Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven -

Home
>
Cooking Tips
>
Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven

Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven

Dutch ovens were made for baking. In the hands of a practiced baker, a Dutch oven will create beautiful breads and desserts. (Though some of us tend to burn breads in a Dutch oven.)

You can always bake bread in a well-oiled Dutch oven but instead of baking directly in the oven, consider this method: Put the dough in a baking pan and the pan in the Dutch oven.

Recently, a reader from California told us of her success baking bread with a pan inside of a Dutch oven. She used a mix for Irish Potato Bread. This mix creates a large loaf and she made it according to package instructions. She formed the dough into a round loaf and placed the dough in a greased nine-inch metal pie pan. She then set the pan atop small rocks in bottom of her twelve-inch Dutch oven. She put the lid on the Dutch oven and the oven on ten briquette coals. Another fourteen briquettes went on the top. She baked the bread for 45 minutes, turning the lid occasionally. She was baking at an elevation of 7,000 in the Sequoia Mountains.

"I was surprised and delighted to find that the bread was perfect," she said. "The crust was brown on top and it was a real treat . . . a great success."

You should have similar success baking rolls in a baking pan or a loaf in a traditional bread pan. To get the right-sized loaves for a Dutch oven, consider bread machine mixes or recipes for single loaves. A bread machine mix will give you that single loaf or smaller batch of rolls, just right for a Dutch oven. If you crowd two loaves into a Dutch oven, there may not be adequate air circulation between the loaves. Without adequate space, the loaves will tend to be lopsided.

It is important that you elevate the pan off the bottom of the Dutch oven using small stones so that it does not burn the bottom of the bread. Make sure that you have enough top clearance so that the rising bread does not reach the lid.

You can use this same technique to bake great desserts or pastries. Consider baking sweet rolls or pasties in a raised pan in your Dutch oven.

Dennis Weaver is the general manager at The Prepared Pantry (http://www.preparedpantry.com) with recipes, ideas, and the best selection of mixes and ingredients. Visit the free Bakers' Library for more articles like this, free baking guides, and tested recipes.

In The News:

EAT THEIR WORDS EAT THEIR WORDS
Tampa Tribune, FL - Sep 3, 2008
Chattman includes 100 dishes that can be made in 30 minutes or less and shares tips for streamlining your dessert cooking. Do not read on an empty stomach. ...

Storm preparedness tips
Hickory Daily Record, NC - 10 hours ago
To disinfect water used for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice and washing hands: add 16 drops of bleach per gallon of water and let it stand for ...

'No heat' required cooking
Arkansas Traveler (subscription), AR - 4 hours ago
The class will be full of nutrition tips, said Ang, who started the program in 2001 when she was a part-time registered nurse. "When I would come to work ...

Master curry chef gives cooking tips to public
Harrow Observer, UK - Aug 28, 2008
A cook specialising in Indian cooking gave a free demonstration of the cuisine of the sub-continent on Saturday. Pat Chapman took over the centre of St ...

Vegetarian Today
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL - 23 hours ago
An array of new sites offer wonderful recipes, cookbooks and restaurant reviews, along with seasonal cooking tips. There are also great sources for ...

One Small Step at a Time
Washington Informer, Washington DC - Sep 3, 2008
As part of the program, I share healthy cooking tips and recipes on JourneyforControl.com. Healthy eating does not have to be an overwhelming, unpleasant or ...

ARNOLD: Mama's cooking is always best
Suburban Journals, MO - 2 hours ago
She also receives tips from the Department of Agriculture and vendors who visit other shows. Last year Mama Patrina's Best products were only available at ...

Rex dishes out cooking tips
The Sun, UK - Aug 23, 2008
By CHRISTINE JENNINGS REX gave the housemates food for thought last night as he shared some cooking tips. The hot-headed chef from London gave advice on ...

Tips for new cooks
Seattle Times, United States - Sep 3, 2008
Susan Holt, a co-founder of the CulinAerie cooking school in Washington, DC, offers these tips to new cooks. • When you dress a. ...

Scrumptious casserole recipes, useful tips
West Fargo Pioneer, ND - Sep 3, 2008
Until next week, from my kitchen to yours happy cooking! In a glass casserole dish (8x8, 9x9, 9x13) depends upon quantity you need for your family. ...

cooking tips - Google News

Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven

Cooking Tips