Proving and Baking: 30cm Round Bread Baking Cloche

2 reviews for Proving and Baking: 30cm Round Bread Baking Cloche

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Lottie – September 25, 2022

   If you want to take sourdough baking seriously this baking cloche (or one similar at probably much higher cost) is all but essential.

   Professional bakers inject steam into their ovens to “spring” a loaf which keeps the crust unset in the early stages and permits the rise. If you try and bake a sourdough loaf in a domestic oven the chances are the crust will “fix” before the “spring” will occur.

   To get around this domestic sourdough bakers in the USA worked out you could close-replicate the “spring” effect by baking the bread in a Dutch Oven, lid on, and then removing it to crust up the loaf. The problem with that is you are throwing lumps of hot metal around your kitchen which is never comfortable.

   This is the answer and it is a genius piece of kit providing you look after it properly.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   HenryPhil – March 2, 2023

   Highly recommended if you’re looking to bake in a home oven, especially one with a fan.

   I ‘cured’ it straight out of the box, at the oven’s highest temperature for one hour, then baked my best ever loaf of sourdough in it just a few hours later.

   It’s a simple, no-nonsense alternative to an expensive cast iron ‘dutch oven’ or similar, which keeps the steam in during baking of bread, buns and similar, to ensure plenty of ‘spring’ before the crust sets in your loaf.

   It’s made of some form of simple clay compound and feels very breakable, but treat it carefully and you’ll be fine.