Hi! I’ve been following the Wild Bread starter method for 9 months now. I made ciabatta for the first time today and I just want to ask or maybe warn about the step where you put your enameled cast iron in the oven and preheat it with the oven to 450 and then put the ice in when you put the ciabatta in to bake. This quick and drastic change of temperature made the enamel on my 5 year old Dutch oven explode in a spot on the bottom. I’m very disappointed that my Dutch oven is now ruined. I researched some other recipes that call for ice in a Dutch oven and they all say to put the Dutch oven and ice in at the same time you put the dough in to bake. Did I miss something in the Wild Bread method? Am I reading it wrong?
Hi Katy, I'm so sorry to hear that the enamel on your Dutch oven burst where the ice hit. In all the loaves of bread we baked for Wild Bread, this never happened. Since a small amount of ice is added to the pan, the ice usually scatters and melts rapidly and creates steam in the oven as soon as it hits the pan, so thermal shock was never an issue (we did use a Dutch oven dedicated solely to this purpose--a thrift store score). There is a detailed explanation on p. 216 about the use of an enameled Dutch oven and ice to create steam and promote oven spring.
Since your pan did experience thermal shock, and you are posting this as a warning to others, I would add that for those leery of using an enameled Dutch oven or skillet to create steam, you can bake breads without adding ice to the preheated Dutch oven. Breads baked without this step may have a slightly less crisp crust and slightly less supple interior, but will still turn out well.
Hi! I've been following the Wild Bread starter method for 9 months now. I made ciabatta for the first time today and I just want to ask or maybe warn about the step where you put your enameled cast iron in the oven and preheat it with the oven to 450 and then put the ice in when you put the ciabatta in to bake. This quick and drastic change of temperature made the enamel on my 5 year old Dutch oven explode in a spot on the bottom. I'm very disappointed that my Dutch oven is now ruined. I researched some other recipes that call for ice in a Dutch oven and they all say to put the Dutch oven and ice in at the same time you put the dough in to bake. Did I miss something in the Wild Bread method? Am I reading it wrong?
Hi! I've been following the Wild Bread starter method for 9 months now. I made ciabatta for the first time today and I just want to ask or maybe warn about the step where you put your enameled cast iron in the oven and preheat it with the oven to 450 and then put the ice in when you put the ciabatta in to bake. This quick and drastic change of temperature made the enamel on my 5 year old Dutch oven explode in a spot on the bottom. I'm very disappointed that my Dutch oven is now ruined. I researched some other recipes that call for ice in a Dutch oven and they all say to put the Dutch oven and ice in at the same time you put the dough in to bake. Did I miss something in the Wild Bread method? Am I reading it wrong?
Dutch Oven Issue
Posted - Jun 08 2020 : 08:24:29 AM
