No-knead bread in LeCreuset Pate Terrine Pan
I am being gifted with a cast iron LeCreuset Pate Terrine pan. It is approximately 4" x 12" x 3" and holds about 1.5 quarts. I am hoping to make no-knead breads in this lidded pan. i am relatively new to bread baking and no-knead breads. So far I have tried the Cook's Illustrated Almost No-Knead bread, the Artisan in Five no-knead and the Leahey NYT No-Knead Breads. I have baked them in the LeCreuset Dutch Oven and the Emile Henry Dutch oven pans. Since there are only 2 of us, the resulting breads are too big to consume before getting stale: hence the terrine pan idea.
I would like advice on adapting the no-knead recipes to this size pan, especially quantity and cooking termperature and time adaptations. Also, there is a tiny hole in the top of the lid, and should I assume this should be plugged to keep all steam inside.
Thanks for listening.
Ina
What a great question! I was wondering almost the same thing a few days ago...smaller NKB loaves; sesame NKB 'bread rolls' for lunch...I'm sure you know what I mean! I haven't done this yet, but my idea was:
STEP 1: to shape one batch of NKB into 5-6 sesame or poppy-seed 'rolls' ('orange-size') and baking them together in the same, or larger, dutch oven, at the same temps and times as a regular NKB loaf. They'll stick together, of course, but that won't worry me...it'll just be more convenient than slicing a big loaf for sandwiches. [See how they turn out]
STEP 2: to make respectable half-size loaves of NKB. I have an answer, but it's not a 'one-size-fits-all' solution...I have a cast-iron Japanese rice-pot which is much narrower at the base than a dutch oven, but widens enough at the top to allow good oven spring. I plan to use the original high temps, but to reduce the baking times by about 15-20%. I am also going to try this with an 8" dutch oven
I wish I had some solid info, experience or photos, but it's still 'on my horizon' for the coming months...I hope you get some better responses. I'll be reading them with great enthusiasm!
Warm regards,
copyu
Copyu
Thanks for the suggestions.
Ina
Are you sure it's cast iron? I work at Sur la Table and all our LC terrines are ceramic which I'd never preheat and through cold dough into.
"Le Creuset® Cherry Paté Terrine
A delicate dish like paté requires the cookware to conduct heat evenly and efficiently. Le Creuset's paté terrine, made of enameled cast iron, is the epitome of such cookware. Dishwasher safe; lifetime warranty against defects."
http://www.surlatable.com/product/le+creuset+cherry+pate+terrine.do?keyword=LeCreuset+Pate+Terrine+Pan&sortby=ourPicks
I checked amazon as well and that is correct. That's a new piece and all of their previous terrines have been stoneware, my mistake.
I have a Le Creuset pate loaf pan such as described here and it is enamelled cast iron . I bought it new in 1980 . I find it cooks bread perfectly but too small a loaf for our needs . I do have a full size Mason Cash terracotta bread pan but not for use with the no-knead technique . I use a LeCreuset lidded Dutch oven type I bought in a Thrift shop for $7 about twenty years ago .
Yes, it is cast iron. LeCreuset makes both ceramic and cast iron pans. We bought the cast iron one Sunday at the LeCreuset outlet in Kittery, Maine and the cast iron one is one of their featured items.
The No Knead Breads all depend on good hydration ratios, so the secret to scaling your recipes down is to learn "Baker's Math"--there are several good posts on that here if you do a search. There's a bit of a learning curve to baker's math, but it will serve you well in playing with the size of loaves you can make to fit your lifestyle.
Scaling recipes is also much easier if you measure ingredients by weight, rather than volume. And it really streamlines the process of making bread because there are no darn measuring cups to wash out!
For AB in 5 doughs, you can just experiment with the size/weight of the dough you are bakng and simply store the rest of the dough to use later. I regularly make half batches of dough for our family--that's just right for one or two loaves and perhaps some rolls or other treats during the week.
As for baking times, bread is done when it's done. You have to do some educated guessing and observing, and it helps a lot to use an instant-read thermometer to check the bread to see if it's done. I find that the usual signs that bread is done (brown color and hollow sound if you thump it) are not realiable for NKB's because their centers can still be gummy from the high hydration. Lean doughs should measure 180 degrees F in their centers and enriched doughs 205 degrees when ready to be removed from the oven.
Hello Ina,
I realize you posted this question a while back but better late than never? You might want to try adapting this Pullman Loaf Form DIY [that I created] to your terrine. However you need to preheat that terrine to 450F for like 30 minutes. So I guess you could put this form in a wooden box made to the same dimensions as the terrine--this is probably how I'd do it. Then pull the dough out of the box with the two wooden sticks and sit it on the hot terrine.. pull a stick out and flip it in. Or perhaps get a banneton (or basket) of the right dimensions to match your terrine.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/29869/pullman-loaf-form-diy
As far as cooking times/temp: I'd preheat the terrine to 450F with the cover ajar (about 30 minutes). Then I'd bake the loaf in the terrine , covered for about 25 minutes, then bake it for 5-12 minutes uncovered at 450F
As far as the amount of dough. Hamelman says 2.25lb for 13x4x4 pullman -- so that's 208 cubic inches. .01082 lb per cubic inch. Take this number and times that by the cubic inches of your terrine. That would be a good starting point. Your loaf of bread would be around 12 x 4 x 3.5 with that pan so that's 168 cubic inches. 168 x .01082 = 1.82 lbs (or 814 grams).
For no knead I make up a bin of dough (plastic covered shoebox from walmart for less than $2). I make enough dough in that bin for 2 loaves plus a couple pizzas with dough leftover to use as a starter for the next batch. I use a sourdough culture to start it initially @ 70% hydration. The dough tastes even better after it's been fermenting in the fridge for a few days. So if I used your terrine, I'd simply twist/pull offf 814 grams of dough out of the bin, do a quick shaping with like 2 or 3 folds, flour it excessively, and put in the banneton/form.