I use cast iron pot, the sliding the load in the tunnel is more practical than tossing the dough in the heated pot. And at times, I need the pot to cook too… LOL!
Surely it doesn’t need to be. Ceramic or aluminum would work just fine. Plus I wish it had a door in front or an open back for more even cooking (or am I missing something?).
It’s a Cadillac. I have a large, deep cast iron dutch oven and a clay pot but those make every bread loaf into a round. This monster, I can make any shape.
Once the irons heats up for 40-45 minutes, I hit the under lid with water (spray bottle). But I think the high, elongated dome and fantastic seal when the two pieces are in the fit position creates plenty of hot airflow.
I’ve heard a le creuset tajine can work similarly. And I’ve also seen ceramic bakeware for loaves of bread. But I just use an iron Dutch oven, sometimes lined in parchment.
@naf while I love gadgets, I’ve been militant in recent times about not adding single-use things… especially if I can use something else I already have with 80-90% effectiveness.
I was looking at this, the Emile Henry ceramic potato (rebranded now as bread) pot, and a cast iron dutch oven as potential additions, but ended up getting an inexpensive ($20) lidded clear glass casserole instead, and it works like a dream - I’d say 90-95% vs the EH bread pot (which produced the best bread I’ve ever made).
Re bread lifter — I use a spider for this, with a kitchen towel in the other hand