17 Cozy Bread Recipes You Can Make in a Dutch Oven (2024)

FAQs

What temperature do you bake bread in a Dutch oven? ›

Preheat your home oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven inside for 30 to 45 minutes. Line a pizza peel, inverted baking sheet, or cutting board with parchment paper. Turn out your proofed bread dough onto the parchment paper (trim the paper to fit, if necessary) Score your dough.

Baking bread in a Dutch oven produces results that rival bread made in fancy, steam-injected bread ovens. It's something of a miracle of science that such a simple and common device could be so effective, especially with so little effort required.

You just need a lid to cover it and the proper heat-conducting cast-iron material, and your bread will come out perfectly every time. Size & Shape: Look for a 6- to 7-quart, round Dutch oven. Anything much bigger will cause the bread to spread out and go flat.

You do not have to use parchment paper, but I like using it. Don't stop baking if the bread does not come out perfect the first time… like I said it could be many different things to affect it. If you going to make a larger bread, add 6 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon Salt and enough liquid to make it wet enough.

Any tips for preventing a thick, hard crust on the bottom of my bread done in a Dutch oven? Make sure you are using a heavy gauge Dutch oven and that it isn't too close to the bottom heat element in your oven. If you are still getting a thick, hard crust, you can put a pillow of foil down, like this.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake bread for about 30-33 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Give the top of a loaf a gentle tap; it should sound hollow. Invert the baked loaves onto a wire cooling rack.

During those first 20 minutes, your bread will rise and expand. If you would not have it inside the Dutch oven with the closed lid, a thick crust would form too soon, thereby keeping it from reaching its full potential. After the first 20 minutes, you remove the lid and continue baking for another 25 to 30 minutes.

The best way to know if your bread is fully baked is to take its internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer. Insert the thermometer through the top of your loaf and into the middle. The bread is done when it registers 200°F.

You can still cook all the bread recipes that were written for a larger Dutch. There are a couple of things to keep in mind, however. For example, if you find yourself with a lot of dough, you might want to reduce the recipe by a third to fit nicely in the 3.5-quart Dutch oven.

What size Dutch oven is best for bread? Again, your best bet is anywhere between 5 and 7 quarts.

Can you bake two loaves in one Dutch oven? ›

Essentially, you'll only be able to bake one loaf at a time with a Dutch Oven, unless you have multiple Dutch Ovens and the oven space to accomodate them. If you are baking with a bread pan like a Challenger, you can fit two smaller loaves in, but it does get a bit tight.

Score the dough and then put on your oven-safe gloves. Remove the deep end of the preheated Dutch oven from your oven and place it on a heatproof rack on your counter. Grab the parchment handles and lift your dough up and into the hot pot. Place the pot back into the oven and cover with the lid to bake.

The most common method is: Preheat Dutch oven in the oven with the lid off at 500F/260C. Many bakers will continue preheating for 10-20 minutes after the oven reaches target temperature to ensure the Dutch oven is at its hottest. Lower the loaf into the Dutch oven using a sling made of parchment or silicone.

Some bread recipes call for preheating the dutch oven in the oven. This is perfectly safe to do since the heat will be more consistently distributed across the entire dutch oven.

It's a great idea to check what temperature your domestic oven actually reaches, you might be surprised. An oven thermometer is a useful tool for example Amazon. If you have the option, turn off the fan, it will work better without and add steam (see below). If you can, aim to bake your bread at 230°C (450°F).

Baking the Loaf of Bread

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once the is heated and the dough has risen again, slash the top of the dough with a very sharp knife or razor blade (optional but pretty). Place the bread in the oven and bake 30 minutes. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckle.

Conversely, dough that rises too quickly produces bread with flat flavor. Nail the sweet spot — warm enough to rise at a decent rate, yet cool enough to develop flavor — and you're golden. Studies have shown that the optimum temperature for yeast to grow and flavor to develop is 75°F to 78°F.

Bread is typically done when it has an internal temperature of 190°F. Testing your bread with a food thermometer a few minutes before the recipe suggests it will be done can help ensure that it is baked to your desired doneness and ready to be made into a delicious Pulled Pork Sandwich or dipped in a warm cup of soup.