What bakes the BEST BREAD? Stone vs. Dutch Oven

[@charlescresap4451]

I teach sourdough bread at a local university. The 1 pound bread loaf the students make is cooked in a pair of stainless steel bowls, one to cook, one to cover. They cost $1.30 each and make a great loaf. Just shape the loaf and put it in the bowl for fridge rest, proofing and cooking with no preheating. The loaf goes straight into a 475 F oven for 20 minutes to bake, then 8 minutes to brown. Simple, easy, cheap.

[@ninjaros1]

Could you send a link to the type of bowl?

[@charlescresap4451]

Dollar Tree. $1.25 each, 2 per loaf. 1 for the bread, 1 for the cover.

[@sandra.louize]

Ver interesting. I would love to know how to make it this way seems very uncomplicated and simple!!

[@karencrane2248]

Just plain stainless steel? In 475?oven? I love this

[@charlescresap4451]

Dollar Tree 8"stainless steel dog water bowls cost $1.25. You need 2 for each loaf, bread pan and cover. Remove the rubber ring and labels. Coat bread pan with cooking spray, dust with flour. Preheat oven 475 F. Cook bread 20 minutes covered. Remove cover, cook 12 minutes. Cool on a rack about an hour for the inside to finish cooking

[@andersenchiangmai]

Most household ovens have a seal between the door and the oven frame thus not letting the steam out...I bake 2 sourdough loafs at the time on a baking stone. I add a bit of water to the inside of the oven just before I close the door and my loafs turns out fine....

[@GibeinenNutzername]

A cross-comparison between pizza stone, pizza steel (only the lower part of the dutchoven), closed dutchoven and normal baking tray would be super interesting.

[@LookinUp_]

For anyone who does NOT like the hard crust, you can bake your bread for 2 hours in the crockpot on high. Poor about 1/2C of water in first and preheat about 30 minutes. Makes beautiful bread with no crust.

[@joeees7790]

I think comparing the Challenger, to a Brovn and regular dutch oven would be interesting.

[@voidremoved]

I baked stoned. It was a bit messier than usual... And I ate everything before it even cooled. In comparison I tried to bake drunk and nearly burned the place down. My conclusion is, bake when sober, then get stoned.

[@the_bread_code]

😂 the bread baked you?

[@bluewren65]

@@the_bread_code No, he was already baked. The bread was just an unfortunate bystander.

[@lbazemore585]

😂

[@hacgarimman9660]

I'm not surprised you eat it all when you are baking stoned 😂

[@dianevitale1214]

A very thorough demonstration. Just am so surprised loaves were not sliced into to compare.

[@Myrkskog]

I use a stone and a large, upturned pyrex mixing bowl for viewing.

[@weekend_art]

I just bought pyrex for the same idea! I was sure there are more of us 😅

[@weekend_art]

Do you preheat the Pyrex together with the stone?

[@Myrkskog]

@@weekend_art Yes, just in case there's any issues with adding it to a hot oven. I"m sure pyrex is fine with that, but would hate to crack the bowl.

[@weekend_art]

@@Myrkskog thank you so much for answering! I am now calculating maximum loaf size that would fit under 3l 24cm pyrex: probably something around 350 grams flour, half kilo loaf

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Nice video. FWIW - I switched to a steel baking 'stone' from a thick ceramic stone. The oven spring was greatly improved. Dough sitting on a ceramic stone chills it's footprint. too quickly. A steel baking 'stone' gives a better crispy bottom. They also heat up faster.

[@kariolavi]

Many thanks for your experiments! I bake my bread nowadays 30+30 mins. First 30 mins in a Dutch Oven (230 c) and after that 30 mins on the oven rack (200 c) i.e without the Dutch Oven! I like dark skin bread; the flavour is there!

[@petersimon1362]

I had no idea you could parbake bread like this. So excited to try this

[@carlosortega8357]

I was Flight attendant with AA for 40 yrs. All the bread is parbaked - we finish it in 20 minutes in aviation design convection oven. All food is prepared by catering to be finished in 20 minutes on board, not just bread. Excellent bread came out.

[@ronbarry285]

I have a small production hack for you. Instead of using your knuckles to tap the bottom of the bread use your fingertips so your fingernails contact the bottom of the loaf and you can get that "hollow" sound at almost any stage of baking. This technique is not the goal but for the sake of production and time saving try it. When I use a dutch oven it takes hours for my bread to "dry out" in the center so I can video that sound while waiting for the bread to dry internally. Time saver ONLY. Love your stuff.

[@jonathanstout6618]

You could totally break that par-baking technique into it's own videos. I just cut into a loaf I fully baked two days ago because I was trying to finish another loaf first. And while it was great, I'm guessing I would've been better to have par-baked it, and then browned it off today. Also, I'd love to know your thoughts on methodology for how long to let the loaves rest/cool after the par-baking, and after the final baking. Cheers and thanks as always!

[@carlosortega8357]

Alles gut !! Vielen danke ! I live in Colombia and ordered a hefty 4 mm thick steel square for baking (cut with plasma cutter, rounded corners) to fit my oven (with space for air circulation) and use that instead of stone. Total cost was US$ 12. I place wet rolled cloth on oven tray on bottom of oven for first 10 minutes, remove it and finish baking.

[@MrPhillyval]

Every one has a cast iron casserole at home that can really make an excellent dutch oven.

[@alexpizzabite949]

Very interesting experiment 👌 I will try to do it soon and let’s see what is going to come out

[@NancyAnneMartin]

Really cool experiment, and was almost relieved to see that it was almost a wash in the way both bread's turned out. Personally, I have a really old Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. I've started bake my loaf in that for the first half, then remove it via the parchment paper underneath and put it on a cookie sheet to continue baking until it's brown. This seems to give me much better oven spring. It would be easier overall with the Challenger Dutch oven, but I don't want to spend the money nor do I have the space for that.

[@annabellechappell8752]

I thought the Challenger loaf had better oven spring. I did buy a Challenger bread pan (at full price) and it's really heavy. I struggle a bit to push the rack with the pan on it into the oven, but I'm a 75 year old woman. However, the payoff is my loaves have much better oven spring and crust. Also, I prefer a batard and one won't fit in my big Dutch oven. Just some thoughts I wanted to offer.

[@charlescresap4451]

Really complicated. Use the Dollar Tree dog water bowl with second for a cover. Cost $2.50. After your bread is shaped, it goes in the dog bowl for resting, proofing and cooking. Cook 20 minutes covered in a 475 F oven and then 12 more minutes uncovered.

[@simplybeautifulsourdough8920]

@@charlescresap4451 This was two years ago. Things have simplified for me since then. (Sam person, different channel. 😀)

[@Mara_74]

Dankeschön! Really needed to watch this right now👍! Struggling so much with oven spring, but I guess it is not from my baking setup! I really need to get bulk fermentation right first! Big thanks from Portugal!

[@JoannaHammond]

I've always just done the water tray at the bottom trick, cold water and let the oven preheat for over an hour. Then that oven is basically like a sauna :D Perfect.

[@the_bread_code]

That's works great yep 🙏🏻

[@angelikaradominska5512]

I made this comparison and for my poor oven baking in dutch oven is better beacouse of small capacity of my oven- the upper heating element is too low over the bread 😀but life is life- I adapted and overcomed it👍

[@reneotten5411]

Awesome test. So far, I have always baked my bread with the "stone-setup", always wondering if I should invest (a lot) in a dutch oven, and now I know that the difference is only marginal. So I will just continue like I'm used to bake, because we Dutch people are cheap too! 🤣🤣🤣

[@swissmaid]

I am swiss, Berner and wee are even cheaper, 🤣🤣🤣

[@nancycurtis488]

We older Texas bakers...(74 yr. old baker who has been baking for about 57 yrs. and who is the mother of 7 grown children (I lost my oldest son almost 2 yrs. ago 3 days before his 54th birthday...has been HARD), and 17 grandsons and 2 granddaughters ( lost my oldest grandchild/granddaughter when she was 21yrs. old in a car crash on 12-05-08...another hard hit) can also be very cheap. I think when you have as many children as I did but still want to provide the best you can for your children, you learn to be a wonderful scratch baker and cook as well as learning to be a good seamstress. It is the way to go.

[@lsieu]

AAAAHH...... You didn't cut them open to show the crumb?!? Thanks all the same. Good video on that... And now I'm hungry. lol!

[@AuntDuddie]

I love crumb reveals.

[@RGS61]

Disappointing test .. cast iron pans are useful if you don't know how to set up your oven properly, with a stone, to begin with .. All of my various tests over the years point conclusively that baking on a stone is superior .. Cast iron pans are merely a convenience, and in case of the Challenger pan, a very expensive convenience .. The main mistake most people make when using a baking stone is not -pre-heating for long enough .. An oven with a baking stone needs at least 1 hour to pre-heat to 500F .. The baking stone will lag in temperature, but then eventually overtake the oven .. An infra red thermometer is a useful investment (very cheap on Amazon) to monitor the temperature of the stone .. The other mistake is not enough steam .. A big, heavy metal pan underneath filled with boiling water is required .. The goal is to see steam coming out of the vents for the first 20 mins of the bake, after which the steam pan should be removed .... Surface fermentation bubbles have nothing to do with the method of the baking; they are a function of how long the dough has been retarded for .. A properly fermented loaf, baked on a stone with lots of steam will produce plenty of fermentation bubbles, lots of spring and a big ear .. If you like really big fermentation bubbles, a spritz/mist of water on the dough before going in will help .... Finally, sorry to say, the underside of both your loaves were a disaster .. A well shaped loaf, with proper tension will actually rise up off the surface it is sitting on .. Your loaf stuck to the stone because it was too wet coming out of the fridge .. While the oven is being pre-heated, any covering on a banneton should be removed to enable the top (what will become the underneath) to dry out .. Taking the baking stone out of the oven is also a disaster waiting to happen. In the 5 mins out of the oven, while mounting and scoring the dough, it will have lost at least 10=20F overall, in addition to whatever was lost in the area around the dough .. a dusting of semolina, corn meal, or rice flour will help to ensure the underneath is dry, doesn't stick, and the dough can be easily slipped off a peel without the need to take the baking stone out of the oven, or the need for parchment paper ..

[@vensel9697]

What a great comparison test. I always wondered which method works better. I prefer the Dutch oven myself since there's no complicated set up. I'm saving up for a challenger. Thank you for another great video! 🤗

[@Rob-metoo527]

The sink cut out from a granite countertop. Makes perfect pizza stone

[@barrychambers4047]

You are not a stingy German, Hendrik. You are a frugal human being, and that's an attribute, Sir! Stingy would be like if you never bought your buddies a beer, and always forgot your wallet. With so much wealth in the western parts of the world, it is a crime to waste. When I bake with an extra large banneton I'll just use our roasting pan. It works just as well as the Dutch oven. Nice looking loaves, by the way!

[@barrychambers4047]

I shouldn't say the "western parts of the world", but all of the affluent parts of the world, which is right.

[@pH15cHy]

This is perfectly timed. I have been considering using a stone instead of my dutch oven. I will need to use a glass bowl as I have a natural gas stove that exhausts steam out too quickly for oven spring.

[@the_bread_code]

🙏🏻 yep. That should help.

[@christopherhawksley6198]

Very interesting, but have you tried Romertopf? Since I switched to baking in Romertopf clay bakers (made in Germany are the best) I have never had a loaf burned on the bottom. Very crispy crust. Trick is to leave the cover on for 30 minutes, while turning the heat down as usual after the first 20 minutes. After 30 minutes take the cover off for another 10 minutes or until brown enough for your liking. Plus I have a large round one and an oblong one (originally designed for cooking whole fish) and both fit side by side in the oven, so I save $$$ by always baking two loaves at once! I will post a picture to your Instagram.

[@the_bread_code]

That will definitely work as well :-). Works similar to a dutch oven.

[@nu5045]

More Dr. Bread please!! So entertaining and people get to show off their bread and improve their bread !

[@asafs000]

Nice comparison, pity we couldn't see the crumb as it's more important than anything IMO :)

[@AntonioJ_79]

Excellent experiment, I would like to see another video experimenting in a pyrex container with a lid.

[@JackFromTheKitchen]

Try to get pizza steel, in Germany called pizza Stahl. It think it could solve some problems which regular stone is having. Did you try to preheat your stone to the higher temperature? Let's say 270-300 C. The amount of steam, volume of oven and the time when the stone is outside and oven doors are opened might cousing higher loss of temperature at the start of baking.

[@the_bread_code]

Thanks. Great comment. In my past experiments I noticed that 230°C seems to be the sweet spot :-)

[@rubenbasilio.g]

Hello! I'm overwhelmed! 😞 It is fabulous that you do so many experiments to show us everything that happens before all the variables that may arise when making our bread, however the basic process to make the sourdough starter (fermentation time, number of folds, times, the rest, the utensils, sourdough starter etc) have changed so much that when I want to go find one of your "definitive recipes" to make bread, many things and factors come out that in your latest videos you no longer use or carry out 😥 (For example, now you use the challenger, you no longer use flour or semolina in the benneton, sometimes you use parchment paper and other times not, etc, etc, etc ... It would be possible for you to make a new video where you show the moment since Do you start the whole process? (From the moment you do the sourdough starter and manage your times) It would be great if you made some kind of timeline, that way we could appreciate the "complete picture" of the complete process ..... pleaseeeeeee! 🙏🏼😅❗️ It would be great!

[@the_bread_code]

😂 😂 😂 🙏 sorry. I thought about this too. Use all my latest learnings in one condensed video.

[@charlespartak2435]

Hendrik , thanks for every single video on sourdough. Im still looking for the perfect loaf. I have a question for you and im putting it in the experimental group...have you tried yet to bake a loaf in an outdoor grill. I own a recteq 380 and bought a stone and " pizza oven " accessory for it and the thought crossed my mind to try it . But of course put a steam bowl over it on the stone as you would in an indoor oven. Try it and see , might be a game changer.

[@isabelab6851]

I have a challenger and I love using it because I bake in my Breville Smart Oven so it really helps getting the right temperature. But is is helpful to have this knowledge when I am not home and I need to bake bread!

[@空天-u3p]

by adding this in your talk "we germans ...typical german" you have proven that you are indeed a typical german ;-) ... great video

[@DaveK385]

I got tired of putting the stone and water pan in the oven, since I use the oven for other things. It's easier to just use a cast iron pan. I really like my Challenger pan, other than the weight.

[@robinlillian9471]

I just leave the stone in the oven for most baking. The chicken didn't care. I have also seen videos where people put the lid of a large baking pan like for turkey over the bread. The top part doesn't have to be cast iron. You just need a lid big enough. On the other hand, I mostly just don't bother with the water pan or a lid these days & the bread comes out fine. It depends on how picky you are.

[@isobelm7416]

Please please show me how to incorporate nuts/walnuts in my sourdough bread. Almost nobody has videos about it. And I seem to make nutty frisbees everytime. Pleaseeee

[@Rangefindergeneral]

I don't understand how you can ferment for so long, I use slightly less starter than you and if I was to do more than 4 hours bench fermentation my dough would be soup.. Kitchen temp 25°c

[@isabelab6851]

Yea this always a question for me

[@janster7777]

Your breads look great. I really appreciate your interviews with bakers I have followed since I started baking sourdough in 2018. 🎉🎉🎉

[@chazyvr]

You keep calling yourself lazy but a lazy person wouldn't do what you do. :)

[@janster7777]

I think you would need to do this experiment several times because, as you said...shaping and scoring influence the final loaf. Great experiment!

[@jklphoto]

Helpful comparison. Struggling to find the right solution for making artisan loaves in my biga$$ American vented oven (your tiny euro oven is so cute ;-) As you conclude, I think the "Dutch" oven is still the best! Surprised to hear you say the refrigerator was good for storage. I have always heard that is a Nein Nein. I just slice and freeze any bread I can't use in a day or two. Perhaps that is a good topic for the future?

[@gulfcoastgal_]

Love your experiments Thank you for your quest for best protocols Consider a clay baker which can be soaked and bottom half is glazed Then put in cold oven baked for one hr closed One clay baker version has bottom interior glass glazed After you have used it s while perhaps compare Dutch oven Broven etc

[@ceryowston]

Very informative, i bought a stone last week and i wasnt quite sure how to use it but... These techniques will help

[@robinlillian9471]

If you put parchment paper between the dough & the banneton, and leave some hanging over the edges, you can use that to lift the risen dough out and deposit it on the baking stone. The bread bakes just fine with the parchment paper still underneath. Or you can turn it upside down & peel it off. Or you can empty the banneton onto the parchment paper on top of a peel or the table & transport it to the stone that way.

[@ivgardi]

I prefer a fiberglass baking mat. It reduces waste as it is reusable and it does not stick at all.

[@notrob4376]

Try spritzing your dough at 5-minute intervals while baking to achieve a better oven spring with a cheap $10 enamel roaster or bread pan. This has been helping me. This is great if you don't want to purchase extra gadgets for bread making.

[@video123film]

Ooh, thanks for the tip for getting fresh bread a few days after a bake. I have found that if you leave a loaf uncovered on the counter for a day or two after a full bake, the crust stays crisp and the overall the texture is the same. But with your tip you get nice hot bread and maybe the dinner party flourish of taking a loaf out of the oven! Hmm actually, usually I wait one hour after a bake before cutting into the loaf. Do you still recommend that with your method?

[@serbanpopescu1032]

Your second loaf got stuck because two factors: 1. the stone was likely not yet at temp, and 2. the stone was almost unused. I regularly bake my sourdough loaves (about 1kg, larger than a batard) on a pizza stone (similar thickness as yours - very important detail) at 455°F. No steam tray underneath nor an inverted tray over the loaf. However, my technique involves placing over the loaf of a pre-heated 6qt cast iron pot. In essence, it’s your setup but with a ceramic bottom. Results have been very consistent over the years. I like the way stone transfers the heat to the bottom of the loaf (it actually has a different texture than if baking on cast iron), it’s exactly the same as the way my backyard wood-fired bread oven bakes. Your channel is very interesting, thanks for putting the effort into these bread-baking porn videos 😂

[@joebananas123]

Can you show us how to make a Schwarzbrot some time in the future? :)

[@the_bread_code]

Took a note. Thanks 🙏🏻

[@dionnegule599]

Or laugenbrezel! Please! (Hopefully that reads pretzel)

[@AuntDuddie]

@@dionnegule599 I'm from Pretzelvania. I love Pretzels.

[@swissmaid]

Yes, yes schweizer schwarzbrot, please, living in Australia bin aber Schweizerin, and the bread is plastic here!

[@Gokukakarot-onYoutube]

I have done some similar experiments not on a pizza stone but a pizza steel, that conducts the heat better. I also own the Challenger Breadpan, and it is more convenient and I achieve ovenspring even if I didn't proof to the full. But I can bake two loafs on the pizza steel at once.

[@popcorn7657]

Danke schön. J’ai bien apprécié ce video. Thank you for the hack as i heard about it but was not sure how to process.

[@jimfromri]

Maybe you have already and I missed it, but could you talk more about how you use your ph meter and what you learn from its readings? Thank you for your great videos.

[@isabelab6851]

I have been wondering about getting one...but the calibration could be challu

[@the_bread_code]

Yes. Will do. One of my next videos will be on that topic :-)

[@the_bread_code]

@Isabel - yep. They are also so pricey :-(

[@bryanonthecoast572]

Thank you. Your tips have made a big difference in my bread baking. I have tried everything to get the blisters on my loaves, but I haven't figured it out yet!

[@earthmagic1]

Bryan, a fine mist of water several times in the first ten minutes of baking makes blisters.

[@debbiepowers4743]

Spray your loaf with water before putting it in the oven. I never got blisters till I did that.

[@michalkarpisek751]

I'm Actually using a 1cm thick steel instead of stone, heats quicker and transfers heat much better than the stone... Just saying

[@isabelab6851]

I don’t have one of those...so stone works for me

[@isvico76]

Me too! But mine is 6 mm thick.

[@jklphoto]

I had a 1/2" steel cut to size for my oven. At 12.7mm it takes a while to heat. Great for pizza, pointless when baking in a dutch oven.

[@wesfree]

The Dutch Oven is superior, but your observation about the ability to bake multiple loaves (on a stone) is well taken. After a large number of experiments of my own, I found that placing my dough in a large ramekin (glazed ceramic bowl - pre-prepared with either brown rice flour or corn meal) INSIDE of the Dutch oven produces superior results. Why? The extreme heat of the steel dutch oven bottom is separated from the dough. In addition, the ramekin provides a bit of support to the sides of the dough, producing a greater oven-spring! Try it! Cheers, @wesfree

[@jokari69]

I think the sticking is caused by the spritzed water that infuses with starch and drips down to the stone or cast-iron ad acts as a glue. I would recommend you to avoid using the spritzing method if you want your breads to stop sticking.

[@joannestretch]

I heard of a baker that preheats the oven , then when ready to bake it in dutch oven , turns the heat off for the first half of baking in dutch oven , then when that is finished the over goes back on, amazing oven spring with this technique , could be your next experiment to do, would love to see your results on this one

[@zoilinar]

14:15 that fricking "finishing the bake" song , everytime make me think i am suddenly watching a "beach in miami" video

[@ivgardi]

Thanks. Just bought myself a stone and going to test it.

[@jovanypedroza85]

Do you think there’s be a difference in placing in a bag then in fridge, or just banneton in fridge, no bag?

[@robinlillian9471]

I have baked bread a lot of different ways. It's always better than store bought, unless it's an old fashioned bakery. Every region of the world where wheat or rye grow has its own favorite yeasted breads. It's really just a matter of preference.

[@the_bread_code]

Great question. I'd say there might not be a major difference. Great idea to test :-D

[@artvandelay1555]

Thanks for sharing your ups and downs with sourdough, that way i know i don't have to be perfect. I am half German and have a frugal nature. If only my government had one also. I have only made 4 sour dough loaves so am still in the curve. You have better results with a slightly lower temp. right? I forgot about the half baking hack. My local Trader Joe's sells baguettes that you finish baking at home. I never thought about doing this hack at home. I have a stone and put a pan in which i put cool water, but need to find a top cover. Getting some ear, but there is room for improvement. Zut. Pot is not good for a society. Been through the '70's.

[@HuggyBearHikes]

Have you ever tried baking on a pizza stone with a large steel bowl or pot covering the dough? Curious to see if this would work.

[@allaudler6752]

I bake bread exactly like this with big steel bawl over . The problem you can only make one at the time

[@soleboxy]

a good comparison could be a steel and a dutch oven since it factors out the material (metal is more conductive so that might be the change you saw on the bottom)

[@galensmith1257]

This is a bit of relief, I think I can do without the Challenger Bread Oven! Please more instruction shaping 85%+ hydration sourdough dough (uh, redundant!)

[@kathykathrynm9375]

Interesting experiment. I loved your “half-baked” hack. Can you freeze the half-baked bread?

[@popcorn7657]

Yes i heard about that hack also with Bake with Jack but didn’t know how.

[@the_bread_code]

I only use the fridge, not the freezer. I'll make a video on it 🤓

[@kathykathrynm9375]

Thanks. I’ll do an experiment.

[@DavyLandman]

@@the_bread_code ow yeah, please do that, since it would finally make it possible to send bread to my family who I haven't seen for many months.

[@notrob4376]

@@the_bread_code This would be good! I was thinking of freezing then defrosting the the refrigerator before baking ;D

[@gapey]

You need a bigger sample size to make sure it's not your shaping technique. :)

[@rolesare]

I’m wondering if undercooking your bread and finishing it later affects your loaves somehow. What’s the difference with, say, baking them completely and then freezing them?

[@the_bread_code]

Great question. I need to test this a little more 🤓

[@swissmaid]

Bread won't be crispy nor have the fresh taste!

[@brizi145]

Baking hack perfection - thank you!

[@stargazerrock6362]

Hello. The stone baking experiment is a bit off. First, you place the stone high, further away from the heating element. Second, the ceramic water bowl obstructs radiation from the bottom and stays at 100°C. Both reduce the heat intake of the stone during baking. Please check my comment on your previous video for some info on stone baking and experiments. Cheers!

[@stargazerrock6362]

Copied from the previous video: Hi Hendrik! I want to share with you the results of 2 experiments on the same topic. I must start by saying that I do not use a Dutch oven. I bake directly on my oven, using bread baking settings ( basically steam, fan and top heating) at 230C, on a pizza stone. 1st experiment was to delay spritzing a little bit. I noticed that spritzing from the start causes some sticking of the bottom edges to the stone stopping the oven spring of the bottom. So I spritzed the loaf only 3-4 minutes in the baking, just after the bottom edges went up from the stone. Result a significantly higher oven spring. 2nd experiment: I over proofed by mistake 2 breads. I bake them one after the other. I saw that the first one was more like an UFO 😥. So I try to salvage the second. In this case, besides spritzing late, as described above, I kept spritzing the top every 10 minutes or so. The intent was to let bottom and sides stiffen by crusting, but keep the top elastic, by delaying its crusting. Result: probably my best oven spring ever, and this on a compromised, overproofed loaf.Cheers!

[@pieeetr]

I would like to know more about your ph meter. Does it help you pin point if your dough has fermented long enough? Which model are you using?

[@the_bread_code]

Yep. It does. I will be making a video on that topic soon.

[@m005kennedy]

I would like to see you obtain this same look with regular yeasted bread.

[@xenofonps]

what about bake in a stone with a lid?

[@laineberning2578]

This is what I do. It makes a great bread.

[@the_bread_code]

Sounds great!

[@najirou]

Why didn’t you use parchment paper for stone? You can also use cutting board to flip bread and slide over the stone. I have no problem with this way and no gas release at all. Instead I had problem burned bottom with cast iron pot. Maybe I’ll try bake half way method. Thanks 😊

[@the_bread_code]

Great idea as well :-)

[@en2oh]

what? no cutting of the two loaves? SERIOUSLY? :) (Ok, great job as usual!) Thanks

[@eddjcaine]

Knew when you spritzed it it would stick to the stone! Never a good idea to get the stone wet next to the dough

[@kaclark9696]

I LOVE my Challenger, no mess, no fuss.

[@aredskydawning7658]

I would have liked to see the crumb, but it was a great experiment.

[@rightmay1974]

thank for sharing .... try to bake it on tile it is so effective in baking i live in US where it so pricey to get things like those in video

[@geoklanong3283]

Lovely breads. I noticed that u switched fr fan mode to top n bottom heating. May I know the reason? Tq.

[@the_bread_code]

Just to make sure you have as much steam as possible. The fan removes too much steam.

[@x70101]

Have you tried the ceramic emille henry oven pan? And if so, do you think it's a good alternative?:)

[@laineberning2578]

This is a good question, particularly for those of us who live in Europe. Importing the Challenger is expensive for us, The Brovn - a glass dome without handles, seems fragile and I think it’s something I’d quickly break. The Emile Henry seems like a good alternative.

[@lindawilson3071]

I have a Emile Henry round pan and I love it, it’s perfect every time, never fail but it is smaller one It supports the dough. It’s the one they call the potatoe baker. I’m going to buy another one,, it’s about 3 quarts.

[@the_bread_code]

Yes. I have a loaf pan from them. But - I don't like it. It has holes near the bottom? Why? My mom has the Emile Henry round with a lid. It should do exactly the same as a dutch oven :-). For high hydration doughs, preheat it. For stiff doughs, no need to preheat.

[@ninelaivz4334]

$279 for a cast iron cookware! Mr. Challlenger is having a laugh. You can get a beautifully glazed 26cm Dutch oven from Aldi for £29.

[@Bayone13]

Some of the cheaper shiny glazes on terra cotta cooking gear contain lead, including some made in Mexico. Do google research on this.

[@ninelaivz4334]

​@@Bayone13 I don't think they would allow that in Europe. But anyway Aldi ones are cast iron.

[@isvico76]

Does you oven have a bottom heat-only setting? If so, then you could try to set it for the first 20 minutes when baking on the stone and you wouldn’t need to place the upper tray.

[@the_bread_code]

I think the upper tray helps with the bread condensing there. Then it goes into steam again, releasing some cold around the bread :-)

[@isvico76]

The Bread Code Yes, that makes sense! I will definitely try. Maybe I’m wrong, but I still think top heat doesn’t really help during the first 20 minutes, with or without tray. With heat coming only from the bottom, the crust takes longer to build and you get a better oven spring.

[@neilowens67]

I'd love to see an experiment to see the difference between covering and leaving uncovered when proving overnight in the fridge. Lot of difference in opinion!

[@sharonadlam3195]

Would love to have seen you cut through both loaves to be able to compare the crumb and see if there is a difference.

[@swissmaid]

Dutch oven one also rose better too.

[@rhondahauser1750]

Fabulous video thank you so much

[@bubbleobill267]

Baking is best done whilst baked.

[@the_bread_code]

😂

[@4magic4]

Hello from Canada... I like your channel. Question > It looks like there is no flour on the top of the bread or on the cloth in the bannetons. How does the dough not stick to the cloth? Thanks !

[@the_bread_code]

I like to give it a good rub with wheat flour before placing it in the banneton :-)

[@Jogaga3030]

Thanks for another informative video. I liked the half time hack. Do you think it can be frozen at that point too?

[@the_bread_code]

I think so! I still need to try :-D

[@couragedearheart2951]

Yes, I would love to have that Dutch oven--but it is very expensive. :(

[@martinvo7369]

Hi Hendrik! Again a very helpfull video! A question to the parbaking: you baked the bread approximately 75% of the time until done. Is this kind of the golden rule for parbaking?

[@the_bread_code]

Great question. The trick is to measure the core temperature. It should be around 92°C at least. Once you have it, your bread is done :-).

[@Phlya1]

Nice, thanks for sharing the experiment. How about a pizza steel instead of a stone? And how about alternative steaming methods, not just a bowl with hot water, but with a folded soaked towel, for example?

[@the_bread_code]

Great suggestion!

[@jean-sebastienbaril9227]

Hello. When I use my pizza stone (which is 5/8 inch thick) to cook bread, I preheat the oven an hour before cooking to let the stone absorbe all the heat from the oven.

[@blueboots170]

Really interesting experiment, thank you for testing and documenting this! Personally I much prefer a DO (I just use a cheap cast iron alternative to the Challenger), with a stone I always had bread with a very light underside. I have a question about your bake-later hack. I often bake my bread in the evening, but would like it to be fresh in the morning. If leaving it only overnight, would you still put it in the fridge and in a bag (it doesn't cool down entirely before I go to sleep usually)?

[@the_bread_code]

Yep that's my experience with a stone too. Baking it without the stone in the end seems to do the trick.

[@blueboots170]

@@the_bread_code Oops, looks you already replied before I finished my edit. :D (still would appreciate your feedback...)

[@arthurf8591]

Yeah, me too :3

[@zeideerskine3462]

Blonde baking is a great idea for always having fresh bread on hand. If you want to keep just one (hot) loaf overnight put it in a paper bag and leave it on the kitchen counter. Blonde baked loaves (including Brötchen) also freeze well.

[@sweetlows1]

I'm curious if adding Citric Acid to the dough would cause the breads to break down faster? I've seen you test Ph before and was wondering if putting the extra acid in would cause the bread to get weaker quicker or would you be able to get similar results but with the extra tangy flavor from the citric acid.

[@robinlillian9471]

The purpose of adding citric acid is mostly just to delay mold growth. If you are making sourdough, the bread is already acid enough, and you probably don't need it.

[@the_bread_code]

Just like Robin said. Some large bakeries do it to get a similar taste to sourdough :-)

[@roysonofroy1]

Experiment is slightly flawed, although the conclusion was fine, as you really needed a dome of some sort over the dough on the stone to get comparable results. The other issue is that the stone could crack, I think, if you spritz directly onto the stone like you do with the Dutch oven.

[@lolam.9291]

I prefer the Dutch oven because I prefer not to do the extra step of placing the container of water… Also, if you’re going to place the bread on the stone, make it easier on yourself and use parchment paper.

[@the_bread_code]

Totally agreed!

[@lolam.9291]

Btw, love the videos!! 😉

[@davidhunternyc1]

Why couldn't you use a large baking steel and place a large pot over your bread to keep in the steam?

[@stevericci3308]

So you don't preheat the cast iron? It works fine putting at room temp?

[@LexLuthor1234]

Thank you for some very sound (and cleverly stingy) advice ,D ,D