I made this over the holidays with dried strawberries and walnuts and it was delicious - the texture was perfect. My only concern was the bottom got very dark - almost black. I could smell it scorching near the end of the baking time. I cooked it in a enameled cast iron dutch oven according to the directions above - the only difference was some parchment in the pot to avoid sticking. I'm thinking next time try putting the pot on a couple cookie sheets to prevent the burn? Other than that one thing (which was easy to fix - just trim the black from each slice) - it was delicious. It reminded me of some bread we can get in a bakery in Maine.
Yes, Bob, cast iron can get super-hot, and even with the enamel it can burn the bottom. As you say, try shielding it a bit by putting the pot on a double layer of baking sheets; that should help. As I said in the blog, the first time I did it, in a plain cast iron Dutch oven, the bottom was totally burned... PJH
January 2, 2013 at 2:36pm