Multifunctional bread baking equipment
So far I have baked sourdough breads mainly in pans with additional pan with water for steam. This will probably remain my go-to method, because pan breads have fairly uniform slices which work well for all purposes. Few times I used heatproof glass caserole, which worked beautifully, however the shape of the loaf was not spectacular due to the shape of the caserole. I want to buy some equipment for bread baking, which will allow me to make those amazing batards and/or boules. However, I have rather small kitchen so I like my tools to be multifunctional. After reading about methods people use, I have a few ideas:
- Cast-iron combo cooker - not my favourite, because, from what I've read, cast-iron takes in some smell and taste of the food cooked in it. So if I would like to make some steak, I would probably have to clean the pan and reseason it before baking bread. Also the deep part of the combo cooker probably shouldn't be used for things like tomato sauce, because acidic food reacts with cast-iron, unless it's seasoned very throughly.
- Enamel dutch oven - here I am afraid of burns while putting bread in a blazing hot pot. I've read that putting dough in room temperature DO works as well, but results are slightly better if it is preaheated. From what I've read it is great for cooking all types of dishes and there is no problem with smell and taste staying or acidic food due to protection of enamel.
- Enamel dutch oven as cloche on ceramic tiles or baking stone - I am leaning towards this method. Ceramic tiles (this part would be dirty cheap) or baking stone would be great for baking pizza or baguettes. DO turned upside down would created similar sealed environment to the combo cooker (I think), while cast-iron would radiate the heat to bake the bread properly.
- Enamel dutch oven with cast-iron skillet = effective combo cooker - if DO and skillet were chosen to fit one another this option could be like combo cooker but with more multifunctional top.
- Ceramic tiles or baking stone and pan for steaming - probably the cheapest option but I think above methods work better.
These are my ideas so far. I'd like to ask for opinion more experienced bakers who have used these methods. I wanted to especially ask, if turning enamel DO upside down and placing it on ceramic tiles has some disadvantages compared to combo cooker.
Have you given thought to a heavy roasting pan? Not one with a lid. The ones that either come with a rack or are designed to work with one. Stainless steal. Or ceramic coated steal. They are large enough to accommodate most free formed loaves. Wide enough to keep your hands away from the sides when pre heated. Does wonders for roasting meats, veggies and potatoes. Stainless steal is better than aluminum or cast iron. Aluminum can transfer a metallic taste and even pit when used for acidic foods like tomatoes and wine. Cast iron can transfer iron into the cooked food and is notorious for hot spots if not pre heated for a long time.
And when not in use is a great place to store all those small pan lids.
I have something similar made from enamel steal. You think that the it can serve as a surface for baking or cloche? Beceause as surface for baking it wouldn't be much different from sheet pan, right? The problem is that it heats very quickly so it would scorch bottom of the bread and it cools quickly as well (it's enough to wave it for 30s to cool it to room temperature).
A good roaster has some weight to it. Mine takes forever to cool down. I've seen people use this kind of roaster on a baking stone. Preheating both at the same time. I guess you could do the same with a sheet pan or thin bottomed roaster.
I haven’t used mine yet, so I have no experience. It’s called a Lekue Silicone Bread Baker. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007F6EN96/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Abe, aka ”lechem” has used one. If he reads this post I’m sure he will share his experience. Batards would be baked closed and Boules would be baked open. You could use aluminum foil to seal of for steam retention. They are a bit pricey for what you get. But it stores in small spaces and is light weight.
In my experience cast iron has no ill affect on taste. Neither does ceramic or clay baker’s. If you use any of these you don’t need a stone.
If you already have something that you could put over the bread, then all you’d need is a stone or tiles. They could stay in the oven to save space. Any pot or cover that you put over the bread would not affect the taste and since it wouldn’t come in contact with the bread cleanup would be easy.
If your only concern about enclosed baker’s (Dutch Oven, etc.) you could eliminate burn possibilities by turning out your fermented dough onto a piece of parchment paper and the using the overhanging paper edges to lower into your pot.
A few possibilities to consider.
Dan
This pan-properly filled- gives me a nice wide pan sized sandwich loaf. I don't use the cover but I generally want my sandwich loaves to have a softer crust. I might steam to maximize the oven spring but only for the first 10 minutes. I believe it takes 800g total dough weight of my whole wheat recipe.
Some pics of past loaves made in this casserole. " Corningware Rectangle"
I try not to buy specialized,expensive baking equipment,too, and have found thrift stores to be a great source of "baking pans" and baskets. However, that Lekue silicone bread baker looks nifty and easy to store.
I like the wide slices that you get from the casserole dish.
What do you think about covering the dish for 10 minutes or so to self-steam and then removing the cover? Would the cover be too low for your bread to fully rise?
Beautiful bake on those loafs.
I generally make breads in pullman-like loaf pan which fit about 1kg loaf. They are enough for me and my girlfriend for about half a week. I've read that someone used for self-steaming another same size pan inverted on top. This gives plenty of room for bread to rise.
I am looking rather for some aparatus for baking free-form loafs like batards or boules.
I've seen Cornigware meatloaf sized pots at auctions. But so far none have shone up in any local resale shops. I did end up with the bottom half of one. It was in a box of stuff I got at an auction. Never thought about using it for bread. Awesome!