Since ancient times, bread has been baked in pottery to create a unique and crusty bottom crust. Now you can take advantage of this simple technique with the Lodge dutch oven.
Yes! A lodge dutch oven is great for bread. Lodge cast iron provides the heat retention and heat conductivity necessary to bake artisanal bread or other yeast-based baked goods resulting in breads that are perfectly golden brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Lodge has both the original cast iron and enameled cast iron dutch ovens to choose from and they both bake bread wonderfully. In fact, hundreds of customers have left comments about the excellent bread baking abilities of both dutch ovens. Let’s see some of the things they said…
Can You Bake Bread In Enameled Cast Iron?
In the Lodge you can. When searching for what customers have to say about making bread in the Lodge Dutch Oven it returned a massive 611 results from people stating how good this is for making bread…
Whether you’re an experienced baker or are trying it for the first time, a Lodge Dutch oven makes baking bread in enameled cast iron easy. The tight-fitting lids retain moisture inside the pot during baking, and since they can be left on, bread doesn’t dry out. The generous depth allows ample room for rising dough. Choose from our full line of beautiful Dutch oven colors.
Baking homemade bread in a Dutch oven creates a golden brown, crispy crust unlike any other, a delicious center, and soft edges that pull away from the sides of the pot. This enameled cast iron pot was designed to provide an even heat distribution for excellent baking results—a perfect addition to your cooking equipment…
Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven, 6 Qt
You’ve enjoyed the even heating, durability, and versatility of enameled cast iron for decades. Discover a whole new use for cookware in your kitchen – make bread! Enameled cast iron creates an ideal steamy environment for baking bread.
With a Dutch oven, you can easily bake bread at home. No need to start the oven hours before dinner. By baking on top of the stove, you’ll save on both energy and time. Plus you’ll end up with a crusty loaf that’s crisp yet moist, thanks to the steamy heat trapped within the pot.
Its tight-fitting lids trap steam within the pot, providing an ideal environment for baking crusty artisan breads and cakes. Place loaves on a rack or directly on the oven’s wire racks to make sure the top, bottom, and sides are evenly exposed to the heat of your oven.
Example of comments from Lodge dutch oven:
I made overnight no knead bread and it was so easy! It slide right out of the Dutch oven after baking without any oil. Totally worth it!
- I used it to bake artisan-style bread a couple of times and the results were just as if I had put my bread in a brick oven.
- Bakes breads at temps of 500-550F well. Loved it for overnight no-knead bread.
- I’m an experienced home chef, I make a lot of “from scratch” foods- though I’ve never had success with breads until using the Lodge Dutch oven.
- The rounded bottom of the pan makes it easy to clean and also makes an attractively shaped loaf of bread.
- I am using it as a bread pot. It cooks my homemade breads perfectly!
- The big round of crusty cheese bread simply slips out of the pot after baking.
- I bought this for bread baking.
- The round shape makes nice bread and has no corners for grime to get into with other uses.
- I use this for everything from baking bread to roasting meat in the oven to pot roast on the stovetop.
- My primary use for this large dutch-oven is the no-knead bread recipe.
I was very pleased to see that it actually had a metal knob that can withstand 500 degrees in the oven – perfect for making great rustic artisan breads that require a 450 degree baking temp.
- I’ve made bread in this Dutch oven 3x and it’s turned out beautifully.
- The very first thing I did was bake a loaf of rustic bread and it turned out so beautiful.
- I bought this to make bread for the heat distribution needed & boy is it amazing!
- Love it…. the first thing I made was No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread – came out wonderful.
- Can be used as a dutch oven for baking artisan breads.
- This pot is easy to clean and does a great job baking my bread which is what I need it for.
- I bought this Dutch oven specifically to bake bread it is my second time using it and I have to say this is what makes my bread come out perfect every time
- The bread did not stick at all. And I love the blue color.
- I have already made dutch oven bread and it performed perfectly.
- I only tried it with bread and OMG OMG so good.
- I love this Dutch oven! It fits in my oven well and makes awesome artisan bread with ease.
- I used it to make bread loaves with 3 ingredients. The bread turned out beautiful. And the texture was perfect.
What About Sourdough Bread?
I bake my sourdough bread in here – it is a no-knead recipe and this pot is the reason that every single time the bread is perfect. Seriously – I am an accomplished baker, but no bread expert. The bread that comes out of this pot is amazing.
- Purchased Dutch Oven for making Sourdough Bread which requires 500 degrees, one hour preheat. Turned out great.
- I got the Dutch Oven, especially for baking sourdough bread.
- It does a wonderful job baking sourdough bread.
- I mainly use it for making sourdough bread (turns out very well) and it’s also great for deep frying and stove-top braising of meats.
- This red Lodge has seriously upped my sourdough bread-making game in these COVID-19 bread-making times.
- I’ve never made bread in my life, and used this to make rustic sourdough… I’ve made two loaves so far and both have come out absolutely perfect.
- I bought this to cook sourdough bread. It is good and heavy, and enameled on the bottom as well so it doesn’t burn the bottom of the bread when it is cooked at 500 degrees.
- I started making sourdough bread and that changed everything. This makes every loaf turn out beautiful. I have had no issues baking at 450 in our convection oven.
- We bake sourdough bread in it at 500 degrees all the time. It’s totally worth the value.
Can You Bake Bread In A Cast Iron Dutch Oven?
You most certainly can and the following Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven has over 628 er comments specifically mentioning how great baking bread is with a cast iron dutch oven…
Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Handle Holders, 5 quart
Example of comments from Lodge dutch oven:
Perfect size for no knead bread. Purchased solely to bake no knead, artisan bread. The loaf mounds up into a round rather than flattening out. Because this Dutch oven will be dedicated for bread only, the flour left behind can simply be wiped out with a soft cloth and there is no need to wash the cast iron.
- I have used it for baking sourdough bread and it’s fantastic.
- A Dutch oven is beautifully ideal for making bread. The steam cooks and hydrates the bread, not possible with the skillet.
- I made the most gorgeous loaf of bread, no-knead variety so it was very easy and the best tasting bread I’ve had in years.
- Outstanding at making a gluten-free loaf of bread!
- This thing is SOLID and worked its magic perfectly. The crust of my bread came out crunchy and beautiful thanks to the steam-capturing lid on top during baking.
- It does a wonderful job of evenly baking my bread.
- Joined the artisan bread baking fun during the pandemic and this has been a huge hit. It’s the perfect size for the no-knead recipes.
- Mostly I use the Dutch oven to bake my German bread. it is perfect – like “bauern brot” it is a german round bread with a semi-hard crust; if you like german bread this is heaven.
- This has worked great for everything we’ve cooked in it … but the BREAD! The bread cooked in this is AMAZING!!
Is It Better To Bake Bread In A Dutch Oven?
Baking bread in a Dutch oven is better because the thick walls help make the crust crisp and deep, and the cast iron distributes heat evenly. Baking bread in a Dutch oven at home is more economical than buying it from the bakery—and you’ll never find better bread.
The Lodge dutch oven is made of cast iron and is oven safe up to 500 degrees, making it the perfect option for baking bread. It can also be used on your stovetop, or in the oven.
Many people think that the Dutch oven is just for cooking stews, beans, and other savory dishes. This is not true.
And, in fact, many professional bakers prefer the Dutch oven to the conventional oven.
Cooking bread in a Dutch Oven is a lost art. Unlike today, when the bread comes from the supermarket and is often served warm, people did not have the luxury of buying bread, they had to make it.
When you start eating bread baked from the Dutch Oven you will be spoiled for life. You won’t be able to go back in eat that ordinary supermarket stuff ever again.
Do You Need Parchment Paper For Bread In Dutch Oven?
You don’t necessarily need to especially if using no-knead bread however there are quite a few advantages in using parchment paper and most people recommend doing so for the ease of use and the ease of cleaning.
Once again here is what users of the cast iron dutch oven have to say about it:
I know people are worried about cleaning it, but when you make bread, you put it in the pot with a sheet of parchment, so it doesn’t even dirty the pot.
- Using parchment paper I really never need to wash the cast-iron Dutch oven.
- First I line the pot with parchment paper to mold the paper.
- I did use parchment paper to transfer the dough as many of the bread recipe suggest, but I doubt the bread would have stuck even without the parchment.
- I’m using parchment paper for the first few uses to let the metal season a bit more before relying on the baked-on seasoning to prevent sticking.
- I used parchment paper so there was no mess to clean up.
- Parchment paper helps with getting the dough down in the oven but I’ve done without it and that works too.
- Absolutely the best for baking rustic bread loaves – line with parchment paper and you don’t even have to re-season, clean, or deal with any mess of any sort….absolutely indispensable!
Although easy to clean, I place my dough on parchment paper and lower it into the pot and cover. Then I allow the dough to double before baking. No need to remove the parchment because it makes it easy to remove the baked bread from the hot cast iron.
- Have used it with and without parchment. The method is virtually foolproof and as far as bread is concerned; virtually no cleaning is required…may a little wipe with a moist paper towel.
- When baking sourdough, I place a piece of parchment paper down and it gives me a nice clean loaf.
- I do use parchment paper inside.
- Excellent! Use it for Artisan Bread with parchment paper…perfect!
- I used the recipe below with the Lodge parchment paper. I made the “Lahey No-Knead Artisan Bread recipe”, yum!!! Absolutely delicious.
- The bread was placed on parchment paper inside, so the pot itself had no wet ingredient to protect it from the sudden blast of heat when I put it inside a hot oven.
- I place the dough on parchment paper, lower it into the heated pot, remove it when done, and simply wipe the pot clean later. No muss, no fuss.
In summary, the name Dutch oven is a holdover from the days when the first ones were produced in Holland. The lid is domed to allow moisture to evaporate and to prevent the pot from boiling over. Dutch ovens have been around for hundreds of years, and because of their versatility, they remain popular.
One of the best things you can do is bake your bread in a Dutch oven for a crunchy crust! The Lodge cast iron Dutch Oven comes pre-seasoned, ready to place into the oven or onto the stovetop, and can be used to bake a variety of loaves.
The deep grooves of the lid also act as serving dishes, so it’s easy to transfer your goods from the Dutch oven to the table. The Lodge Cast iron dutch oven is a multi-purpose cooking vessel that can be used for grilling, baking, sautéing, smoking, and roasting.
You can even use it in the fireplace. With its rugged cast iron construction, you can cook on top of the stove or on the grill. And you don’t have to worry about burning through cutlery when searing your steaks.
Bake, boil, grill, fry, or stew with the Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven. This dutch oven distributes heat evenly and retains it for an extended period of time to cook your dishes just the way you like them. The Lodge Pre-Seasoned Dutch Oven is also perfect for camping trips or tailgating get-togethers.
You may also be interested in… Is Lodge A Good Brand? and Can You Use Lodge Cast Iron On Induction?
