“Judging by the raving reviews I must be doing something wrong, but using the La Cloche resulted in the most disappointing bread. Yes, there is crust, but it is a bit too crusty (the end bit actually went in the bin for the first time ever as it was impossible to eat) and the loaf didn't raise one bit in the oven! I've never had a wonderfully risen bread, but had much better results with the good old baking tray plus an extra one with a splash of water. I was very excited upon ordering and reading the reviews, but even more disappointed with the results.
The only thing I am thinking is that I normally bake an oval loaf while the La Cloche calls for a round one, so the dough "spills more", but I am clutching at straws here.”
“A truly excellent piece of kit. I've only used it to bake a standard white loaf so far but the result was really good. I followed the Bakery Bits method of using a hot cloche sprinkled with semolina which worked to perfection. Recommended!
David”
“A truly excellent piece of kit. I've only used it to bake a standard white loaf so far but the result was really good. I followed the Bakery Bits method of using a hot cloche sprinkled with semolina which worked to perfection. Recommended!
David”
“A truly excellent piece of kit. I've only used it to bake a standard white loaf so far but the result was really good. I followed the Bakery Bits method of using a hot cloche sprinkled with semolina which worked to perfection. Recommended!
David”
“I run a B&B and have been making bread for many years; experimenting with every possible technique. Although I say so myself my bread is good,in fact we never thought it could get any better and all our guests rave about our homemade bread. However, you can improve on perfection! This baking dome gives superb results, especially with sour doughs, which can be a little unpredicatable. The Cloche is also a beautiful object to have in your kitchen. Really pleased. Mandi - www.fairydean.co.uk”
“This is an excellent quality dome which has revolutionised my bread making. It also looks good, which is an advantage when having a fairly substantial piece of kit hanging around in the kitchen! Although the instructions say it is ideal for a 1 kg loaf, I also bake 1.5 kg round sourdough loaves in it with no problem.”
“I have not put La Cloche through it's paces as yet. However I have baked a sourdough cob using La Cloche and there was a definite improvement on the oven rise. I rubbed the entire cloche in rapeseed oil not olive oil. I was not sure on rubbing olive oil into it as the tolerance to high temperatures are lower with olive oil, but the oil sank in nicely and I 'baked'first the bottom then the lid on gas 7 for an hour to season it. I was unsure for how long I should have 'baked' la cloche for as the instructions were a little vague....or if the need to bake it after oiling was needed at all. It did no harm and baked well :) drawing attention back to the result of the sourdough cob, I think it would have been further improved if I had pre-heated the entire La Cloche, and not just the bottom section. The unresolved query was 'how to handle the lifting of bell lid' that would be very hot, in order to slide the dough
onto the bottom section without ending up with mutiple burns. Maybe the solution would be to lift the entire pre-heated La Closhe from the oven or to use a long stick to slide through the lid handle and remove whilst leaving the base in the oven. La Cloche is also promoted for baking poultry and you could almost call it a 'luxury tagine'! but I think I'll keep mine purely for bread making and I can not wait to bake my next loaf. I can emphatically urge you to buy the Rivet flour too as it is amazingly tasty and orgasmic.”
