KitchenCraft Home Made Bread Cloche with Recipe in Gift Box, Round, Stoneware, 30 cm

If you want to take sourdough baking seriously this baking cloche (or one similar at probably much higher cost) is all but essential.Professional bakers inject steam into their ovens to "spring" a loaf which keeps the crust unset in the early stages and permits the rise. If you try and bake a sourdough loaf in a domestic oven the chances are the crust will "fix" before the "spring" will occur.To get around this domestic sourdough bakers in the USA worked out you could close-replicate the "spring" effect by baking the bread in a Dutch Oven, lid on, and then removing it to crust up the loaf. The problem with that is you are throwing lumps of hot metal around your kitchen which is never comfortable.This is the answer and it is a genius piece of kit providing you look after it properly.The first rule is while it will turn up beautiful in alabaster white you must never subject it to water or wash it or it will likely crack the next time you put it in the oven. Instead it should gain a natural patina with use. It will stain - don't worry about it. Never ever immerse it ion water or feel the need to clean it.The second rule is you should treat it like your favourite part of your most prized dinner service, particularly when handling while hot. For the most part it is durable but it is a biscuit-bake unglazed pot, a bit like a chicken brick. They are the perfect cooking medium but need careful handling. So don't bump it into things, make sure the oven door will close without striking it etc. etc.I have read various comments on here regarding the quality. I have two other similar items made by other manufacturers which were much more expensive but aside from one being made of cast iron, which is much more expensive and also close to unliftable. I don't see much advantage in any of them.In my view if you take bread baking seriously within a household environment without access to a steam oven this, or something similar to it is essential and if you treat it well will give you lots of use.

Interesting product, I'd say it definitely improves sourdough baking but there are a couple annoying bits about the material it's made of. The white ceramic is very porous, does not tolerate any contact with a damp cloth or water, so cleaning is not straightforward. Also the surface stains horribly and in the most awkward ways when touched by hand if you have a bit of fresh dough on your hand or oil, grease. I liked to keep it on the countertop to store the bread in it between bakes, but it looks a mess lately and cannot be cleaned. The manufacturer states no water and in case of water contact it should be immediately re-baked in hot oven to dry and then there is the risk of it cracking if water has been in contact with it!

This very well may produce a good loaf of bread, but there are no instructions! There is a card supplied, telling you how to prove it before use, in tiny print on a beige background. I had to use a magnifying glass to read it. No instructions as to how to go about the baking process - what temparature, how long for? Etc, etc. I have been baking bread for years, but not with the aid of a cliche of Dutch oven. First attempt was inedible. Won't use it again until I have found out how. Quite a lot of information on -line for American public, but nothing for UK which has a whole set of different parameters. I can see myself scrapping it and buying something better. Not happy. Unless you know how to use it, don't buy this.

Really a must-have for the regular bread maker. It's about as near you can get at home to a professional, steam-injected ovenMore practical and effective than a Dutch Oven, in my view, although much more fragile, of course. Its big advantage is that it has a base with very low sides, making it easier to place the bread, and to remove the lid and expose the whole loaf during the baking process.Creates a wonderful crispy crust every time and no messing about with spritzing and trays of water in the oven to create steam.One thing, pointed out by others, do ignore the recipe instructions this cloche comes with. The best way, by far, to use this is to heat it BEFORE the bread goes into the oven. Prove, then transfer to the ultra-hot cloche. I find transferring the bread best done by using a banneton, or simply proving a loaf on baking paper and then picking the loaf up with the paper, and placing on the base of the cloche, then baking the loaf with the paper.Also a good idea to bake the final few minutes with no lid to create a superior, thick-set crust.Postscript: after further experimentation, I find that the cloche works perfectly well if placed in the oven cold. In fact, I do this now everytime with the first loaf as it saves big on the energy bill. Just put the loaf Inna cold oven and crank it up to max, and a superb loaf emerges. Everytime!

Stunning product, really works for a nice, crusty sourdough loaf, however I had to return mine because the bottom plate cracked when I used it for the first time. Really disappointed as I genuinely liked the product. On a good note, returning the faulty item was not an issue at all, within hours of requesting a refund I had a courrier knocking on my door to collect the item and a full refund back in my account. Great service

1st I used it I got my best looking loaf ever. 2nd time round, warmed up in cold oven. 15 mins in I heard the ting. Looked in oven and base had split all the way across.I still use it because it fits perfectly in a flan tin I have, but I just don't get the same results.