Hi all, I have just started my journey of trying to make decent bread at home, and have started with Ken Forkish’s recipe for the Saturday white bread made in a Dutch oven. All in all, I’m a noobie to this and I felt like I was doing it wrong the whole time, however, I actually got pretty good results. The main problem I had was that I have a very small oven, (actually 2 very small ovens), and at one point he calls for removing the lid on the Dutch oven and continuing baking for an additional 20 min. without a lid on. My bread was seriously burnt on the top in 5-10 min. My oven is much smaller than most American ovens (it’s an AGA), so I think the timing is way off for it, the chambers are both abt 14" w x17" t. I’m hoping those with way more knowledge than me can direct me to a proper adjustment to the recipe; orig called for 475 F, (30 min covered, 20 uncovered)–So I’m wondering would it be better to lower the heat overall (it seems to heat accurately) to 450-425? Or keep at the 475, but not uncover or only uncover for the last 3-5 minutes?
I’m not familiar with your oven but if I were you I’d get a remote reading thermometer (like service technicians use to check calibration) and see what actual temperatures you are getting in your oven. One thing I’ve noticed in Mr. Forkish’s book, he prefers a really dark crust. I’ve shortened up my lid off time by a few minutes to lighten mine up. I’m a novice at this too and I’m sure others will provide comment that will prove more helpful to you. Good luck.