Our range oven died after Thanksgiving and we’re waiting for the pandemic to settle down before fixing it. So I’ve been using a toaster oven for baking bread.
Fortunately we have a cast iron Lodge Loaf Pan which makes a lovely toasted crust, (though the top sometimes gets a little burnt given how much it rises, so I’m still working on that).
The recipe is as simple as always, just scaled down a little from my usual 4/3/1/.02
306g flour
270g water
46g starter
4g salt
The loaf pan lets me skip the shaping process. I take the proofed dough and just pour it directly into the pan. I let it rise a second time (about three hours) and then throw it into the oven for the bake. I don’t bother preheating the oven if it isn’t already hot from something else.
Since we’ve been eating a lot of bread (and because it is cool in the house due to winter), I’ve also started using the bread dough as its own starter. When I pour the dough into the loaf pan, I pull off some dough that becomes the next day’s starter. I let it proof on the counter overnight and it’s ready to start another loaf.
I kind of miss the shaping process, but it was the cause of quite a bit of mess and a little bit of stress, plus the loaf pan loaves are much easier to cut! In all, I can’t say I miss the dutch oven baking, though I’m certain I will revisit it, as soon as we get the range fixed.