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Ok, I grew up in an Italian section of Brooklyn.
There was a Italian bakery every other block.
My parents are from Italy, my wifes family are all Italian and I have been to Italy twice to visit relatives and have tasted some of the best home baked Italian bread ever.
I know what a good loaf of Italian bread tastes, smells and feels like.
I have been cooking and baking for over 30 years at home. In fact I do all the cooking in my family; always have. My oven is electric; I use a stone in the oven and no matter what I did, the results were inconsistent for the crust.
These are my results with the pot.
The first try: soft crust too moist inside. So I tried some of the other reviewers suggestions, including heating the pot.
Lid on lid off. Still no luck. I finally hit it. This is the method that has given me bread from my childhood.
1) Place a sheet of parchment paper in the pot and sprinkle on corn meal.
2) For second rising, shape and place in pot. I place the pot on my stove for second rise.
3) 45 minutes to an hour before it's ready for the oven, I turn my oven on to 480 deg. This I believe is the secret. Higher heat. I also grow bonsai trees and I use small clay pieces in the mixture of soil. Clay absorbs water then slowly releases the moisture. Same principle for the pot.
The difference is if the heat isn't high enough the moisture does not release quickly. Which is probably the reason some reviewers have spongy crumb.
After 40 min in the oven I remove the lid and cook another 6-7 minutes for a deep brown.
I have made hundreds of loafs of bread in my day and I have never had a crust so crisp, the crumb is perfect. Lift the parchment paper and there is nothing to clean. Nothing at all. I did condition it with when I first got it. Of coarse It doesn't look anything like an Italian free form loaf but the taste is as good as what I can buy at a good Italian bakery. No lie. I have a meat slicer that has a blade for bread; I use the whole recipe for one loaf and it is huge. I now have two pots. I basically use Carol Fields recipe for Pane Franchise, with a minor adjustment for moisture content of my starter. What I don't eat immediately I slice and freeze. Since applying this method I have made great bread everytime (8 weeks straight as of today). I have not tried any other breads yet.
425 or 450 deg won't work in my oven. Higher heat to release moisture quickly that's the trick. Good luck
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I've been looking for something that will allow me to bake artisan-style French bread at home. I'm an experienced bread baker, but had not been able to produce breads that were identical to the commercial bakeries.Allowing for the differences in our ovens, I thought that perhaps a stone baking container might allow me to more closely reproduce the breads. In late December after reading the available reviews on this product, I purchased it. I had high hopes that I would be able to bake outstanding bread. I used the recipe that came with the pan and was not totally disappointed. The flavor of the bread was very good, but it was not extraordinary. Nevertheless, the baking method is less labor intense than the misting methods used in some recipes.
However, I'm not satisfied with the final results and will continue to experiment with various steps in my bread-baking experience. I'm considering using this pan, but tinkering with the production method, by using a higher temperature, misting to produce steam, and not covering the loaf with this pan's lid.
February 15 Update I tried putting the baker's top into the oven during preheating. Then, I placed a shallow pan in the bottom of the oven during preheating and, after the oven had reached temperature, poured in 1 c. of boiling water and then closed the oven and allowed it to heat an additional 5 minutes. Please be CAREFUL or you may get steam-burned!!!!!!!!Then I placed the bottom of the Sassafras in which the dough had been raising into the oven for 5 minutes. Again, BE CAREFUL or you may get steam burned. I then opened the oven and placed the hot lid over the loaf and allowed it to bake for the remaining time. It worked great! The bread was nicely browned, very crusty, and perfectly done. The methods are a synthesis of those in the Peter Reinhart, Bernard Clayton, and Rose Beranbaum. I hope this helps others out there looking for the perfect French-style bread.
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When you bake bread using only a sourdough starter you get a dough that is more relaxed than dough made with commercial yeast, it wants to rise out as well as up. This pan is the best I have found for baking with sourdough because it not only supports the sides of the dough (so it rises up and not over the sides of the pan) but gives it a fabulous crust.To prevent sticking you will have to *really* grease both the top and bottom the first several times you use it, also genrously sprinkle the the bottom with cornmeal. After the pan is seasoned a light greasing will do, and once it is *well* seasoned you often won't have to grease it at all. I always lightly sprinkle the bottom with cornmeal though.
One important thing to remember is that you can't wash this with soap, the stoneware will absob it and make your bread taste funny. Most of the time all you need to do is dust the cornmeal out, but every now and then (and if something sticks) you can soak it in plain hot water.
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I've owned several of these stone bakers and I keep going back for more because my family sneaks them out of the kitchen whenever they can to keep for themselves. If you use it correctly, your bread will have a fantastic, crunchy crust and will cook evenly every time.As with all stoneware, the key to preventing dough from sticking to the baker is preheating. You need to place your baker (both top and bottom) into a COLD oven and then preheat it to 450-500 degrees F. This is also true for pizza stones and other stone bakers. When your dough is ready to bake and your baker is hot, remove it from the oven, reset the temperature to whatever your recipe calls for and either:
1. Toss a hearty handful of cornmeal into the bottom of the baker before transferring your dough into it (being VERY careful not to burn yourself wear oven mitts), cover and bake.
2. Transfer your dough to the baker in a parchment sling. Then toss in a tablespoon of water, cover it, and bake the whole thing, parchment, dough, water and all. The steam in the baker will create a bread will be crispy and crusty, and it won't stick to the stone.
This method works equally well for french baguettes, italian loaves and sourdough recipes.
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You will definitely see improvement in your homemade breads when you use a cloche. Basically, it is an unglazed clay base and domed lid that create the effects of a baker's oven within your own oven. The high heat and steam in a professional oven are not found in a home oven but, with the cloche, the results are remarkably similar.Contrary to many reviews, I was delighted and surprised to find that my La Cloche arrived in perfect condition. Packing it in thick cardboard and big plastic bubbles resolved the company's breakage problem.
La Cloche's Pros
* Excellent quality unglazed ceramic baking top and bottom
* Heavy enough to retain heat
* Performs as stated in the advertising
* Creates a hot and humid environment making bread rise higher
* Easy to maintain
La Cloche's Cons
* Be careful not to put too much dough into the oblong cloche. When the bread rises, it may stick to the interior of the top
* The looped handle on the top is a bit small, be cautious when handling it when it is hot
The following are some suggestions to improve your oven's environment using this product:
* Place a thin layer of coarsely ground corn meal on the interior base of the cloche. The will prevent the bread to sticking to the surface
* Use parchment paper instead of the corn meal, if desired
* Soak the top (only) of the cloche in water for 30 minutes prior to placing your bread dough in the oven. (This will give you the benefits of a steam oven without the costs of a new one.)
* Put your dough on the base and place the water-soaked top over it.
* DO NOT PRE-HEAT your oven (Yes, read this correctly!). Turn the cold oven to 450° and set the timer for about 40-45 minutes for a 20-24 oz. loaf.
* After the 40-45 minutes, remove BOTH the top and bottom of the cloche set from the oven.
* Return the bread to the oven, placing it directly on the metal shelf. (Do not use a baking sheet.) The will allow you to bake artisanal breads with a crackling crust. The interior texture (crumb) will be moist and chewy.
* Dust the interior surfaces with rice flour, as it helps prevent dough from sticking (If you do this, you must dry the top of the cloche if you have soaked it prior to baking.
I have used this method for: San Francisco Sourdough bread (see my review); whole wheat bread; artisanal white bread; cheese bread; herbed bread; and both seeded and unseeded rye breads. I brought a basket of breads to a Superbowl party and they were a big hit--so much so that, two families asked for instructions and will begin baking breads for themselves.
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