Cuisinart Chef's Classic Enameled Cast Iron Oval Covered Casserole (Provencial Blue, 5.5-Quart)

Very nice piece, works great, bakes amazing bread! It weighs 13 lbs, you don’t want to drop this thing on a foot, not sure what people expect who claim it’s heavy, all cast iron is. That’s what makes it cook so well. But it’s built for life, and very nice looking.

Full disclosure: I've only had this oven for about a month and have only used it for baking batards (oval bread loaves), so this is only a review of how the Cuisinart works for baking bread. I have a 6 qt round Lodge and a 4 qt round Tramontina I use for regular cooking tasks, but my partner was tired of getting only 1-2 normally sized sandwiches out of an entire boule (round loaf) and having a lot of very narrow or very wide sandwiches otherwise. I decided it was time to buy an oval dutch oven and oval bannetons (bread proofing baskets) and learn how to shape batards to have loaves that are the same size nearly their whole length.I couldn't find any solid information about what size combinations worked, so I tried to use product dimensions to find dutch oven and bannetons that would match my dough size. I didn't think to account for the handles in the listed 15.6" width, so I bought 11.8" bannetons at the same time as the oven. I was nervous when they arrived and the banneton was exactly the same length as the opening of the oven. I crossed my fingers and went through with the bake anyway:1) Preheat the oven with the dutch oven inside to 500F2) Pull the loaf out of the fridge where it proofed overnight, turn it out of the banneton and onto parchment, score, and set in the dutch oven3) Immediately reduce the oven temp to 450F4) Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for ~25 minutes, until golden brown and sounding hollow when tapped on the bottomTo my relief, although the loaf fits in the oven with only a fraction of an inch clearance on each end, there is no noticeable difference in the bake at the ends of the loaf that are up against the dutch oven vs. the sides with greater clearance. The dutch oven has more than enough height for my 1kg sourdough loaves. I'm sure you could increase to a bakery standard 1.2kg loaf and still fit comfortably.The dutch oven darkens when it's at the high temperature I use to bake, but it returns to normal color once it cools down, although I wouldn't care at all if it stayed that darker hue of red. It doesn't leave nearly as thick and dense a bottom crust as the Lodge does, which often verges on burnt by the time the rest of the loaf is finished baking. After a dozen or so bakes, the Cuisinart hasn't even started to take on the oily dark spots, either inside or outside, that the Lodge does. Although only a light dusting a flower ever contacts the cooking surface, the oven still looks brand new. Its sharper corners allow the loaf to sit perfectly flat and avoid that slope at the edges the 6 qt. Lodge forces into a 1kg loaf.My experience with this dutch oven is very limited both by time and by use, but I wanted to give anyone like me, who's looking for an inexpensive way to bake two batards from a standard sourdough recipe (~2kg finished dough). There is almost zero information about what size dutch ovens will fit certain sizes and shapes of dough, but this combination is one I can attest to being perfect.I don't know how the dutch oven will hold up after years of normal cooking tasks, but this is one it's been flawless at so far. Even if it ends up with a few chips here and there and looses it's flawless interior surface, I'm confident it will provide me with reliable use for years to come.Bannetons I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XC2HYBB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Did lots of comparison research, this one came high on many lists for price/value. Have baked bread and made stew, both worked excellent. Was concerned that some recommended against the oval, but I found it works great in oven and on induction burner, didn't notice any uneven cooking, and prefer the shape for bread and extra volume for stew in oval casserole.

Cream color is beautiful. While it is heavy, it's a manageable size. I cooked a 4.8 lb chicken with vegetables in the oven the first night, made stock from the carcass in it the next morning and chicken and rice in it that night. Day three, I added store-bought chicken stock for soup. I finally washed the pan that night, it cleaned up easily. I couldn't be happier with this pan. It's as good as my $300 dutch oven and my $300 braiser from you-know-who. I wish I had bought this Cuisinart first. Could have saved $600.

I haven't used the pot, however it's very pretty! It's sturdy and looks better in person, hope it lasts for a long time!

I used for the first time last evening. Really cooked my pot roast well, but it's too heavy! It's even more heavier with food added. Can be a danger because of the heaviness.

I realize I got deal of year (Dec 22) for only $75 total for it. They are $150 or more now. The cast iron is heavy pot and lid. I find this fantastic made and Ceramic coating. I mention it’s heavy for those that may not be able to lift it easy. Not to say negative. It’s a beautiful color red! First time I made pot roast I was afraid I’d never get it clean. It practically wipes off with a few swishes under the water and brand new again. Now I cook way more in it than I thought. Even made a beer bread in it so you can bake anything in it. If you always wanted one of these cast iron pots (like me) you will be please you paid for the top brand.

Not yet used. I bought this exclusively to fit in my new Breville Smart Oven for roasting meats, slow cook stews and battard (oval) bread baking.Learned the weight should not exceed 13.2 lbs. Only Le Creuset and Staub are that light. This is 2 lbs over so I had better handle delicately.My large Cusinart 7 pounder has been heavilly used on stovetop and oven for 8 years and is still in perfect condition. I sure hope this one gives me that great service. I only use teak wood utensils.Please all purchasers first run your hands all over the exterior to check for scratches down to cast iron which may not be visable in the dark provincial blue enamel.Arrived in a severely damaged Amazon box due to no bubble wrap inside, and weak paper tape tearing 1/3 of the box open which in turn tore part of the interior Cuisinart box open and even tore up the interior bubble wrap in 4 areas. Amazingly still the oven oven came through undamaged.Will report back if the Cuisinart quality has dropped.