No knead bread
So I ordered a Lodge cast iron pre-seasoned dutch oven – not the porcelain enameled one. I already have a 7 qt Le Creuset but that’s enameled. I purchased the lodge with the intention of baking some of the very famous Jim Lahey No Knead bread. A co-worker of mine pointed out the youtube clip of Mark, The Minimalist, Bittman, with Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery. Anyway, I was hooked. I tried the bread – he brought some in to work and it was fantastic. So I had to try it. I went with a 5 qt instead of 7 simply because the loaves produced in the recipe are relatively smallish. I figured a 5 qt would allow for a fuller loaf than one that spread out shallow a bit. We’ll see.
You DO need a dutch oven though- ideally one that is not enameled. You could use one that’s enamled but the coating might crack under the high heat (500 degrees). So I headed off to Amazon, ordered the Lodge but fell short a few bucks of free shipping. I struggled to find something small to purchase so I ended up ordering Lahey’s book on the subject of bread. Now, I can’t wait. I know Elise will LOVE it – she loves bread. Viv and I love sandwiches too. I predominantly use ciabatta or pizza bianca from a local bakery called Terra Breads – fantastic stuff. But costly. Now I get to make my own. I’m looking forward to experimenting with flavours like raisins, rye, garlic, herbs, oil, etc.
The only downside…more cookware. As if my kitchen isn’t stocked enough as it is. I need more space.
