May 22, 2019 - 1:59pm
Oven Spring using a Dutch Oven
When using a DO to bake bread my DO is usually preheated to 500F in a convection oven, and the temperature is then lowered to about 450F-convection when the baking begins.
I recently saw a recipe for a multi-grain bread (using 7-grain hot cereal) that proofed the dough directly in a cold DO, then scored it after proofing, then secured the cover and popped it into a 450F oven for the initial (20 min) trapped-steam bake interval. Claimed that procedure enhanced oven spring. Make any sense?
Questions:
Should DO be hot or cold at the start of baking? Any difference in the end result?
Does it mater if the DO is cast-iron, aluminum, or some other material, so long as it has a tight cover and traps steam?