Teresa's pot baking misadventure

northwestsourdough's picture
northwestsourdough

Well here is my first loaf from a real baking pot, not the pyrex bowl:

[img]http://www.northwestsourdough.com/dec3d.jpg[/img]

This is a loaf of Desem Sourdough Bread. This is a heavy cast iron pot and I have a heavy cast iron lid for it. It worked great except... I couldn't get the dough into the post without deflating it considerably.

[img]http://www.northwestsourdough.com/dec3a.jpg[/img]

As you can see by the ridge, the dough deflated when plopped into the pot. So how do you get the dough from the basket into the pot without deflating it? Got any ideas?

[img]http://www.northwestsourdough.com/dec3b.jpg[/img]

Other than that problem, I like the pot baking, it seems to work great!
TEresa

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TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2006 December 4

I'm watching the Pot Adventures with envy.....the curiosity stage is over...since there's been too many success stories. I'm really accident prone and manoeveuring a hot pot out of the oven (placed in an awkward angle....long story) and plopping dough into it...wull...I dunno.

Great-looking bread, Teresa!

carla's picture
carla 2006 December 4

[quote="TeckPoh"]
I'm watching the Pot Adventures with envy.....the curiosity stage is over...since there's been too many success stories. I'm really accident prone and manoeveuring a hot pot out of the oven (placed in an awkward angle....long story) and plopping dough into it...wull...I dunno.
[/quote]

Here is how I do that TP:

Wear long handled baking gloves (which I use for every hot oven manoever anyway), open oven door, get pot out of oven and onto cooking top, close oven door, lift lid, throw bread in - yes it will deflate considerably! - put lid back on, open oven door, place pot back into oven, close door.

After about 30 minutes:
open oven door (wear the gloves of course), lift pot out, remove lid and put pot back in, close door.

It is not any more exciting than taking a casserole out of the oven or a baked pudding!

Great bread Theresa! You may yet get hooked!

TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2006 December 4

Thanks for the encouragement, carla. I don't hv long gloves. And, you'd laugh at the way I handle casseroles. I wait 10 minutes for the oven elements to cool down a bit before I take the dish out.

coelecanth 2006 December 4

Just a quick note to say (in case it wasn't obvious, which in retrospect it should have been to me), that I would not recommend this method for fruit breads.

I used it for a currant loaf on the weekend, and it was terribly sticky on the bottom and hard to get out of the pot (even though it slid easily from the baking sheet I was using as a peel). There is a residue of caramelised sugar on the base of the pot that I fear I will never get off. Much to my wife's dismay.

Andrew

SourDom 2006 December 4

Teresa,

I use a sort of flexible peel for the breads that I have baked in a casserole. It is a flexible non-stick plastic sheet, that I sprinkle with semolina before turning the dough onto. Then I slash the dough.
I can curl up the sides of the sheet, and then slide the dough gently into the pot so that it lands neatly and in a controlled fashion.

cheers
Dom

TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2006 December 4

Great idea, Dom! Will go get one of [url=http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=7&langId=-20&catalogId=10103&productId=35455]these[/url].

northwestsourdough's picture
northwestsourdough 2006 December 5

Thanks for the idea Dom,
I have one of those Plastic sheet cutting boards and it seems like it would work except that the pot is so hot when I put the dough in, it might melt the plastic. Does this work well for you? Maybe the plastic is melt resistant?
Thanks
Teresa

SourDom 2006 December 5

It really isn't in contact with the pot for very long, so doesn't seem to be an issue - at least not yet!

TP - yes that looks like the sort of thing that I have

cheers
Dom

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