I’ve baked a few boules so far in my new Lodge combo dutch oven, which I got for practicality’s sake after lusting, like wendyk320, over the spun steel cloche. I just baked my first loaf in the inverted pot–using the lid as the base. Do you have a sense of whether there’s a difference in results–in crustiness, bloom, length of time for baking–when using the pot upside down vs right side up? The loaf I produced looks beautiful, if a little over-caramelized on top (what my chef DH likes to call what others might call “scorched”). Some variables: no parchment paper or foil; instead of using an ice cube underneath the loaf I sprayed the top with water after scoring. The loaf stuck a little to the base but it didn’t take much to get it unstuck. Thanks!
That’s interesting, Elizabeth. I was wondering if “scorching” might be an issue with the Combo Cooker since it’s not as deep as many Dutch ovens or a domed cloche. How large (grams of flour) was the loaf that you made in it?
Thanks! I made the Breadtopia khorasan sourdough recipe with 60/40 bread flour to khorasan, and a total of 500g flour. Now that I’ve tasted it, I can report that the slight scorch on the bottom and top crusts added to the flavor, so no complaints. The Lodge dutch oven is 5 qts–pretty roomy. I’ll try lining with parchment next time.
This recipe made an amazingly tasty loaf: I will make it again and again.
Thanks, Elizabeth!
I use the lodge combo cooker as well and always place the dough in the “pan” just because it is so much easier than lowering the dough into a deep 500F pot. I always use parchment paper as the lodge does not have a very smooth surface and wet doughs do tend to stick.
I think 500g of flour is probably a bit large for the Lodge. I use 400g. That might help with the scorching issue as well. Or you can just remove the top earlier in the bake.
Thanks, SingKevin! That’s what I was hoping. I usually made small 300g loaves, so it sounds like the Combo Cooker would work great for me.
Ah, got it–thanks, SingKevin!
Same with me - I’ve only used the lid as the base.
My clay baker lid wobbles too. I also wish someone would make a clay Baker with handles on the pot and a decent handle on the top. They are so hard to get out of a hot oven with mitts on.
I love the crust on the bread they produce though.
In order to eliminate over-baking the bottom of the bread, Challenger recommend that once you remove to cover, put it inverted in the oven with the base sitting on top of it. You can see them doing it in some of their videos.
I went to try that once with my oven rack on the middle level, and my bread would have been touching the top coils. It was a double bake on a 90°F day and I didn’t want to try to lower the shelf mid-bake, so I just did my usual baking sheet underneath.
I keep meaning to try it again, though, with the whole bake happening on the second from the bottom shelf instead. Thanks for the reminder 
I finally decided on a Lodge Combo-baker which arrived a couple weeks ago. I’ve baked 2 loaves with it now and have a few preliminary observations:
- It was larger than I expected, so plenty of room for oven spring. However, I was hoping for something a little smaller to contain the spread of smaller, higher hydration loaves.
- It is HEAVY, which makes maneuvering it in and out of the oven an effort.
- It baked a beautiful loaf of bread.
- I used parchment paper for both bakes. I discovered by chance that my parchment paper holds up well to being washed off under the faucet, so I first crumpled the paper and then wet it before putting the unbaked loaf on it and lowering into the baker. I figured that this would add some steam without having to add an ice cube or risk a steam burn from spraying the loaf in the pan. The bottoms of both loaves were certainly well done and darker than the surrounding crust, but not charred or overly dark. But I’ve only tried this twice, so I’d be interested to know your results if any of you have tried it.
I have clay bakers, a clay cloche and a Lodge cast iron combo cooker.
My experience is that I get the same result from the clay cloche and the Combo Cooker. I think the difference is that the cloche and combo cooker are much better at capturing and retaining steam. The clay bakers (with tops on pot shape) let steam escape as the covers don’t really fit tightly. I use a spray bottle. With the loaf on the base I spray 3-4 squirts as I am placing the cloche (or the pot of the combo cooker) over the loaf. They are preheated so we get a lot of steam that gets captured.
Thanks, Dustan! Your description made me think that part of the value of the cloche shape, that is with the opening at the bottom rather than at the top as in a covered pot shape, is that steam rises and escapes more quickly from the top opening vessels.
I must admit that I haven’t been using the Combo Cooker much since I bought it mostly because the bottom of the loaves get too dark and its so darned heavy.