March 2, 2014 - 3:59pm
Dutch Oven alternatives?
Hello bakers,
I'm currently abroad dealing with family health issues. I want to bake some quality boule's for my mom but have miserably failed at finding a dutch oven. I know I can try some moist towels, or ice cubes in a pan or another of those techniques to introduce moisture to the oven, but I was curios about using a cast iron pan and building like a tin foil tent to capture the dough moisture and recreate D.O. results.
Any thoughts of ideas?
B
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Can you put the cast iron pan upside down over it or will that not leave enough space for it to rise? I've used a stainless steel bowl to put over mine while cooking and that worked almost as well as the dutch oven that I finally got.
Mike
Mike's suggestion is probably your best solution. There was much discussion of that technique a couple years ago, I think it was.
David
double the foil and shape it first over the upside down pan or a bowl with the same edge diameter to get the shape, then crimp it tight around the pan edge before popping it into a hot oven.
I use a crockpot insert and it works very well, but mine is all ceramic and glass. I have also used a casserole dish (corningware) and a turkey roaster with a bit of water in it. They all work ok. The turkey roaster gives the least desired effect, because the crust doesn't come out as great.
It can take the heat. Try a big crockery bowl. I'd start it in a cold oven and then invert it over the loaf on a baking sheet.
Paul