Dutch oven disaster

and not least because you can use it as a sling to lower it into the hot pot.

However, other release agents include greasing the pot or sprinkling some other material in the bottom as a release agent.  Possibilities include: flaked grains (like rolled oats), semolina, corn meal, bran, etc.  All of these agents, grease included, are apt to smoke at higher temperatures, so that's something to consider.

If juggling the hot pot is an unwelcome exercise, try baking from a cold start.  Put the dough into the room temperature pot, slide it into the oven, then turn on the oven.  You will have some experimenting to do to find the right timing and temperatures to use but it gets you past dealing with a 450F piece of cast iron.  You can use the Search tool to find other posts here on TFL about starting the bake in a cold oven.

Paul

I use parchment paper now, however when I didn't, I found what worked best for me was a dollop of high-smoke temp oil, like peanut or sunflower, smeared around in the bottom worked best.

and out it in the bottom when the SO is hot - right before the bread goes in.  No sticking and can use it over and over again - plus no marks from the parchment.running up the side.

Happy baking 

You can also use spray pan release on the bottom to but it will stain your enamel if you bake at 450 F.

"out it in the bottom"??

when the SO is Hot"??

pls explain

I have used the parchment to line a bowl for the final rise and then sling it into the pot or just turn it out of the banneton onto the parchment, score and then sling into the pot. Haven't really noticed a problem with indentations. I think dabrownman's suggestion to use a circle to line the bottom of the pan is a good compromise. I think you can even buy circles of parchment meant for the bottom of cake pans.

Personally I use a cold DO and spray with a little cooking spray then dust just bottom with white flour. I do this same procedure in my loaf pans. Nothing ever sticks. 

Spray the inside of the Dutch Oven with PAM and spread it around with a folded paper towel. Wipe down the inside of lid with the paper towel also. This will alleviate any sticking tendency....,

Wild-Yeast

PAM is nothing more than a mixture of oils and propellant.  You can buy a pump olive oil mister for about $10 US and fill it with canola oil which has good heat properties and use this to spray your pans.  I use this for loaf tins and have no problems with bread releasing.

... stuck to the pot till it cooled and maybe released?"    

You mean you didn't?   Left upside down on a rack, the steam rising might have released the crust from the pot.  If still stuck when cold, a wooded spoon stuck down between the bread and the pot often forces release.  

because it seems to leave tiny brown dots on the inside of my cast iron DO. Don't know if they affect the baking since I never let them build up very much before I felt compelled to clean them off. 

Fwiw, I use parchment occasionally but mostly a light sprinkle of corn meal. Never measured but I'd guess 1-1.5 tsp in my round DO which has a diameter of maybe 8-9 inches.

I use the combo cooker. I have never had a loaf of bread stick to it.  After every use, I put a quarter sized drop of vegetable oil on it and rub it in.  Whether I baked bread or fried eggs (well, if I fried eggs I usually just wipe the pan out and don't add more oil).

I usually use a peel to put the loaf into the shallow end of the cooker, because I tend to misshape my bread if I pick it up with my hands and drop it into the pan.

Once the lid comes off, I always put it under the shallow side of the pan on which the bread is baking to help insulate the bottom. Never had a burned bottom either. Maybe it helps, maybe not. But I don't see the need or advantage to taking out the hot large pan halfway through the bake.

I used to use a DO with a non-smooth interior surface and found that over time my loaves would stick. I would have to wait for them to cool then pry them out with a large, thick, wooden spoon. Yes the bottoms were typically scorched. I suspect that as I used it the rough surface trapped small particles of bread matter which I could not wash out and that is what caused the sticking. I had to use corn meal to keep the loaves from sticking which worked fine except that I was the only member of my family that actually like the extra crunch that the corn meal imparted to the loaves.

I then traded my DO for a Le Creuset with a smooth white interior and have not had any loaf stick in it (in over a year of use) regardless of they variety of hydration levels I experiment with.

of your DO ?