April 8, 2015 - 12:54pm
Oval Dutch Oven
I am now the proud owner of a beautiful red oval dutch oven. I wanted another Lodge combo cooker but I had visa points to use up and found the Cuisinart enameled 5 qt for reasonable points.
Can I still get cook boules in it or do I now have to get an oval banneton? The dimensions are 12 x 9.5.
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It depends on how you want to handle your dough. I use an oval enameled dutch oven, not nearly as nice as yours, to make a hybrid sourdough/ commercial yeast batard that is cool bulk fermented and then final proofed right in the dutch oven. If you want to use a cool rise a banneton or basket may be the way to go.
When you make your boule in the combo cooker if you use the skillet part as the bottom and the pot as the top and the boule does not contact the sides of the pot then you have enough structure in your boule to be able to bake it in the oval dutch oven anyway.
I've had many bad experiences trying to get a proofed loaf into a preheated deep pot and try to avoid that situation as much as possible. You may be better at it than me.
Good luck with your new dutch oven.
Stu
I've done it both ways, using skillet as bottom and skillet as top. I still have issues getting it right. I may try the way Ken Forkish does it in his video, tapping the banneton out onto a floured counter and then gently picking it up and lowering into the DO. Or, I may try putting on a sheet of parchment and lowering into the DO since I've read that baking bread discolors the nice interior of the enameled DO.
Right now I've got two batches autolysing so I can compare the results of one batch cold bulk/cold proof and the other warm bulk/cold proof as well as testing the limits of the cold proof. I will at least have one batch of edible bread if nothing else!
Everyone has different opinions/experience on the subject as in YMMV (your mileage may vary) so best to do the test myself with my particular recipe.
Oh and Amazon loves me...I just ordered an oval banneton! My arsenal just keeps growing!
I'll report on it all in a day or two when done! Thanks!
Wendy
I have used various preheated deep pots (DOs, round and oval) and have never burnt myself.
All I do is tip the proofed loaf onto a piece of parchment paper on the counter and carefully lower it to the hot pot. I do that by grabbing the edges/corner of the paper. You can't go wrong. One in the pot I score my loaf, put the hot lid on and off it goes into the oven.
Works every time. I reuse the paper quite a few times before it becomes too brittle around the edges.
Ingrid
I do it like you do, tip the loaf from the banneton on parchment paper, and lift the dough in the Dutch Oven, never burned myselft.
I do score my bread before I put it in the Dutch oven, I can get better slashes that way and since I use a 50% hydration starter and do not like those wet doughs it does keep it shape beautiful.
The same with my 90% hydration Starter.
I'm not really surprised that the dough shapes to the oval. Guess I don't really need another banneton. The parchment worked well. Going to tip out the dough to the counter from now on as each time I try to get into the skillet I still get it off center.....it does recover well though.