BREAD baking

[tulip]

Flea markets are my number one destination, and then Southern States farm store. I don't want to have one mailed to me, as they are so heavy. I got my favorite cast iron skillet from a consignment store. I do have a Le Creuset pot with a top, but the handle/knob of the top is some sort of plastic and I don't think I should put it in the oven. Otherwise, it would do the trick.

[Tuckervill]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

At 450F for 45 minutes?
I read that some people do have problems with the plastic handles. You are lucky!

Many places that sell La Creuset pots now stock the metal replacement handle specifically for high heat oven baking, you can buy it separately and screw it on yourself I think. I saw one for sale recently- or you can order one online.

[GLC1968]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

Karen

Yep, me too. It's designed for that - the 'plastic' is just the little handle and it's made of a high heat resistant material of some sort.

[tulip]

Yep, me too. It's designed for that - the 'plastic' is just the little handle and it's made of a high heat resistant material of some sort.

well, I suppose I could try...and put on all my fans and open all my windows to diffuse the toxic fumes from melting plastic...sure wish it was enameled cast iron like the rest of the pot, but I gotta say, those Le Creuset folks seem to know what they are doing. I might look into the replacement handle (it's more like a knob) that Lisa mentioned.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, mine's just got a little black knob, too.

The first time I used it was to make the no-knead bread from the NYT article, and it went fine. My dutch oven was a gift, and bought brand new, so if your's is an older model - then I can't vouch for it. Perhaps they made improvements when/if handles started melting?

Disclaimer: I did this in our old oven and it is possible that the temp wasn't all the way up to 450. I have not used it in our new oven that I know is correct, so...

I have heard of people replacing the handle with a metal drawer pull from HD and having it work fine. Just an idea...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One thing I was surprised to find was that our old refrigerator and freezer AND our oven were all at temps we did not expect!
I invested in a refrigerator/freezer thermometer, and found out that both our fridge and freezer were WAY colder than recommended even though they were set at 'normal'. I was able to turn both setting smuch lower and now have them fall within the proper range for fresh and frozen foods. This was one reason my dough was not resting long enough- it was way too cold when I took it out of the fridge each time.

I also got a new oven thermometer and it confirmed what I have long suspected- that our old 1970's oven runs much hotter than the setting control says. Now I know that if I set the oven knob to bake at about 410F, it really is baking at 450F!

These things make a big difference and are worth checking out.
We will be saving some money by lowering the fridge and freezer settings, for sure!

[tulip]

My Le Creuset casserole/dutch oven was a wedding gift from 1993, so maybe there have been improvements. All of my appliances are brand new, purchased in October when I started my kitchen renovation. My fridge has a built in thermometer, but who knows, the settings could always be wrong.