April 18, 2020 - 9:16pm
Using Le Creuset dutch oven
Do you guys use your le creuset dutch ovens for baking sourdoughs?
The manufacturer seems to suggest against high heat / empty heating:
"High heats should never be used to preheat a pan before lowering the heat for cooking."
(above is just an example, the verbiage isn't really clear on this)
Some more googling seems to strengthen this:
"In almost all cases, manufacturers of Dutch ovens will tell you that you should not heat an empty vessel. The reason for this is that the porcelain enamel can crack on the inside. This is a real risk."
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I’ve only ever used my cast iron Dutch oven. I can kind of see a point to a warning on the enamel glazed ones, but then again, not. They certainly must be empty vessels when the porcelain glaze is being fired. That’s a head-scratcher, for me. I wonder if, to heed their warning, you could partially fill the Dutch oven with water, then dump it, when it’s hot enough? It wouldn’t take but a few seconds for the water that’s left to evaporate. Weird.
Honestly I've used it twice so far with no issues. But just curious what others are doing.
I would continue, myself, if I had an enameled one & was able to. I gave up baking bread using my old cast iron Dutch oven, a few years back. Too heavy & I got tired of burning myself. Now, I’m finding myself very jealous of all the beautiful, deep mahogany crusted boules I see pictures here.
Pots to bake my breads in. They have chipped on the outside and some have crazing (cracking) of the finish on the inside. I line them with parchment paper so I don’t worry about the crazing.
Le Creuset has a much better enameled finish than my cheap pots. So that being said, I know the cost of those things and if I had one, there is no way I would use it to bake bread unless I had more money than what I knew what to do with. If I had to do it again, I would find plain cast iron pots and use those.
That does happen - my cheap DO started shedding enamel after a few years of use. I am sure Le Creuset would have fared better but it also costs 10 times as much.
I used mine a few times. You need to replace the plastic handle that comes with the pot with a stainless steel one, which they sell. And baking will permanently discolor the inner lid to a brownish/tan. The stain is uneven and can’t be removed. Some like it as a sign of use, some might not. I eventually bought a lodge cast iron pot because they’re cheap, can handle abuse, and I could pick the exact size that I needed for my baking.
I wasn’t aware of this warning from the makers of enameled cast iron pots. For the past year I have been using my Le Creuset Dutch Oven once every week or two to bake my sourdough breads. Each time I have been heating it at 500ºF in the oven in preheat and then baking at 450ºF or lower. I know that they recommend not baking above 450-475ºF if you have the black knob on the lid, but I wasn’t aware of any warning not to heat it empty. Anyhow after a year of abuse it is still just fine.
Benny
Same here, and I bake something like 6 or 7 loaves a week in my oval Le Creuset, and have done every week for about 8 years. It is very discoloured, but aside from that in fine shape.
I’ve read that a bit of bleach and a ton of water will get the discoloration out of the enamel really easily and safely. I have had to do that yet.
Our good friend and Danny, mentioned a study that suggested that a light weight inverted turkey pan inverted on a baking stone will have the say effect as the heavy (dangerous) to use cast iron cookware. I remember his comment from maurizios oat bread bake.
Yes I remember those posts and I believe him, you just really need something underneath the dough that has a high heat capacitance and then something enclosing the dough to keep the steam in. Thing is I don’t have a large turkey pan. I get my dough into the Dutch oven on a sheet of parchment and I score it before transferring it so there is little risk for burning myself.
Benny
He was speaking of even the disposable ones. I had used a light weight large S/S mixing bowl during that bake. I remember it worked well. I may use a makeshift cover for todays bake. Smile...
He was speaking of even the disposable ones. I had used a light weight large S/S mixing bowl during that bake. I remember it worked well. I may use a makeshift cover for todays bake. Smile...
I have used my Le Creuset a dozen or so times for loaves with no probs. It is around 40 years old (possibly more, I may have inherited it from my mum). I had a smaller, newer one that cracked, but not from baking bread. My daughter uses it and says it works fine.
As for burning, I score with the loaf on baking paper on a board, then lift the baking paper by the edges and lower into the pot. It is possible to remove the paper if you use two strips of paper underneath the loaf. You need cornmeal between the loaf and paper, and in the bottom of the pot, then shimmy the two bits out sideways from under the loaf. The loaf will not be disturbed if it is not over-proofed, and it helps if it is just out of the fridge. If you leave long enough ends on the bakiing paper, this is all possible without your hands getting dangerously near the pot.