August 18, 2010 - 7:12pm
Cold Oven - Clay Pot
Hello,
Just made a wholemeal spelt sourdough with brown rice and final proofed in clay pot with lid overnight.
According to instruction provided with unglazed clay pot - I must place the pot and soaked clay lid into a cold oven to prevent the pot cracking from sudden heat change.
Problem is my loaf is ready to cook and is in the pot already so I'm worried the cold oven will affect the oven spring.
What should I do?
Thanks
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You will get some warm up rising from the dough also. So I hope the dough is not too close to being completely risen or fully proofed. (danger of overproofing) Put the lower section with the dough into the fridge while the lid is soaking.
Hi,
Thanks for the post.
I ended up cooking the loaf soon after posting my original post.
I soaked the lid and very carefully removed the loaf from the pot without using hands (Yes I know very risky and loaf could deflate etc)
I then placed pot and soaked lid into oven which was at about 50 degrees and let it warm up to about 190 C and placed the loaf back in.
Surprisingly I got very good oven spring - despite it appearing to be fully proofed.
After about 30 mins (200 - 250C) I had a peak and the top of the loaf was quite moist from soaked lid and after 1 hour I removed the lid and wound the oven down slowly to 140 C and cooked for about another hour or so.
The crust is nice and thick and the bread turned out lovely and is very filling.
I suspect your loaf is very much like a rice vollkorn loaf. Mmmm Does it need to stand for a day or two before cutting?
(Double Post)
thanks mimi :) have been wondering bout this question myself, does this work also for him lahey bread in a pot/pyrex? thanks
Roll, I'm Mini and not Mimi.
Are we talking covered pots? Do you mean subtracting time off the loaf's proof rise? (and adding 15 min. to the baking time) Then yes. I guess. I've not had the chance to follow Lahey's recipes. Better a little underproofed loaf for a cold oven.
If covered, I blast the whole capsule with heat using convection at 240°C which is much faster at raising the inside oven temperature than conventional electric heat. I figure 15 min. to get up to temp and then wait about 15 min more, then reduce to the desired 200°C and wait for smoke or until it reaches an inside temp of 96°C or 205°F. With a small oven, It is better to use 220°C because it heats up so fast. Lower temps if not covered to avoid a two toned loaf.
Pyrex and various cookbooks may tell you that clear or dark glass always cooks faster and that the temp should be reduced by 25°F or 14°C from the suggested medium oven baking temperature. Up to you.
Mini
Thanks mini, I did mean mini not mimi, lol, sleep deprived brain. Thanks for taking the time to answer in detail. yes I did mean a covered pot. Usually with the lahey breads I preheat with the pot and lid inside preheating along with oven. was just wondering if it'll still work without the preheat and starting from a cold oven. I could just let it prove inside the pot I'm going to bake it in, keep it a little underproofed, then just place in oven and heat up as usual. does that make sense? thanks,
I didn't know that about glass, i just figured that black pans cooks the fastest. I guess my oven is considered small, its electric with fan (convection?). I always keep my heat at the highest temp though all throughout from preheat till the end. Is this right? thanks :)
The interesting thing about convection is that the heat source is near the fan somewhere and the air (and clay baker) is heated first before the sides of the oven. Heating at the same temp throughout? Hey, if it works, do it! I am all for the easier method if it gives you the bread you like. Recipes are just guides anyway.
I'm tempted with my clay pot to raise it in the top and then put the two sides together upside-down and roll it into the bottom into the upright position. I have to put lots of seeds between the dough and clay but worth a try as the top has a design in it.
Mini in Austria
bbq does soung good!
mini, your idea sounds really interesting, if you ever do do it, must take a pic :)