The New York Times - A New way to make bread?

[aris]

Vinner,

Yours looks really really good! Did you cook it in a cast-iron pot like the NYT instructions say?

[vinner]

Thank you, Aris. Yes it was a large, enameled cast iron pot. I have tried to bake bread before, but when opening the oven door to spray in water for humidity, I would lose too much heat. This did the trick perfectly. I am about to make dough for tomorrow, in fact.

[Robert H]

I tried a slightly different method.

I made the dough in the Dan Lepard style. Shaped it in a ball, placed on a lightly floured baking sheet, left double in size. I then sprayed with water, then covered with an upside down cast iron pot (which had been heating on gas mark 8 ). Baked covered for 20 mins, then turned gas down to 6 and baked uncovered for another 20 mins.

It was nice crusty, moist bread.

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[jenny_haddow]

More beautiful bread. That looks great Robert and Vinner's too. I have a foaming bowl full of dough this morning in my airing cupboard I'll give it until mid morning then it's going into an oval cast iron casserole. Hope to post pictures later when I get the camera back.

[jenny_haddow]

OK, mine's done. I think my dish is probably a bit big for this quantity, so the next batch I'll do half as much again. It didn't stick, and the kitchen smells wonderful. I managed to coax one shot out of my old camera before it packed up on me, so I cant post the cut view, but its an interesting holey texture a bit like a crumpet.



Jen

[aris]

Vinner,

Being baked in a round pot, I would have expected the bread to look like a pot-cooked loaf of bread (flat round bits on the side).

I have a large Le Creuset casserole pot which I may give this a go in.

[Oddley]

So Jen, have you tasted the loaf, if so what do you think?

[jenny_haddow]

I've just had a slice, buttered and with a piece of cheese. I would say more reminiscent of crumpet than bread, with a pleasant flavour of the yeast. I would expect it to make handsome toast.
The next one I do I'll omit the scattering of seeds, I've scattered the kitchen floor with them when I cut into the bread. It's not a practical everyday bread for the old man's sandwiches, but a nice one to wheel out with the cheese and olives.

[Robert H]

That looks great Jenny. I love the reddish colour you get using Canadian flour.

[saucisson]

Interesting way of doing it Robert, with a nice natural shape. I might try and pick up some canadian and wholemeal today to play with. What I'll also try is a very thin tin going in cold and covered in the hope the heat gets through the thin tin quickly enough to prevent sticking.

Dave

[Robert H]

What I'll also try is a very thin tin going in cold and covered in the hope the heat gets through the thin tin quickly enough to prevent sticking.

I was thinking along those lines, i.e. that the baking sheet being thin would heat up very quickly, and the pot was preheated - so, with also spraying the bread with water, should produce instant steam. Also with this method you have more control of the shape of the bread.

I was in Instore (used to be called Poundstretcher) the other day, and they had silicone loaf tins and muffin tins for �2.50 each. Oven safe up to 230 degrees C. I bought the muffin moulds - haven't tried them yet.

[jenny_haddow]

I use a lot of silicon oven ware. I've got a square dish about 12" x 12" that is fantastic for doing toad in the hole, it just comes out in one piece. I find it stands up very well to high temperatures, although my daughter did manage to melt the baking sheet I gave her!

Waitrose for extra strong Canadian bread flour Dave, its lovely stuff.

[Robert H]

We don't have Waitrose here up north. I get my Canadian from Costco. �9 something for 16kg sack - Marriages Manitoba flour.

[vinner]

Aris, the pot I used was a very large enameled, cast iron oval Le Creuset. The dough never touched the sides. Only using 1 1/2 cups of water, and lots of xtra flour for dusting, the dough set up well and was not too runny.

[aris]

Vinner,

Ok - that makes sense - my Le Creuset is round - but very large too. I'll give this a shot.

I have a feeling that this bread would taste fantastic if used with a sourdough starter. Unfortunately I do not have any