So, I’ve been wanting to bake some sourdough bread for a while now, but I didn’t have a Dutch oven. I saw some folks online saying you absolutely needed one, but I wasn’t about to drop a bunch of cash on a pot I might only use a few times. I figured, hey, there’s gotta be another way, right?
So I did a little digging and found out that you can totally bake sourdough without a Dutch oven. It might not be exactly the same, but who cares? As long as it’s tasty, I’m good. Turns out, the whole point of the Dutch oven is to trap steam, which helps the bread rise and get that nice, crispy crust.
I found a few methods online, and I decided to try the one that seemed the easiest. First, I got my dough all ready – you know, mixed, proofed, and shaped it. Then, I preheated my oven to a scorching 450°F with a baking sheet inside. Here is a little tip, make sure your baking sheet is in there while the oven heats up. You want that thing to be like a furnace.
- Mix the dough
- Proof the dough
- Shape the dough
- Preheat the oven
Once the oven was hot, I carefully took out the baking sheet – seriously, be careful, it’s like handling lava – and placed my dough on it. Then came the fun part: creating steam. I had a little spray bottle filled with water, and I gave the inside of the oven a good spritz, like I was misting a plant. I also tossed a few ice cubes onto the bottom of the oven for good measure. You hear that sizzle? That’s the sound of steam magic happening.
Then, I quickly popped the dough in the oven and covered it with a large metal bowl. This was my makeshift Dutch oven, trapping the steam around the bread. I baked it like that for about 20 minutes. After that, I removed the bowl and let the bread bake for another 25 minutes or so, until it was golden brown and sounded hollow when I tapped it.
I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. But when I pulled that loaf out of the oven, it looked pretty darn good! It had a decent rise and a nice, crusty exterior. It wasn’t as picture-perfect as some of those Dutch oven loaves, but who cares? It was my own creation, and it smelled amazing.
The Results
And the taste? Let me tell you, it was delicious! It had that classic sourdough tang, and the inside was soft and chewy. I was so proud of myself for making it without a Dutch oven. So, if you’re like me and don’t want to buy a Dutch oven, don’t worry! You can still bake some awesome sourdough. Just get creative and don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s all part of the fun, right?
