Bread in a pan, cooking technique (part 2)

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Transfer and overturning of the bread in the pan

There are two cases: either you let your bread rise directly on the worktop, upside down, and you just have to transfer it to the pot, or you let it rise upside down in the basket, and you also have to turn it over. Depending on the case, the steps and precautions are a little different. Let's see them together, one by one.

First case: simple transfer

If you decide to let your bread rise directly on the work surface, it is important to be careful to place it directly on parchment paper, immediately after having formed it. In this way, when cooking in the pot, you simply have to lift it by taking it from the edges of the paper, without having to touch it with your hands with the risk of deflating it and ruining its shape.

If the pot you are using is large and low (like the Lodge combo I told you about here) it's all very simple, because there will be no walls to block the access and descent into the pot. If the parchment paper is too large and protrudes from the cast iron base, I advise you to quickly cut the excess part, in order to ensure a correct closure with the lid and not to risk hindering the expansion of the bread inside the pan.

If, on the other hand, you have a more classic pot, with a high-walled base and a real lid, the parchment paper will be essential for you to be able to lay the bread inside the cast iron pot without having to make it do the last 2-3 cm of descent in free fall. In this regard, a sheet of paper significantly wider than the base of the bread will be useful. The part that exceeds then, you will cut it immediately before baking. Also and especially in this case, make sure that there is no creased paper left inside the pot, as it would end up altering the expansion of the bread and its shape.

Now before closing the lid, cut your bread, in order to check its correct expansion in the oven! If the pot you are using is too deep and narrow and does not allow you to get the blade where you want, consider cutting it before the transfer. But I advise you to do in this sequence only if you cannot do otherwise, under penalty of the possibility of partially deflating the bread.

Once cooked, you can take out the bread directly with your hands (covered with gloves) or by lifting it from the edges of the parchment paper.

Second case: overturning

If you prefer to let your bread rise in the basket, upside down, to cook it you have to flip it directly into the pot.

Sprinkle the cast iron base just extracted from the hot oven, with a pinch of corn flour or semolina flour: very little is enough. This precaution will prevent the bread from sticking during cooking (although usually this risk is not run, unless incorrect leavening or use of particular ingredients).

Now take your basket, uncover it, place it as close as possible to the cast iron base, and taking the measurements well so that it falls in the center, turn it over, taking care to accompany it with your hand (naked or with a food glove) so that it rests as gently as possible. It is important to avoid thuds if you want to preserve all the air that with so much effort we have tried to incorporate and retain inside it.

At this point you are ready to make the incision or even decorate it with flour and stencils. The important thing is that these operations take place as quickly as possible, as the bread is already in contact with the hot surface of the cast iron pan, and in fact it has already started cooking.

Now close the lid and bake.

A few words about the engraving and decoration of bread

It is an argument that deserves a chapter of its own, or perhaps it is better to say a separate section of the site, but I want to say a few words about it, before continuing, as engraving (and for some the decoration) is an essential step in the baking process.

As I have already told you in Introduction to baking bread, cutting a large-sized and very hydrated loaf is an important procedure, as it allows you to have the control over the expansion of the bread in the oven, which otherwise could result in a break in the unsightly and counterproductive crust for cooking itself.

The incision must always be made immediately before baking, and that's why this is where I tell you about it. When you are ready to place your bread in the cast iron pot, you must already have it clear what type of incision you want to make on the bread, so as not to delay when it is already placed on the hot base, and you must already have the razor blade at hand. or what you use for the occasion.

For example, sometimes I dust the surface of the bread with a little semolina before engraving, or I make a stencil with flour or colored food powders, and then I engrave. Well, they all are things you need to have in mind BEFORE you take the hot pot out of the oven. You have to be ready. And depending on the complexity of the engraving (is it a cut and go or do you want to draw a geometric flower made up of dozens of strokes?) It may be worthwhile to decide to turn the bread over on parchment paper instead of directly on the cast iron base, and make the transfer afterwards. decoration and engraving.

Likewise, if you know that your pan is too tall and narrow to make even a single side-to-side cut of the bread, don't even try cutting from inside the pan, but do so before transferring.

Don't underestimate the texture of your bread either. Did you knead it and let it rise properly? Does it have enough tension outside? Do you expect the blade to slip well, or do you fear it might "get stuck"? Depending on how fluid the cut will be, it may be convenient for you to do it calmly on parchment paper or on the fly on the hot cast iron base.

In short, do not underestimate this step, and decide it in time. Always remembering that to keep as much air as possible inside the bread, the less you move it - the more it is engraved - the better!

Times and temperatures

As for the baking of bread, it must be said that there is no single and absolute rule, even more so if you are going to bake different types of bread, of different sizes and shapes. But taking our 750 g loaf as a reference, hydrated to at least 75%, there is a general guideline and I try to explain it to you.

As you know, cooking in a pot is mainly done for a matter of humidity. What we want is retain the moisture of the panand so that this expands as much as possible before solidifying and creating the crust.

That said, we will have a first cooking time with the pot closed, and therefore with humidity, e a second time with the pot open, and therefore without humidity. If you always keep the pot open, you will not have the advantages of cooking in the pot, if you keep the pot always closed you will have bread that is very moist inside and not very crunchy on the outside. Therefore the goal - and the secret - is to find the right temperature and time for the first part of cooking with humidity, and then find the right temperature and time for the second part of cooking without humidity.

Examples of cooking

In principle, now I could tell you, as it was a finished recipe:

• Preheat oven and pot to 260 ° C;
• Bake the bread in a closed pot (humidity) for 20 minutes at 230 ° C (then lower the temperature when you bake);
• Uncover and continue to cook (without humidity) for 30 minutes at 210 ° C in static mode.

But I could also tell you:

• Preheat oven and pot to 250 ° C;
• Bake the bread in a closed pot (humidity) for 25 minutes at 230 ° C (then lower the temperature when you bake);
• Uncover and continue to cook (without humidity) for 25 minutes at 230 ° C (therefore without lowering the temperature) in static mode.

But I could also tell you:

• Preheat the oven and pot to 260 ° C;
• Bake the bread in a closed pot (humidity) for 20 minutes at 230 ° C (then lower the temperature when you bake);
• Uncover and continue to cook (without humidity) for 15 minutes at 230 ° C (therefore without lowering the temperature) in static mode;
• Continue to cook (without humidity) for 15 minutes at 210 ° C (therefore lowering the temperature) in ventilated mode.

And I could go on and on.
I tell you this not to confuse your ideas, but to make you understand what I mentioned above: there is no fixed rule. You have to try. Because it depends on your dough, it depends on your bread of that day, it depends on your pot, it depends on your oven. It also depends on your taste.

General method and constants

But what you can see from the examples above is how it works the general method, or what are the constants:

• Preheat the oven and the pot before baking, preferably at 250-260 ° C. It does not matter here in which mode you put the oven, as long as it warms up properly.
• Bake the bread when it is already closed with the lid, and never put the lid on when the bread is already in the oven.
• The temperature at this point should be around 230 ° C: if you forget it higher you will get a base with a very thick crust, difficult to chew and not in harmony with the rest of the bread.
• The oven mode while the bread is closed in the pan does not matter, as long as it keeps the temperature stable;
• The closing time of the lid ideally ranges from a minimum of 15 minutes to a maximum of 25. Less than 15 minutes would not exploit all its expansion, more than 25 minutes would treat too much humidity inside, returning a wet and unpleasant crumb.
• The cooking time without a lid depends on the cooking time of the bread, which can be evaluated by measuring the core temperature with a food probe or thermometer (I talked about it in Introduction to baking bread).
• The cooking temperature without a lid varies depending on how you want the crust and crumb, in terms of consistency, thickness, moisture, color. The more you cook it at a high temperature and for a shorter time, the more humid it will be inside, on the contrary, the more you cook it at a low temperature and for a longer time, the drier it will be inside.
• The oven mode when cooking without a lid is usually static, but certain types of bread and certain types of oven allow or prefer the ventilated one.

Uncovering the bread, a cathartic moment

One of the most exciting moments in the home baking process is when you go to uncover the bread. Even today, after years, I feel the adrenaline rising inside me when the timer rings and I go to remove the lid. How will the bread come? Do I expect a great disappointment or an explosion of satisfaction? Because that's the moment of truth. That is the first encounter with real bread (no more dough). There it is when you know if you have done a good job! Did it swell? Did the cut open? Did it hold the shape? Did it break somewhere? In short, is it beautiful? Looks good?
Usually the whole family participates at the moment of uncovering, because it really is something that surprises, amazes, and when it comes well, it gives a collective joy! As soon as you try it, if you have not already done so, you will understand what I am talking about (and also for this, it goes back to the glass lids, which in addition to keeping the temperature badly take away all the surprise!).

The bread must be uncovered strictly without removing the pan from the oven, in order to give continuity to cooking and keep the temperature constant. For this reason, be very careful when inserting your hand inside: BBQ gloves, unrolled sleeves, and a lot of attention. Getting burned is a moment.

If you can, replace the lid at the base of the oven, under the pan in which the bread is baking (but not in contact with it). Put it in a place where it does not interfere with cooking but allows it to remain warm in anticipation of a subsequent baking.

The bread is ready!

Measure the core temperature to know exactly when the bread is ready to be baked. It must measure 94 ° C. The color of the crust is not a valid indicator, because it can depend on many factors including the quality of leavening, the ingredients in the dough, the temperature of the oven and its characteristics.

When it's done, put on your BBQ gloves again and take it out of the oven! Remove the cast iron pot from the oven, place it on the trivet, and gently remove the bread with your hands, placing it on a cooling rack.

It is important that it rests on a grate and not on a closed base, so that it can cool properly without retaining moisture and getting wet.

If you plan to make a second batch, immediately place the pot and lid inside the oven, raise the temperature and wait for it to come back to full speed (250-260 ° C) before informing the second bread! And so on!

The song of bread

While the bread rests warm on the grate, surround yourself with silence and listen. Can you hear him sing? The boiling crust, in contact with the colder air, begins to crack, and in doing so it emits sounds. Behold, that is the song of the bread. And it's another wonderful moment!

Cutting

Don't forget to cut the freshly baked bread! I know it is difficult to resist the temptation, but cooking is considered finished only when the bread is completely cold! The heat it still has inside it “closes” the cooking process, including that of drying and perfecting the external crunchiness. Don't underestimate this phase.

Also, if you cut a bread that's still hot you will end up tearing the crumb instead of actually cutting it, and you won't be able to enjoy its texture and beauty for what it really is.

Conclusions

Like many things, cooking bread in a pan is more difficult said than done. As always, I wanted to try to be detailed and not leave anything out. Also to put a spotlight on the "awareness" of certain actions or certain choices. Because as I often say now, making bread is more than just following a recipe, making bread, even more with sourdough starter, is an art. And as such it starts from us, from what we know, from what we think, from what we feel, from what we want. And the recipes are just what others know, think, feel and want.

I hope that cooking bread in a pot is as epiphany for you as it was for me. Together with the sourdough starter, this is what made me fall in love with bread making more than any other technique.

[End of part 2 of 2 - Back to Bread in a pan, cooking technique (part 1)]