In case you've been waiting for the Challenger Bread Pan to be be restocked, it's now available here: The Challenger Bread Pan | Challenger Breadware. I just placed my order!
In case you've been waiting for the Challenger Bread Pan to be be restocked, it's now available here: The Challenger Bread Pan | Challenger Breadware. I just placed my order!
Interested in buying a Challenger and have a quick question. Does the bottom of the loaf overcook due to the cast iron?
I haven't received my Challenger yet, so I can't comment from experience. However, look at the following video, at around the 6:00 minute mark: Challenger Bread Pan VS Dutch Oven - YouTube. You can see that both loaves (one baked in a Dutch oven, the other in a Challenger) are scorched on the bottom. In my experience baking in a Dutch oven, you can reduce scorching by placing a baking stone on a rack over the heating elements. Then place the baking vessel on another rack above the baking stone.
Thanks for the reply.
You don't even need a baking stone. A cookie sheet or even a strip of aluminum foil will keep radiant heat off the bottom of the pan. A trick that's specific to the Challenger is when you take the top off for the second part of the bake you can flip the dome upside down and rest the bottom part inside of it. It's a bit clunky (everything about the Challenger is clunky, it's a 10Kg hunk of cast iron) but it keeps the pan at oven temp so you can do a second loaf without having to wait as long for it to heat up a second time.