Sounds like a ripping read. I have never heard of baking in a pot before. What effect do you think it has ? Surely it cant get hotter than the oven, so there must be another reason. Do you know ?
I just meant for the bookshelf.
Agree it can’t get hotter. I think it keeps any moisture inside the pot, which helps make a nice crust. Also i think the physical contact with the pot having high thermal mass helps it cook faster at the beginning, which somehow helps it rise.
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Wow that looks pukka ? If only you could buy something like this REAL bread locally?
The last time i see Fresh loaves in Borough Market you needed a second mortgage??
Someone mentioned the Budgens shop in Brockley sell proper fresh uncut bread , but
haven’t managed to track it down ? Anyone know ??
Bona and agas both sell decent loaves. Bona is their own, baked on site and I think agas is(/was) brick house or blackbird bakery.
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In large traditional woodfired bread ovens, the stone walls floor and ceiling all got a massive injection of heat from a bonfire inside. Then the fire was raked out, the stone floor swept and the oven left for a while to ‘soak’, meaning to even up the heat across all the surfaces. Then all the village loaves were put in to cook with an even, radiated heat coming from all sides, very high to start then slowly cooling, with a crusty base in direct contact with the stone. The cast iron Dutch oven to an extent replicates that radiated and even heat in a small modern oven.
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I haven’t ever used a sourdough starter, but Elizabeth David’s book English Bread and Yeast Cookery is my bread bible. Recommended to me 20 years ago by Paul Rankin no less!
It’s a beautifully written history of all things bread, as well as explaining the science of how things interact and oh just everything really. My own history of wholemeal bread making falls into two categories: Before Elizabeth David = bricklike, heavy, best served with a Rennie and a hacksaw; Post Elizabeth David = flavoursome, moreish, glorious texture.
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Well i have just popped my dough in the fridge overnight. i will bake it in my le creuset casserole tomorrow and see how it turns out.
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Hi, I’ve just seen this and am wondering if the offer of some starter is still available? I’m no baker but my 91 year old mum is very keen to have a go at some decent bread! Thanks.
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Yes Alex, any time. Send me a PM with your address and I will drop you some round.
Oh, that looks promising !!
Yes folks - its my first go with the Dutch oven - not too bad wouldn’t you say ?
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Looks great!
That’s really kind, thanks - how do I send a PM?
I just created a PM for you @Alex18 and @Thewrongtrousers so hopefully you can communicate 
Note: Private messaging is automatically enabled when you have participated in the forum for a while. Alternatively you can fast-track this by getting your profile verified .
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Looks great!
Out of interest, what is it that seems to reliably cause the concentric circles around the outside?
The pattern is from a proving basket - you can see one up-thread in item 20, in the still from a YouTube video.
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true that
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Well I have tried to awaken the monster in the fridge.
I think it is vaguely alive but certainly it isn’t vigorous.
Ill give it a few more feeds to see if it wakes from its slumber…
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Does it have better texture or taste than you achieved without the Dutch oven? Or is the improvement purely aesthetic?