Break Bread

[Don'tkillbill]

It was a nice almost spring day so I got the dutch oven out of the basement and made my first loaf of bread in it.

I bought it 2.5 years ago and only used it a few times.

I had a bit too much heat on the bottom as it burnt a bit but it still is great bread and the top is absolutely amazing.

Recipe as follows

1/2 c milk
3 tbps sugar (I used brown it called for white)
3 tbps Margerine
1 tps salt
2 packs of yeast
1.5 c warm water
5-6 cups of flour


Mix the yeast with the warm water.

Mix everything else but the flour, stir warm up till margerine melts

Make sure both liquids are only warm then mix together

add 4 cups of flour and stir

Slowly add remaining flour til its only a little sticky... I used 90 percent for my 12" Dutch over.

Had 12 brickets on the top of the oven and 12 more on the bottom cooked for 40-50 minutes turning the lid and the pot every 12 minutes.

I'm going to build a nice box to carry my oven in along with a grill and various cooking supplies. I'm not up to dovetails but I can make a box joint jig. A nice solid cover to use a seat or a table..

I'm thinking 14x20 with rope handles...

It was wonderful, warm melting the margerine into the steaming dough..... I know what I'm having for breakfast!

Next week I boil down my sap if the weather warms up.. Less than 1 litre collected in 2 days cloudy and 1degree below c all weekend long.

 

[AJB]

Hi Bill, that looks beautiful.

 

[benjamin.oneill]

Bill,

That looks great. I've tried my hand at weird and wonderful cooking from the far reaches of the world but NOTHING comes close to the satisfaction of turning out beautiful bread.

Do you have any pictures of the oven and your set up? What size is it? I have a few cast iron pans from France (like a big round le creuset casserol but finished in plain cast iron rather than enamel) but I allways figures they where too small. Really makes me want to try it.

Ben

 

[jdlenton]

That looks great I've always wanted to cook in a dutch oven but i dont know anybody with one.

got any photos of the inside of the bread?

James

 

[Lithril]

Looks good, just seen this which might be of use http://www.scoutingresources.org.uk/cook_dutchoven.html

 

[Don'tkillbill]

I'll post a picture of the oven in action. I'd like to make a sour dough version and I have a starter in the fridge. The only problem is I end up eating most of the loaf... My wife eats a piece and my daughter a few then I eat a pound of bread.....

I'll put 2-3 pictures up next time in the mean time this is a picture of the oven I used last summer (failed upside down apple carmel cake)

Coals work better than fire!!!

 

[Joeri]

I am kind of puzzled about the dutch oven.

At first I thought I never heard of or saw a Dutch oven. I come from the NL, so I would expect it would be something standard.

So i started checking some of the links you guys provided and google of course. still it doesn't really help. These things just look like big heavy pans I would use to make a good stew. Seems to have little to do with an actual oven.

So either I am missing something or the Dutch oven is so normal over here I don't recognise it.

can anyone enlighten me?

cheers! Joeri

 

[pierre girard]

I am kind of puzzled about the dutch oven.

At first I thought I never heard of or saw a Dutch oven. I come from the NL, so I would expect it would be something standard.

So i started checking some of the links you guys provided and google of course. still it doesn't really help. These things just look like big heavy pans I would use to make a good stew. Seems to have little to do with an actual oven.

So either I am missing something or the Dutch oven is so normal over here I don't recognise it.

can anyone enlighten me?

cheers! Joeri

I've read, or heard, that the name "Dutch oven" derives from a sand casting process, perfected by the Dutch, in the 16th or 17th century.

I've also heard they were heavlily used by the "Pennslyvannia Dutch (actually Germans)" in the USA during the colonial era.

They are an oven - in that the lid has a lip - allowing you to place hot coals on the top of the kettle. This would be the main difference between cookiing with a Dutch oven and any other type of cast iron kettle.

PG

 

[British Red]

Anyone got a good source for Sutch Ovens in the UK? I used to have one that was brown and enamelled (great bit of kit) but the ex-wife kept it (it was hers to begin with to be fair). I'd kind of like to replace it but would rather not spend £100! I really like the ones with legs if anyone knows a good source?

Red

 

[Mad Mike]

Anyone got a good source for Sutch Ovens in the UK? I used to have one that was brown and enamelled (great bit of kit) but the ex-wife kept it (it was hers to begin with to be fair). I'd kind of like to replace it but would rather not spend £100! I really like the ones with legs if anyone knows a good source?

Red

Try Here

OK they are out of stock

My baking pot worked fine at the last Kent meet - nice even burn all over

 

[Ketchup]

In French cuisine, the old term is "daubière", in which you prepare food "en daube" (slowly cooked in sauce). A daubière was covered in ashes and coals and left to slow cook for hours.

These days, the term "cocotte" is used. Le Creuset and Cousances are two french brands of heavy "daubing" pots. Some models still have the typical high ridges for stabilizing coals and embers on top of the lid.