On 12/6/2020 2:19 PM, Taxed and Spent wrote:
> On 12/6/2020 1:05 PM, cshenk wrote:
>> Graham wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 06 Dec 2020 12:42:02 -0600, cshenk wrote:
>>>
>>>> Lets hope some here respond!
>>>>
>>>> I got myself 4 'toys' for Christmas, all bread related. 2 just
>>>> arrived and 2 arrive later this week.
>>>>
>>>> A 7QT Lodge Cast Iron with lid
>>>> 2 Boule bowls for rising (have cloth liners)
>>>>
>>>> Later another Boule riser comes with a patterned bottom and 2
>>>> alternative inserts and another piece of cast iron from Lodge with a
>>>> sort of deep frypan and a domed lid.
>>>>
>>>> I plan to play later but my one question is how hot would a baker
>>>> recommend for the Lodge cast iron (obviously a long preheat)?
>>>>
>>>> My normal is 400F but that is open to the oven.
>>>>
>>>> The later arriving cast iron is more optimally sized for smaller
>>>> loaves but this is what I have today and 'Mama wants to play'.
>>>
>>> I usually heat my Lodge to 450F. Plop the dough in and put on the
>>> lid. Bake for about 25minutes then remove the lid and bake for a
>>> further 15-20 minutes. This would be for a 750g-800g loaf.
>>> You don't need to put cornmeal or anything in the pot, the bread won't
>>> stick. However, I've had too many instances of the dough sticking a
>>> bit on one side of the banetton that it has gone in lopsided. So I
>>> now tip it onto a piece of parchment using it to lift the dough into
>>> the pot. You won't have quite the same problem with the deep frypan
>>> Lodge.
>>
>> Ok, dough about to go in the bannetton pot. I'll start preheating to
>> 450F same time and it's pretty much a 1KG load. Crossing fingers!
>>
>> If it fails, hey, it will be fun to try then I'll learn how to adjust.
>>
>> THanks!
>>
>
>
> It will work fine. In fact, I no longer use cast iron and no longer
> preheat. I make small free formed loaves and rounds, about 8 oz. raw,
> and use hotel pans with lids (then uncover). It works fine.
>
> The reason I preheat is that I do a lot in one batch, and reuse the
> hotel pans a couple of bakes. This process is long enough without more
> preheating.
>

The reason I don't preheat . . .