New Bread Cloche

[skeptic7]

I found a Bread Cloche at Good Will, and bought it for $6.99! Now what do I do with it? A new one is about $60.00 so temptation overtook common sense. Now what can I do with it? Its a round cloche so I guess I need to make a round loaf of bread. Can I make a milk/egg whole wheat raisin bread or should I start experimenting with something easier like a white bread? Is a cloche only useful for Artisan breads or will normal enriched loaves work? What I want to eat is a raisin bread with a cinnamon spiral -- preferably whole wheat but I am willing to make a mainly white flour bread.

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[Mike Nolan]

Congratulations on your find. You should be able to make nearly any type of bread in your new cloche. (I've heard of problems with breads with chocolate in them in a cloche because the chocolate scorches, but other than that you should be fine.)

[BakerAunt]

Congratulations on a great find, Skeptic7! I'm eager to hear about the breads you bake with it. If you have a good round loaf recipe--one that does not spread too much--that might be a good one with which to start.

[Mike Nolan]

Depending on the diameter, it might be interesting to utilize that basket weave with your round cloche.

[wonky]

Congrats on your great find, and I agree with Mike that you should be able to bake any type of bread in it. I am sure it will be delicious, no matter what you bake.

If you can't find a use for it...I will gladly take it off your hands!!!!!!!!! (:>=

[skeptic7]

DO you have a link to the basket weave? Also the round braided challah?
If I come to hate the Cloche or find it boring, I'll be glad to mail it to someone. Wonky do you live in the continental US?

[RiversideLen]

Here is one example.

[wonky]

Skeptic I live in the frozen tundra...AKA Wisconsin...I'll be watching the mail for it!!!!!!..Wonky

[aaronatthedoublef]

How well will a Dutch oven substitute for a cloche?

[Mike Nolan]

I would think they'd be similar, though a metal dutch oven would be a lot dryer than a cloche, especially if you follow the instructions I've seen for soaking the cloche in water before putting the dough in it and then bringing it up to temp from a cold oven, so that it gets steamy inside. But your dough can lose up to 20% of its weight in evaporated water, so there's plenty of water available for steam, and you can always spray the top of the loaf and the sides of the pan after it rises, too.

I've seen instructions for baking bread in a dutch oven that has you pre-heat the pan and put the dough in it after it has been heated, that always sounds a bit tricky to pull off without burning yourself.

A heavy cast iron dutch oven might be a bigger heat sink, meaning it would hold more residual heat than a ceramic cloche.

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