The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

How much dough for 5 qt. Cast Iron

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

How much dough for 5 qt. Cast Iron

I just bought a Lodge 5 quart double dutch cast iron oven. It's a little less that 10 inches in diameter. I'm thinking that I'd like to use the shallow part for the bottom of the DO and the deeper part for the top. That way I can easily drop the dough into the shallow part and easily slash it.

I'd like to make a large bread with some height. If I use enough dough will the bread expand to the sides and grow up during the oven spring? My goal is to have slices that are large enough to make sandwiches.

Does my plan make sense or is there something I haven't thought about?

How much dough do you recommend to achieve my goal?

Neuse River Sailor's picture
Neuse River Sailor

I have a 4 qt dutch oven and to get close to filling it up I need a batch of dough made from 4 cups of flour. I use a lot of whole grain so I may not get quite the volume of a white bread but still, to fill up a five quart dutch oven I think it's going to take 5 cups of flour. My dough is too slack to dump on the lid and then dome it with the deeper part, so I dump it in the deep part and then put the top on it. I think if you had a stiffer dough that would hold its shape your plan would work. I usually preheat the cast iron before adding the dough and if you do that be super careful handling the dutch oven, it is a big heavy piece of hot iron and it's easy to get burned. With something that big I'd be inclined to grease the dutch oven and put the dough in it cold.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I'm estimating your dough at around 2 pounds. I'm assuming that your dough fills the bottom of the oven and rises up the sides, which is what I want.

Do you happen to know the diameter of the oven you use?

How high does the dough rise?

Neuse River Sailor's picture
Neuse River Sailor

Mine, by measurement, is 10 inches in diameter and 3 inches high. These are inside measurements with a ruler. That converts to almost exactly 4 quarts. I dump the dough into the very hot pot, lid it and bake. The dough spreads out to fill the whole bottom and climbs about a little over an inch up the sides, doming in the center. That's with 3 cups of flour. I tried once with a 4 cup recipe and it climbed about 2 1/2 inches. I have also done a 3 cup recipe in my 2 qt dutch oven, and I have to get the lid off in the first few minutes as the bread springs up over the top of the oven.

I've found that the boule form is just not ideal for sandwich slices so have gone over to using a loaf pan for sandwich bread.

 

 

SlowRain's picture
SlowRain

I have the same question, so I thought I'd piggy-back off of this thread.  What's the largest size boule you've made in a 5-quart Lodge Dutch oven?  If possible, could you give the amount of flour and water in grams?  For reference, I'm thinking of these two:

https://shop.lodgemfg.com/dutch-ovens/5-quart-cast-iron-dutch-oven.asp

https://shop.lodgemfg.com/dutch-ovens/5-quart-cast-iron-double-dutch-oven.asp

 

7oaks's picture
7oaks

I use the Lodge product with the loop handles, the second of the links provided by SlowRain. The first link provided has a single central handle in the lid or shallow piece. So this would not be practical when using the shallow piece as the base. The second link shows the product which allows for the shallow piece to be used as a skillet or as the bottom of a DO for bread baking. It may also be safer when transferring dough into the hot container.

As to amount of dough, I guess it would have to be trial and error and dependant on the recipe. I make boules with between 750g and 1000g quite happily and I am sure it would take even more.

Alan

SlowRain's picture
SlowRain

If 1000g fits just fine, that's more than enough for my needs.