kept on the cool side, so it took a couple of hours), then deflated and shaped the loaf. I put it in the chicken brick after greasing and flouring the bottom.

I clapped the lid on and let it prove - I'd say for about an hour-ish. My impression is that it rose fairly slowly. After proving, I scored the loaf, but that didn't go too well... It might well have over-proved while I was waiting for another loaf to finish baking.

The sealed brick was popped into an oven preheated to 230C (that's as high as my neighbour's oven will go). I gave it 20 minutes with the lid on, then 25 minutes with the lid off to brown the crust. Here is what came out of the oven. And it smelled really good too...

I got a very soft, springy loaf with a thin but crisp crust - probably springier than I'd get if I'd baked the bread in a tin. The loaf didn't release from the brick right away; I left it to cool for a few minutes, put the board over the top, tipped the whole lot upside down and gave it a sharp rap against the work surface. That did the trick quite nicely. Here's today's bake sitting on the cooling rack...

On the left is the chicken brick loaf and on the right is a German rye sourdough. No crumb shot on the chicken brick bread yet, that'll probably come tomorrow as I still have enough of last week's bake for breakfast...

Would I try this again? Yes, definitely, but I think my lack of experience showed. There were things I could have done better, and maybe I just didn't use the right recipe for this. I chose basic white bread to do this as I know it's one that I have a good baseline for. As it stands though, I'm open to suggestions... :-)

In any case, I'm hoping that you folks might find my experiment useful. As for the fruit loaf, I left it with my lovely neighbour as a thank you for letting me use his oven :-)

KathyF's picture
KathyF

Looks great! Can't wait to see the crumb shot. Maybe some practice shaping so that you get a nice tension on the surface of the loaf. That way it will hold it's shape better and rise more up. That cooker is a great shape for doing batards.

SteveMc's picture
SteveMc (not verified)

plenty of height for tall bread too.

Reynard's picture
Reynard

Shaping is where I fall flat on my face! I'm getting the hang of boules as you can see, but batards are another matter altogether. I just end up with frisbees, albeit tasty ones. I did warn you I was a novice LOL

Will post a crumb shot later - the bread is on the agenda for today's (imminent) lunch :-)

The brick is 9.5 x 7 inches and 6 inches tall btw...

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

get much better spring and bloom by preheating the clay pot in the oven and then dropping the bread in it hot.  That way it doesn't spread as much and goes up instead of out.  Well done and happy baking 

Reynard's picture
Reynard

OK, I'll try that next time and see where it takes me :-)

Anyways, here's the crumb shot. Loaf was nice and soft (springy, not squishy) and very, very tasty. The crust had softened overnight, but still had a nice texture.

N.B. I used Waitrose's Leckford Estate flour for this one rather than my usual Tesco own brand bread flour. I think that might have had something to do with the difference in flavour along with the baking method itself.

KathyF's picture
KathyF

That turned out very nice indeed! I call that a big success. Looks very tasty.

Ruralidle's picture
Ruralidle

You might like to know that Richard Bertinet recommends Shipton Mill flours as a first choise and then Leckford Estate bread flour as a good second choice.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

perhaps for the whole bake.  Add 10 to 15 min baking time to the beginning while the pot is heating, then count off the bake time.  Taking the lid off did brown the top,  but I think wait a little longer as the bottom and sides appear pale.  I think it had some more rising to do before setting the crust.  Looks good, good choice of test recipe.

If you have a fan, turn it on while the the pot is closed.    :)

Reynard's picture
Reynard

I appreciate all the the advice, folks :-) You've certainly given me a few things to think about next time I try this, and yes, there is certainly room for improvement. Hopefully I can turn a good loaf into a great loaf. :-)

Keeping the recipe itself the same, it looks like I have four variables to play around with:

1) Shaping.

2) Baking from cold, loaf proofed in the pot and increase the bake time.

3) Preheating the pot first and then put the proofed loaf in to bake.

4) Leaving the lid on for longer during the bake.

We'll see where this takes me next time. I'll certainly keep you posted, but I have to eat my way through this loaf plus a large rye first... ;-)