Oven Proof

15 Aug, 2008 in art pottery by admin

Oven Proof

Dutch Oven Recipe for Bread

Over the past year, I've learned some things about bread making. And along the path, I assumed that these were things that everybody knew, and I had just been the slow one. I did not actually talk about it much with folks, because I assumed that they'd just say,'Well, duh, when did you figure THAT one out?'

So, here are the things I've learned about baking yeast bread in a dutch oven :

The Recipe is Only Half what you need
Baking good bread is half ingredients, and half technique.

actually, all you positively need to make bread are four base ingredients : Flour, salt, yeast, and water. If you can do it with those, you can do it with anything more you wanna add. I've learned that with just those ingredients, you can make a very fluffy and juicy bread!

you want to Knead
Kneading is not just a great way to mix in the correct amount of flour, it also develops the gluten strands and makes it so that the bread can trap the gas that the yeast makes. That makes the bread rise. It would most likely take FOREVER. I did not know what was inaccurate with me. I'd knead the bread as long as the recipe said to, so why wasn't it working?
Just like different flours absorb water differently, they also take varying amounts of kneading. You must do the'Windowpane Test'. That's's the only possible way to know.

Roll it into a ball in your palms. Then, working it in a circle, start to stretch it out flat in the air. Pull it uniformly apart, like you're stretching out a pizza dough. Watch how long it takes to tear. If not, put that piece back in the dough ball and keep kneading.

Pre-Heat the Oven
it turns out that when you push a ball of dough into an already heated oven, that primary blast of heat will make the dough'spring'. The surrounded gas expands, the moisture in the dough turns to steam, and the entire ball just poofs.

One straightforward system is to pre-heat the lid of the dutch oven. After your bread has risen and you've formed it, put it in an oiled dutch oven to proof. Meanwhile, put some ( a lot ) of coals on the lid and put it to one side. When the loaf is prepared, take some of the coals off the lid and put them in a ring. The good thing about this strategy is that you are not handling the bread much, and so there's less of a chance of punching it down as you're trying to maneuver it into a hot dutch oven. You may do some fun shapes, like plats and rings. It's much simpler to do rolls this way, too.

It can be difficult to precisely control the internal temperature of a dutch oven. Counting coals is a good idea, but if it's's cold out, or windy, or any of a number of factors, the heat can change. That suggests, I'm never sure when it's done. Cooking a certain length of time is no guarantee. In a dutch oven, it's not always practical to reach in, lift out the loaf and thump it.
My solution? Stick a meat thermometer in it. If it's's between 180 and two hundred, it's done. 180 for the lighter types of breads, two hundred for heavier breads.

About the Author

If you would like to learn more dutch oven recipes,
visit my blog marksblackpot.blogspot.com.

Where can I purchase over-proof soup bowls in Seattle?

So this question is aimed to those living in the greater Seattle area of Washington. I am trying to make french onion soup but i need to obtain oven proof soup bowls. Does any one know where I an purchase it in Seattle. Hopefully a set of 4 for under 20$.

Do you have wal mart there?.... Sears.... any corningware soup bowls would do.

The Best Oven baked Dutch apple pancake - Delicious!