I’m new to Quora, a website where people can ask any kind of question, and then people can post their helpful answers.
So today I was looking at some topics that I’m interested in, and the first Dutch Oven question I saw was “Is it Wise to Cook Bread in a Dutch Oven”. In some ways it kind of sounds like a funny question to me, but it’s really a valid question, and people just might not have the confidence, or experience to try it, so it is a genuine question.
So let me just tell you this – if you love good homemade bread, I have a simple answer for you…
YES!! DO IT!!
I will link to my favorite recipe down below, meanwhile, read on and enjoy the eye candy…
I’m a big proponent of Dutch Oven cooking! As the saying goes – things always taste better from a Dutch Oven. And it’s true!
Most of my cast iron are Dutch Oven camp stoves (with the legs), and they are very versatile. I’ve used dutch ovens outdoors using charcoal, on the stovetop (carefully, because our stove is a glasstop), and in the oven.
Below, is my enthusiastic evidence of why you absolutely should try cooking bread in a Dutch Oven.
This was my first loaf of bread in a Dutch Oven. It is a home-ground wheat bread that was cooked in a 10 in. DO using charcoals. I was really pleased with how it turned out. And it tasted great! (even though I’m not a huge fan of wheat bread)
Then it was quite a while before I attempted breads in a DO again. But then I discovered the No-Knead Bread. HOLY COW! So easy, so forgiving, so beautiful, and SO DELICIOUS!!
It quickly became a family favorite, as evidenced by a few pictures of this magical creation.
If only the computer had smell-a-vision!
And when I say that it is a family favorite – let me tell you
One time I was cooking up some bread for a big family party. I was cooking outside using charcoals, and it was a bit windy that day. So in my efforts to compensate for the wind carrying the heat away too much (and admittedly, I was trying to hurry the process a little), I ended up burning the bottom of the bread a bit on some of the loaves.
I felt horrible! I wanted so badly have these perfect loaves for my family, but instead I had burnt bottoms! I thought nobody would like it. I felt like people were just being kind when they said they still liked it, but we ate a good amount of the bread. But I still thought they might just be being nice – that is until the end of the night and my niece hugged the remaining 1/2 loaf and eagerly asked if she could take the leftover bread home – burnt bottom and all.
Ok, before I send you to the recipe, here’s a couple notes.
- For the recipe they give, I double it for each loaf.
- The loaves shown here are the doubled recipe, and each cooked in a 12 in. Dutch Oven. They make a good family-sized loaf
- You don’t need to use the baking paper. I used it the first time, but haven’t since. The only thing it really helps is lifting the bread out.
There are a lot of posts and pages about No-Knead Bread around the net, but here’s the page that I found at the time.
But it isn’t just limited to loaves of bread. Here are some other examples of breads that are great to cook in Dutch Ovens…