Question about Dutch oven for NYT-no knead bread

[vbak]

I really want to make this bread, but the only Dutch ovens I have are LC. On eof the links said the high heat could ruin a LC Dutch oven, and I would hate for that to happen. The Kitchen Collection is holding a 5 qt. Lodge cast iron Dutch oven for me, and I'm wondering if I should get it or ??? What are all of you using?

Thanks to all of you who posted your reviews.

Vicky

[KCSoccer]

I've used a well-seasoned cast-iron Dutch oven and a 6-qt. oval LeCrueset knock-off (from Target). Both have worked well.

Note: the LC knockoff says use only to 350ºF, but I wrapped the lid knob with heavy duty aluminum foil and preheated to 450ºF (I found 500º was scorching the bottom of my bread). The lid and whole pan came out just fine.

I'll probably use my cast iron pan more for this recipe, though, as it's a bit smaller and the bread comes out taller.

[VAcooker]

Hello Vicky:

I had a different experience using my dutch oven. I used a 5 qt. enamel coated cast iron dutch oven--it was not a Le Creuset. It had the perfect lid for this--no top round handle but just side handles that are made of the same material as the dutch oven (this lid drives me crazy when I use the dutch oven for a soup or stew b/c it is hard to get the very hot lid off with pot holders....) but anyway this type of lid worked for this recipe...the downside to using this though is that the glaze on my lid now looks cloudy (from the high oven heat I assume) and there are a couple of minor brown streaks in the inside of the pot. I tried to get the brown streaks out but have been unsuccessful thus far. However, the bread came out FANTASTIC on my first try and I have never before baked bread from scratch!

So, I guess you would need to be concerned about the enamel coating on a dutch oven. The one I have is not a high-end one, so I do not know how a Le Creuset would do....However, I just bought a 7.25 quart Le Creuset dutch oven and was told by the sales lady that even with the handle it can be placed in the oven at heat up to 450 degrees (although the insert that came with the pot says pans w/metal or heat resistant plastic handles may be used in the oven but only up to 200 degrees Celcius, which I think is just under 400 degrees F...hmmmm...do I believe the sales lady?)...in any event, I would worry about placing an empty LC enamel coated dutch oven in a 450 degree oven to warm up...I am not an engineer or anything but maybe that is not good for the pot...

I guess the crux of my story is that I knew I would be purchasing a LC dutch oven (I was not very happy with the low-end brand I have), so I was not upset that I had issues using it...I would use it again--that is how incredible the bread tasted...the long answer to your short question (sorry about the length!) is that IMHO I would not use an LC for this recipe, but I think a regular cast iron dutch oven would be awesome! I would get the Lodge!

**By the way, I got a great deal on the LC dutch oven and I can give details if anyone is on the fence about buying one and has been price-shopping...**

[vbak]

Thanks for your replies. The Lodge is 32.99, and I know i can get them cheaper on the net[29.99] , but there's shipping to consider and no instant gratification.