17 Cozy Bread Recipes You Can Make in a Dutch Oven (2024)

FAQs

What temperature do you bake bread in a Dutch oven? ›

Preheat your home oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven inside for 30 to 45 minutes. Line a pizza peel, inverted baking sheet, or cutting board with parchment paper. Turn out your proofed bread dough onto the parchment paper (trim the paper to fit, if necessary) Score your dough.

If you've been baking for years, it's a step back in time to when bread was rustic and purposely imperfect. There are many layers of flavor hidden within this recipe's four simple ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. But the real magic comes from the cast-iron Dutch oven, the perfect vessel for baking bread.

You just need a lid to cover it and the proper heat-conducting cast-iron material, and your bread will come out perfectly every time. Size & Shape: Look for a 6- to 7-quart, round Dutch oven. Anything much bigger will cause the bread to spread out and go flat.

Any tips for preventing a thick, hard crust on the bottom of my bread done in a Dutch oven? Make sure you are using a heavy gauge Dutch oven and that it isn't too close to the bottom heat element in your oven. If you are still getting a thick, hard crust, you can put a pillow of foil down, like this.

Tap the Bottom

Take the loaf out of the oven and turn it upside down, taking it out of the pan if you're making a sandwich loaf. Give the bottom of the loaf a couple firm taps with your thumb. The bread will sound hollow when it's done.

If the dough is not allowed to rise before baking, it can lack the structure necessary to hold its shape. Finally, if the oven temperature is too low, the dough may not rise properly and can fall flat in the oven.

You can shape your dough on a rectangular sheet of parchment paper, then use it to safely lower the dough into your Dutch oven. Once your gorgeous loaf of bread is finished cooking, the parchment paper makes removing the loaf super easy.

During those first 20 minutes, your bread will rise and expand. If you would not have it inside the Dutch oven with the closed lid, a thick crust would form too soon, thereby keeping it from reaching its full potential. After the first 20 minutes, you remove the lid and continue baking for another 25 to 30 minutes.

You can still cook all the bread recipes that were written for a larger Dutch. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, however. For example, if you find yourself with a lot of dough, you might want to reduce the recipe by a third to fit nicely in the 3.5-quart Dutch oven.

What size Dutch oven is best for bread? Again, your best bet is anywhere between 5 and 7 quarts. Most recipes, including sourdough, will happily thrive in a medium-sized oven.

Can I use corningware instead of a Dutch oven for bread? ›

Just check the documentation and make sure it's safe up to temperatures of 500°F, just to be on the safe side. Dishes like the Corningware Ruby Casserole and Anchor Hocking basic casserole should work. Now that you have something to bake it in, go bake some bread!

The added sweetness and protein helps bread dough rise—particularly enriched dough like brioche. It lends a more tender crumb, and actually helps these breads last longer. High-heat milk powder might be a little trickier to find, but it's certainly worth the search for its impact on baking breads.

For example, if your homemade bread keeps turning out gummy, it may be a problem with your baking temperature. It should come as no surprise that the outside of a loaf of bread cooks faster than the inside, seeing as the heat touches the exterior first before it is able to penetrate the interior.

Simply rinse your Dutch oven with water, and while it's still wet, sprinkle some of Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser on the bottom of the pot or whatever spot you're trying to clean. Then, scrub the Dutch oven with a sponge using a circular motion. Finally, rinse and dry the pot completely.

If you can, aim to bake your bread at 230°C (450°F). If you're baking regularly, you might consider upgrading to a Rofco oven.

What we learned about using a thermometer with yeast bread: Use a thermometer (I like the Thermapen) to assess the doneness of pan breads, freeform loaves, and soft rolls. A temperature of 190°F at the center will yield bread that's fully baked (soft and moist) but not over-baked (tough and dry).

Bake the bread at 425°F for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for 17 to 20 minutes more for smaller loaves, or 25 to 30 minutes more for a single large loaf.

Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F.