So recently, I've baked a few loaves from Chad Robertson's Tartine book, and he recommends using a cast-iron combo cooker to bake the bread in. It says to preheat the cast-iron cooker in the oven before baking the bread in it. However, I always find that the bottom and sides of my bread that comes in contact with the cast-iron burns. Any advice on how to bake bread that doesn't burn on the bottom?
https://youtu.be/t7jtmDeTun8?t=95
a regular question here at TFL...you should find a number of discussions when searching.
I've had this issue, and it was readily solved by placing something (like a sheet pan or even a sheet of foil) on a rack set below the rack my combo cooker is on. That made a huge difference for me...others have found other solutions...
Yeah, this, you don't even need it on the rack below. You can put a heat reflector directly under your baking vessel and it works real nice.
An oven has several different levels on which the cast-iron cooker can be placed. If yours is too close to the bottom of the oven, try moving up one level. I put my Dutch oven so that the bottom of the Dutch oven is just below the middle of the oven itself.
big differences
also the heat may be too high.
enough to be handled, I take the loaf off the bottom of the CC and finish baking it on the stone or oven rack after that. No more burned bottoms.
I find that many recipes, including the "original" Bittman-Leahy no-knead bread, result in a crust that is too dark for my liking. I just bake at a lower temperature, longer if necessary, using an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness (205ish F)
Try to put your bread in the center of oven.
Check if the pan is not too large for the oven. If you use large pan then it wouldn't leave space for hot air to circulate.
Make sure that the temperature of the oven is not too high. You can measure the temperature with oven-thermometer. After preheating the oven, lay a sheet of plain white paper on the center rack and leave it for five minutes. The paper's color will tell you the oven's temperature:
If these are not the cause of your problems, then please describe how you are baking your bread in much more detail to get a better answer.