Micki, I believe the method Solomon Rosenzweig is referencing comes from Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread recipe, which was popularized by Mark Bittman. It calls for preheating the pot for an hour and then placing the dough in the hot pot. We don't recommend this method for anything other than a simple cast iron pot, because enameled cast iron can crack and ceramic pots can break when preheated empty. Normally when baking in a pot with a lid, the lid is removed part way through the bake. This allows the trapped steam at the beginning of the bake to keep the surface of the loaf moist and helps develop a shiny, crisp crust. After the first 20-30 minutes, the loaf is set and the lid is removed to allow the bread to finish baking in a dry oven. An alternative to this method is to allow the bread to rise in your pot (be sure to oil the pot and sprinkle with a coarse flour such as cornmeal, semolina or rice flour before putting the dough in it), and then placing the bread and pot in either a cold oven or a preheated oven when ready to bake. If you'd like more help with this baking method, please give our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-2253(BAKE). Barb@KAF

• Reply