Chasing oven spring with a cheap Dutch oven
For a month my loaves spread sideways instead of up. The dough was fine; the steam was not. So I baked the same dough three ways on three Saturdays.
| Setup | Preheat | Height | Crust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baking sheet, pan of water | 30 min | 7.5 cm | Pale, thick |
| Dutch oven, lid on 20 min | 30 min | 9.0 cm | Good, dull |
| Dutch oven, preheated 60 min | 60 min | 10.5 cm | Blistered, glossy |
What made the difference
- A full hour of preheating. The cast iron needs it far more than the oven does.
- Scoring at a shallow angle, about 30°, with one confident stroke.
- Lowering the dough in on parchment instead of dropping it and hoping.
The pot was the cheapest enamelled one I could find. It works perfectly; the knob on the lid is the only thing that did not survive 250 °C.
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