My brother has the basil and it's gorgeous! But I do love the matte black. I use this one and a white enameled dutch oven for baking bread. This one definitely doesn't show the wear like my white enameled. I can easily clean up the white enameled as well but there's some more maintenance in keeping it looking tip top!

Hi Nancy! Yes, you should be able to make a starter with all-purpose as well. I used to feed mine with only all-purpose. ☺️ I have a all-purpose and rye mix starter as well.

Sounds like something I'll have to try! I was following a modified recipe taken from a couple bread books. But I find there seems to be a lot of methods that can work well. Thanks for the feedback and suggestion!

This makes a lot of sense - why should it starve when you start off with 100% food?

That's a great question! It pains me anytime I have to discard, which is why I discard and feed with about 50g of flour. I could probably manage a nice starter with even 30-40g of flour as well. Most of the answers I've read on this topic are that if you keep feeding and don't discard, you'll end up having to feed your starter even more flour and it will become unmanageable at some point and end up having to feed it more flour. The starter is full of wild yeast and bacteria that needs to be fed to stay active and healthy. If I leave my starter on the counter for two days and forget to feed it, I can easily revive it. It's pretty tough, but if I don't feed it enough, the starter will start to smell like alcohol. The starter feeds off the sugar in the flour and if there's not enough, it's not happy and won't be bubbly and active and could effect the outcome of the bread. With that said, I've found that keeping my active starter small, allows me to feed it and use the discard to make a leaven for my bread. There's a lot of uses for the discard so that you don't have to waste. From waffles, to muffins, to pizza. You can even use some discard to start another starter for a friend! Once my starter is active and if I don't plan on making bread for the week, I'll store it in the fridge for up to 7 days and then take it out, let it come to room temp and then discard and feed. Using the discard again for a leaven and letting my starter go through a couple rounds of feeding before I put it back in the fridge. :)

I would imagine that you can do that as well! I was using a modified recipe from some bread baking books I have on hand. I definitely can see the value of using a little less flour and having a smaller active starter on hand if you don't bake all the time. I try to use all my discard and keep my starter in the fridge when I'm not planning to make bread that week.

Great! Good luck!

Hi! I wouldn't use the 4qt tall to fit a whole chicken, unless that chicken was small. For a 4 lb chicken, the 5 qt or 5.5 qt should be good. A 7 qt even better for adding extras like veggies

I have a Lodge 5 qt and it just fits a 5 lb chicken with nothing else added. But I have noticed the basic whole chicken in my area is 5 lbs, can't find smaller ones. I'm probably getting a 7 qt Staub with their spring sale shortly.

I don't have any tips on cleaning this one. I've been using strips of parchment to lower my bread in the oven and it's stayed pretty clean. Here's something I found online, "Fill your dutch oven with water and bring it to a boil. Then add a few big spoonfuls of baking soda (add them slowly as the baking soda will bubble up and foam). Let the mixture simmer on the stove as you use a wooden spoon to scrape up the blackened, burnt-on stains." Let me know if you have any luck!

Try barkeepers friend.

I have! I've had some pretty great success with the dutch oven! I've been thinking of getting a slightly larger one as well. But this time, I'll most likely go for a lodge or combo cooker. I've been in the process of moving, so haven't had a chance to make a sourdough video using the dutch oven, but plan to soon!

I can confirm the this tall version cooks amazing bread even being an amateur. You can still make bread in the shorter version there is just less room for steam which may affect how much it rises.

Me too! I plan on making something soon. I've had some hits and misses, but mostly that's my fault and not the dutch ovens! 😄

Hi Linda, it is!

I was visiting my brother recently and he purchased the 7 qt in the Basil color and it was absolutely gorgeous. He's been raving about how well it cooks everything from beans to stews. Do you have a favorite LC color, item?

@@thecuriousbaker8848, I am currently eyeing the Basil too 😍 The only drawback is the black interior. I love the old Palm green unfortunately, they are no longer available. We have the standard round Dutch oven, a braiser and a skillet all in Cerise

Thank you for sharing this useful information Red! How do you like it? The matte black is definitely gorgeous. 💛

Great! Happy Baking!

send me recipe plz

@@sultanakusumalyjaber3241 www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe Happy Baking!! 😄

That's what I was thinking! 😅

Sounds Great! I love a multi-use kitchen item! Thanks for watching!

@kentuckyken Maybe one of the only cons of baking! the scale. But there's nothing like homemade bread! I have a great banana bread recipe I'm hoping to share soon!

Happy Baking!!

Thanks Heather! I love that the pan needs very little, to no greasing. The bread slides right out!