Bread is a staple of our diet as humans, and we have found ways to enjoy it with every type of meal, from fine Italian cuisine, to American Roadhouse dining, to simple sandwich bread, the world is enamored with bread. Fine Italian cuisine bread is made by a tool, with it’s roots sunk deeply into ancient history and how thinks were cooked, the Bread Cloche is a contraption very similar to a Dutch oven, which is a very deep, very thick container by which to cook things within the fire, hence the thick containerizing.
This methodology of cooking can be traced back to the mid 1700s, where the Dutch were able to combine their knowledge of fine artistry and craftsmanship with Netherlandic engineering, from the works of a man named Abraham Darby around the turn of the 17th century. This is all of course Europe, but if Dutch ovens or bread cloches were/are so popular in Europe, why are they considered a part of American culture? The answer is that American settlers had extremely rough conditions, and of course were all European at the time.
So, therefore they needed a way of cooking meals that was more or less impervious to animal tampering (the thickness of the container and the heat it would be contained within), or just the natural passage of time, bread cloches or Dutch ovens. This extended far into early American culture, with a Dutch oven being a symbol of cowboys and frontiersman all over the United States.
Why use a bread cloche instead of a normal oven for bread?
A bread cloche is a very specialty tool for when you want to have very crusty bread, that’s soft on the inside. The way this is achieved is that the cloche is preheated beforehand, and then the dough put into it, then a lid added onto it. At this point it’s basically airtight sealed, and the dough will instantly begin to react with the heat, in the steam environment, it will become more soft on the inside and crusty on the outside, which is a very desirable feature and or texture when it comes to gourmet bread. Don’t forget to lightly coat your cloche in some sort of cooking oil, or you could have a very sticky mess on your hands after your concoction is done! When caring for your ceramic pottery, always just use hot water and a brush to avoid cracking of your device.
Many people say that bread made in a cloche is the best bread they’ve ever had, specialty gourmet or otherwise, possibly because the process is so natural it lets the bread rise so naturally with all it’s own steam. It’s even better than bread made from a bread machine. Cloche actually means “bell” in French, so it’s namesake is indicative of the shape of the bread it produces, the size of a half circle. Cloche ovens are a fantastic way to add some artisan flair to your kitchen for a small price, it’s also cultural as well because it quite literally simulates a very old school hearth oven. If you’re looking for perfect bread, look no further than a good quality bread cloche reviews.
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