March 2, 2021 - 5:44pm
Preheating dutch oven
Hi there,
Sorry if this question is redundant , i tried to search this topic on this forum but couldn't find anything. Is preheating your dutch oven for sourdough baking really necessary? I've read it is not. But I've always done it and I'm too scared to not preheat in case my loaf gets wrecked. It would be so much safer for a clumsy person like me, if i didn't have to handle a hot dutch oven. It would relieve so much stress. Thank you
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You can skip pre-heating. But temperatures, as well as times may have to be adjusted.
And, the formula itself, especially the proof time, may need adjusting..... because.... the loaf will spend additional time in the oven proofing (ie, the yeast will be working) before the internal temp gets high enough to kill the yeast.
In essence, the cool dutch oven is insulating the dough from the heat, delaying its cooking.
How much you need to reduce the final proof, in order to compensate for this, is a matter of experimentation.
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By the way, a "combo cooker" where-in you bake on the lid, and use the deep pot as the cover, reduces the chances of getting burned. I have this one: https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Cooker-Pre-seasoned-Skillet-Convertible/dp/B0009JKG9M
Thank you idaveindy. i never took that into consideration, about it proofing in the oven. i bake straight from the fridge so that has to be taken into consideration too i guess. The combo cooker is a good idea, but I don't have room for another vessel in my kitchen. I had my big dutch oven before i started making bread, and if i didn't have one the combo cooker would definitely be the way to go. So normally , i preheat my DO then pull the rack out and remove the lid and i bring my loaf to the oven and have to bend down to plop in in the DO (though not too far down as i'm very vertically challenged). Do you think it'll be ok if i removed the hot DO , put it on the counter then put the loaf in , put the lid on then stick it back in the oven. I won't lose too much heat will i?
In every dutch-oven-baking video that I've seen, except one, the baker takes the empty hot DO out of the oven and places it on the stove (range, or hob) or on an insulated pad/board on the counter-top, in order to load the dough into the DO.
Thanks for the feedback!
See this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CyYA-p1dMA
It's likely he should have kept the lid on for longer when starting cold to get better oven spring though...
thanks for the video. it was helpful. i like that guy's videos, voice and accent.
I’ve never tried baking from cold, I’ve always just put my dutch oven and lid on the lowest rack and then turned on my oven to preheat. It might as well heat up while the oven is heating. I’ve always worried that my dough would spread while sitting in the dutch oven waiting for it to start to bake. I know people who do not preheat their dutch ovens, but I’ve always wondered if they were making lower hydration doughs that were less proofed so that they wouldn’t spread as much.
Benny
My two cents. When I use a combo cooker, I don't preheat in the oven. I put the bottom part on the stove top and heat it for a few minutes, and an IR thermometer tells me it gets to 400 - i take it off, load the loaf, put the top on , and put it in the oven. My thinking, with no support, is that bottom heat will help oven spring, on the other hand, top heat will reduce oven spring since it will cause the crust to harden - we see that more often with people who bake with ovens with a top element, but to me, the same thing would apply, though in a lesser way, to a DO.
(In case this is relevant and helps; ignore if not.)
I have just baked my first loaf in a Lodge enameled+cast iron DO.
After anguishing for some time and researching both on Amazon and the Lodge site, I believe it's unsafe to preheat an empty enameled DO. Yet most recipes advise preheating in the oven.
I took a risk and quarter filled my 4 Qt Lodge with (cold) water and let it preheat that way… loaded.
Dried it before turning out the loaf from my banneton it.
Worked well.
So I'd say Yes to preheating. But - if not 'pure' cast iron - quarter/third(/half) fill with cold water allowing all three elements (enamel, iron (which have different heating co-efficients) and water) to preheat together in the oven.
Good luck!