I don’t bake a look of bread and when I do I have an old Dutch oven with a glass lid that I bake it in. I’ve been thinking about getting a proper cast iron Dutch oven for awhile now. However, Staub recently put out their year of the horse French oven, which I believe the biggest difference is it has a more rounded bottom. I really like the design but wasn’t sure if it would be the same as a Dutch oven in terms of baking bread. I was wondering if anyone had used a French oven for bread and if it made any difference vs a Dutch oven?
Can you bake bread in a Staub French oven?
- Thread starter Baker79
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I bake bread at least twice a week. I’ve used my Le Creuset, Staub, plain cast iron bread oven, a clay bread baker, and a baking steel.
You can bake bread in almost any large, covered pot.
Cast iron conducts heat very intensely. The black interior of a Staub conducts heat more aggressively than light-colored enamel. So you will need to experiment with temperature to find the right temperature for your bread formula.
Personally, I’m not a fan of Dutch ovens. I find the deep, narrow shape inconvenient because it restricts loaf size and shape, and it’s too deep to load and unload bread comfortably. When I use cast iron for bread, I more often reach for my Le Creuset braiser since it’s wider.
I don’t like bread flour as the higher protein produces a crust that’s too chewy and tough for my taste. I use lower-protein flour instead, but it tends to over-brown at the high temperatures required for baking bread. For that reason, I prefer a clay baker. The heat is much gentler, even at 500°F.
I use the Breadtopia Hearth Baker. The design is more convenient than a Dutch oven and significantly lighter. Clay does not require misting the loaf, and it does not need to be pre-soaked for bread baking.
It’s also much less expensive than my Le Creuset and Staub pots. However, clay requires more careful handling. Cold-fermented dough should be placed on parchment or a baking mat to prevent thermal shock. Ice cubes should never be added to a clay baker. After baking, the hot baker should be placed on a towel, pad, or rack to cool — not directly on a cold surface such as granite.
Bread 11.5% protein flour blended with 10% stoneground 13.5% protein baked in clay bread baker at 500°F covered 20 minutes; 475°F uncovered 20 minutes browns perfectly without burnt bottom