Hi guys, I tried baking a simple artisan bread in my new unglazed clay pot (just like romertopf). I got decent bread rise but I have noticed that I didn't get as much browning on the bottom and top and not much crispiness of the crust as I get doing the same thing in my cast iron lodge pot. I usually bake it my bread at 450 F for half hour in cast iron and I get better result crispiness wise and color at the point I remove the lid. I did preheat the clay pot in the oven for 40 min to 450 F and I didn't wet the pot. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get crispier crust on top and the bottom of the bread? Was my clay pot too cold? Should I bake it like 10 min longer or possibly soak the clay pot before?
Thanks
Or take it out of the vessel and finish it on the oven rack.
Hmmm, I didn't think of taking it out of the pot, that would brown the bottom too I suppose. Thanks for the advice.
Do you remove the top of the clay baker and continue baking? And if so, for how long?
Yes, I did remove the top and continued to bake until brown but the bottom didn't get good color or crispiness. I'm guessing the clay pot was not hot enough.
I find that when I switch between the two I need to adjust the temperature to compensate for the differences in thermal mass.
Lord, that's a truth! Tell me which one gives you crispier crust cast iron or clay?
Like so many questions in life the answer depends on what the variables are. For thin crust pizza, steel/iron hands down no questions.
For loaf breads, I've had good luck with both - though very high hydration breads seem to work out better for me in clay at high temps and I like lower hydration with lower temps for my cast iron.
My wife swears that leaving the bread on the rack in the oven and letting it cool down as the oven cools off give a crust that she likes best.
Oh yeah, I have heard that too. The bakers secret to nice crispy crust someone said is to crack open the oven door, turn off the stove and let it cool down in the oven for about 20 mins. I'm going to try increasing hydration from 70% to 80% when I bake in the clay. We'll see what happens.
I've often removed the lid and found no browning. I consider that a good thing. The steam has been doing what we want it to do .... cook the inside and prevent the crust from browning. The crispiness and color come after we remove the lid and stop steaming the bread.
hmm, well I suppose as long as you get a good rise then you are good to go.... you can brown the loaf later as much as you want right?
Once you've got the rise and the steam has done it's job your good to crunch that crust ;0)