Adventures in bread. What a difference a cast iron Dutch oven makes! I’ve been baking no-knead bread since we moved here, experimenting with ways to produce a crisp crust and moist, open crumb. All my previous attempts centered around how to produce the right amount of steam in the oven. Yesterday I read an article about using a French “potato pot” to create a perfect loaf. I’ve used Dutch ovens before, without much success, but this time I looked up the dimensions of the potato pot. Turns out it’s relatively small. So I decided to try my 6qt. Griswald dutch oven (it’s actually more like 5qt). I used two pounds (measured) of dough which I formed into a ball and let rise on a piece of parchment paper, seem side up, for an hour. I preheated the oven for to 450° for 30 minutes with the Dutch oven inside it. When it came time to bake I flipped the dough into the pot so the seem side was down, cut a couple of vents (I need to get a lame), covered the Dutch oven and put it into the oven. Thirty minutes later I removed the top of the Pot and let the bread cook for 10 minutes more to brown. The result was a high, better shaped loaf with a crispy crust and chewy crumb. I’m sold. This will be my go to method for making artisanal bread. Next on the list - NY style bagels. Just received my order for food grade lye. I’ll either be eating bagels and lox for breakfast or be in the ER with caustic burns.

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