On the left, cold-cloched, on the right, not.
Two identical loaves — my basic part wholemeal sourdough — had been retarded overnight in the fridge. They were brought out at the same time, and warmed up on the counter for about an hour. Then I had a madcap whim. Why not bake one under a cold cloche? So I did just that, and after 22 mins, when I went to remove the cloche, had a mild panic. For one, the bottom of the loaf was burning rather badly. For another, the part baked loaf was stuck inside the cloche. A little violence shook it loose, and I quickly moved the oven rack and inserted a tray beneath it to reduce the risk of further burning. Out came the loaf, larger than anything I’ve ever baked before from that weight of dough. In went the other loaf, unslashed, no cloche. Out it came too, higher than anything I’ve ever seen. The difference in volume is really rather remarkable.
See how the cold-cloched version on the left spread horizontally too?
No crumb shot, because the bread is still cooling down, and in any case one of them is for the client.
There’s a moral here somewhere, a lesson to be learned. It may be that I need to invest in one of those foil roasting trays and see whether that works as well as a steam trap as some people suggest. I’m pretty sure a flimsy foil tray, no matter how rigid, won’t do much for the crust, but it might just allow for greater oven spring and higher rise. Worth a try, at any rate.
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The second one looks taller? i am a bit confused . i have tried a cloche, but i have heated it up first, i noted a bit of spreading too, but not done enough bakex w it. I find it hard to truly compare with and without, as the second loaf always gies in later of course.
The main difference I notice is in the thickness of the crust, much finer w the cloche and the crumb moister…
interesting! The second one looks taller? i am a bit confused . I have tried a cloche, but I have heated it up first, noticed a bit of spreading too, but not done enough baking w it. I find it hard to truly compare with and without, as the second loaf always goes in later.
The main difference I notice is in the thickness of the crust, much finer w the cloche and the crumb moister…
As you can see I tried to correct my apalling typing in first comment, ipad keyboard :)
Thanks Joanna. Yes, the cloche loaf was lighter, being generally more expanded than the one put in without a cloche. The crust is the big difference. I like the effect that prolonged steaming has. I tried foil baking trays, and that didn’t really work. Too flimsy. I think if I had a bunch of money I would try to get a cast-iron dutch oven, but I would still work from cold rather than pre-heating, because I think the extra time warming up gives an opportunity for more gelatinisation of the crust and more oven spring.