Should I risk using this dutch oven for no-knead bread?

April 12, 2012 10:11 AM

Should I try using my new Dutch Oven for making no-knead bread or not?

I recently bought a Lodge 6qt enameled cast iron dutch oven. I bought it specifically to try making no-knead bread. Others on Amazon seem to have used this oven with success to make no-knead bread. However, the instruction manual says not to heat an empty pot, and the recipe calls for preheating the dutch oven for 30 minutes.

A call to Lodge confirmed that the empty pot should not be heated, due to risk of enamel cracking. However, so many people seem to be using it this way quite successfully I'm wondering whether I should just try it.

Has anyone here used this particular model to make no-knead bread?

posted by kar120c to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

I haven't, but I have heated it empty on the stove (while searing meat for a braise). The enamel on the bottom exploded. I think hot fat got into micro-cracks from using metal utensils; I wasn't super-careful with it.

That said, I bet preheating in an oven is much much safer. Mine was on the stove on high heat. (I got a free replacement and am much more careful with it now.)
posted by supercres at 10:14 AM on April 12, 2012

I can't find the article where I first read it, but there are no-knead, no-preheat recipes out there you might feel more comfortable with... Here's an example.
posted by Ms. Next at 10:25 AM on April 12, 2012

Best answer: I do this every single week.

I have a dutch oven exactly like yours, and preheat it to about 500 degrees before dropping the dough in. Don't put oil or anything in it, it will just burn. The recipe should cover that detail.

Good luck, that is going to be some amazing bread.
posted by Stagger Lee at 10:26 AM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I've done this about 3 times since getting my Lodge dutch oven in January; I guess I didn't read the instruction manual first. I make it just like the standard recipe (preheat empty to 450-475 for half an hour, then drop in dough) and haven't had a problem so far.
posted by matcha action at 10:29 AM on April 12, 2012

Response by poster: Probably a silly question, but do you preheat with the lid on or off?
posted by kar120c at 10:33 AM on April 12, 2012

I usually leave the lid off, but I haven't noticed that it makes a difference.
posted by Stagger Lee at 10:43 AM on April 12, 2012

Another one who uses the dutch oven for no-knead and it's always worked really well. I preheat it without the lid, just because handling a super-hot and heavy lid is a pain. I think you could probably go either way.
posted by goggie at 10:43 AM on April 12, 2012

I do it all the time, and I leave the lid on for the preheat. I inherited the Lodge pan, however, and it didn't have instructions -- I guess what I didn't know hasn't hurt me yet!
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:48 AM on April 12, 2012

Lots of people seem to use the enamel dutch ovens without trouble. Just for future reference, Lodge makes a couple non-enamel combo cookers (a dutch oven, plus a pan/lid). You can use these upside down, with the dutch oven as the lid, which makes it easier to get the dough into the dutch oven (you only have to deal with 3cm of depth versus 18cm or so).
posted by ssg at 11:02 AM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have the same Dutch oven, and I have used it to make bread. I replaced the plastic knob on the lid with a metal cabinet knob to avoid any melting risk there. I preheat the pot and lid at the same time, but separate, in the oven.
posted by WasabiFlux at 11:03 AM on April 12, 2012

I've been making no-knead bread in my Lodge enameled cast-iron for years and I've never had a problem. I preheat the lid as well.
posted by eleventy zillion at 11:14 AM on April 12, 2012

I don't have an enameled dutch oven, but have made the no-knead bread successfully without preheating, like this:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/no-knead-oat-bread-recipe

Did the last rise in the pan, put in a cold oven, bake at 450. Saves the trouble of maneuvering the dough into the hot pan, and turns out well.

Happy Baking!
posted by lawhound at 11:15 AM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I don't know about Lodge, but with Le Crueset the handle on the lid is actually not oven safe to the relevant temperature. I just take it off and plug the hole with time foil. I think I read somewhere that you can also just buy a screw at the hardware store and use that.
posted by kestrel251 at 11:18 AM on April 12, 2012

I used to use my Le Creuset for no-knead baking, and I found that the enamel lost some of its luster - it is no longer glossy, and is a little harder to clean. So now I have a cheap Ikea dutch oven for bread only.

Also, I thought I read that you are supposed to leave the lid cracked when you preheat? But I think it is better to preheat the lid (on or off), just so it is not a big "cool sink" when it is time to bake.
posted by misterbrandt at 11:43 AM on April 12, 2012

You could probably pre-heat it with some warm water in it so you don't have to worry about it being empty.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:57 AM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think I read somewhere that you can also just buy a screw at the hardware store and use that.

Le Creuset sells ($10!) oven-safe knobs. As the reviews note, for the price you're paying for the pot, you'd think they'd provide a steel knob gratis, but there you go.
posted by holgate at 12:09 PM on April 12, 2012

Response by poster: I feel confident enough to give it a go. I actually bought an oven-safe knob online at the same time I bought the dutch oven, only to find that the one I received had a steel knob anyway. Thanks for all the answers.
posted by kar120c at 1:31 PM on April 12, 2012

I just finished reading the June 2012 issue of Cooks Illustrated which addressed this exact question. After their usual exhaustive testing, they suggest an alternative to preheating the dutch oven: they say you can start the loaf in a cold oven and have the same results.

"First, after you put the dough in the oven, simply set the oven dial to 425 degrees (rather than beginning at 500 degrees). Second, don't start your timer until the oven has reached 425 degrees. After that point, bake for 30 minutes with the lid on and then 20 to 30 minutes with the lid removed."

Of course, this depends on having either a digital oven which shows you the current temperature, or one of those inside/outside digital oven thermometers which you can use to regulate and adjust the oven temp.

Good luck!
posted by primate moon at 1:43 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

I was coming to the thread to add the Cook's Illustrated suggestion. That said, I would just do it, I heat up my cast iron dutch oven and my ceramic casserole every week to make no-knead bread.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 4:04 PM on April 12, 2012