Good food can lift up anybody’s mood at any time. You need the perfect recipe along with the ingredients to prepare a delicious meal, but there is one thing few people forget to mention, the essential cooking utensils. Baking is an important part of cooking, the food that comes out of the oven not only has an aroma that instantly waters the mouth, but it also satisfies the taste buds. However, there are often questions about two utensils frequently used for baking Bread Cloche Vs Dutch Oven. let’s compare Bread cloche and Dutch Oven.
What is Bread cloche
Bread Cloche is a piece of French baking equipment made out of Ceramic. The word Cloche means Bell in French which signifies that the bread you bake in this utensil, will be shaped like a bell. It has two parts, a baking stone at the bottom and an upper domed shaped lid, to give the desired bell shape. It is not new, Bread cloche has been used centuries ago by Romans for meat and fish roasting. however, in the modern era, it is mostly restricted to baking bread only.
The bread loaf that comes out of the bread cloche has a crispy exterior and a tender interior. Science used behind it; as the kneaded bread is covered by the lid and kept in the oven; the steam is trapped within the container, bread rises and bakes within the heat of this steam only. As a result, Artisan Loaves with Crispy crusts are created.
Moist bread and temperature consistency: Using a bread cloche not only produces moist bread in the middle but at the corners too. The reason is that the temperature inside the Cloche remains fairly constant, compared to the hot and cold region of the oven that might have an impact on other baked items. Furthermore, no steam to create water or no oil is actually required for moisture, the ceramic body provides the medium for steam to develop.
Easy to clean: Some people actually use bread cloche for vegetables, meat and fish. However, the experts completely deny the same bread cloche to be then used for baking bread, as vegetables or meat leave flavour behind and soap is never to be used for cleaning bread cloche. It’s just plain water to rinse, and a cloth to dry it. Another tip for creating crusty bread is to take off the lid for the last ten minutes of baking.
Cons
Bread cloches do come with drawbacks.
Take longer to bake: They take a long time to actually heat up as they are made out of clay, so preheating is pretty important. Also, it takes longer to bake than the time mentioned in the recipes.
Thermal sensitive: Thermal sensitivity should be tackled with care as temperatures are varied from hot to cold. For instance, do not place the hot pot over a very cold surface, it could cause cracks to the exterior. Although this happens with rare cases, it’s always better to take safety precautions.
Now let’s talk in detail about Dutch Ovens, and also compare them with bread Cloche.
Dutch Ovens
Dutch Ovens, unlike Bread cloches, are multi-cooker large pots. They also come in two pieces, with a deep pot and a tightly fixed lid. The kitchen equipment is made out of two materials, cast iron and Ceramic. Cast iron is a great conductor of heat, whereas Ceramic produces taste-filled food.
Multi-purpose cooking pots: Not only can these be used in an oven but are ideal for stovetops and campsite cooking. Which means all kind of food can be cooked in a Dutch Oven. Baking, roasting, braising, broiling, deep frying, stewing and soup making, all of this is possible in the easy One-Pot Meal utensil. This makes me want to go to the market and grab a dutch oven now!
Cooks Tasty Food: The all-purpose food tank maintains heat by trapping it within the container due to the tight lid on the top; producing tender and succulent meat to bread, almost everything.
Types of Dutch Ovens: The bare cast iron dutch ovens are excellent conductors of electricity which enables them to withstand high temperatures. These are mostly preferred for Camping. However, they are difficult to clean.
Enamelled, ceramic or metal-core Dutch ovens need no special cleaning, and also give you nutrient-rich, flavoursome food. Because in a ceramic pot the nutrients are not destroyed and the taste is created.
Variety of Dutch ovens: Dutch ovens are available in a variety of sizes, ranging from 1-13 quarts and about 17 different bright and beautiful colours. There are also several shapes, including oval and shallow brasners.
Storage of Warm food for longer periods of time: Since there is heat retention food can stay hot inside for longer periods of time, especially helpful in winters. Therefore, it also works to store warm food.
Cons of Dutch Oven
Heavy and Cost Effective: Dutch ovens are very heavy in weight and pretty expensive too. A good quality dutch oven can go above a hundred dollars.
Difficult to clean: It is also not easy to clean them, you need to scrub and rinse to get rid of flavours and leftover food marks. With time the enamel goes discoloured making them less attractive.
Let’s say about DUTCH OVEN VS BREAD CLOCHE
Similarities:
Same Science used to cook food: Firstly, both the utensils are covered with a tight lid that uses the steam to bake and cook the ingredients. The utensils are supposed to be preheated, however, they take longer to bake. The longer time only means the bread baked comes out delicious because the heat is distributed equally inside which gives plenty of time for the enzymes to be reduced to simple sugars that caramelize giving irresistible flavour and a golden, brown crispy crust and heavenly aroma.
The material used: Secondly, both the products are found to be made out of Ceramic (incase of Dutch ovens, some as made from cast Iron too)
If we come to compare, there are several differences to quote with bread cloche Vs Dutch Oven.
Uses: Firstly, a dutch oven is a multipurpose cooker, whereas bread cloche is strictly restricted to baking bread only. It can only be used in an oven, compared to the Dutch Oven that can be used in the oven, as well as a stovetop and direct fire.
Sizes and variety: there are a variety of sizes and shapes to choose dutch ovens from, meanwhile, bread cloches have limited size and variety. Bread Cloche might only be available in Ceramics, Dutch ovens are made from cast iron and ceramic both,
Heating: Cast iron has an edge to get heated fast. Ceramic containers take at least 20 minutes to only heat properly.
Weight and Handling: But Bread cloche is better in a sense it’s not as heavy as Dutch ovens. They are pretty heavy and difficult to handle. Moreover, they also carry the risk to burn hands when taking out baking items from within the container.
Ease of cleaning: it’s easier to clean a bread cloche as only rinsing with water is required, no soap and struggle to get rid of food marks.
Ceramic benefits: And has it has been said for ages, and I agree the flavour produced in a ceramic dish is much more mouthwatering and delish than it is in any other container. It’s also healthier and full of nutrition.
In my opinion, if we compare only the baking, both of them give similar results with the crispy tender loaf of bread. However, dutch ovens have a little risk of burn marks.
If you are a big-time fan of European Artisan bread than Bread Cloche is your partner. But if you are looking for a kitchen essential that helps you out with more than just baking, get yourself a Dutch Oven.
