The best sourdough bread is made using a dutch oven, that’s what I’ve always heard when I was a beginner. But I couldn’t afford a good dutch oven back then, so I started looking up what a dutch oven actually does and see how I could replicate the effects.
Now, many years later I own a dutch oven, and while it definitely makes things easier, I would say that you can easily make amazing sourdough bread without a dutch oven, as long as you know a few tricks. And in this article, I am going to share with you 5 extremely simple ways in which you can make sourdough bread without a dutch oven.
But before that let’s start by taking a close look at what a dutch oven actually does.
What a Dutch Oven Does
A dutch oven does basically does two things:
- It traps heat
- It retains heat consistently
And those two things are exactly what sourdough bread needs in order to bake properly.
Steam is very important because it slows down the formation of the crust. If the crust forms too fast the water inside the bread won’t be able to escape and as a result, the bread won’t be able to grow, and you will be left with a loaf that has a thick hard crust and a wet interior.
Heat makes it possible for the bread to grow, but just heat is not enough for a loaf of bread to grow properly, you need a constant source of heat that won’t fluctuate.
A dutch oven does all of those things perfectly, it barely lets any steam escape, and it maintains a constant temperature, which is barely influenced by the fluctuations in the rest of the oven.
A good alternative to a dutch oven should maintain a good constant temperature and trap the steam, or create its own.
Now let’s go over 5 dutch oven alternatives that will do just that.
1. Put a Pot Over It
The simplest thing that you can do to replace a dutch oven is to put a top over your loaf. This is what most people do, but this method is not ideal.
Dutch ovens are usually made out of cast iron, ceramic, or a material that can retain a lot of heat. Putting a pot over your bread will trap the steam but it won’t trap that much heat, so it’s only partially effective.
If you don’t have anything else that you can use this method is still better than nothing. But if you have a baking stone I would suggest you combine this method with the next one.
2. Use a Baking Stone
Now we are moving to ways in which you can increase the heat, and nothing is better at doing so than a baking stone (also referred to as a pizza stone).
Baking stones are most commonly made out of ceramic, but other types of stone can be used. But what all stones have in common is their amazing heat retention capabilities, which are on par with that of a dutch oven.
But this is not all that baking stones do, they can also absorb water, and when they are heated up the water inside them will evaporate and create more steam.
The fact that they can absorb water can be a good thing or a bad thing. It can be a bad thing because they can absorb the steam in the oven, but we can turn this into a good thing by soaking the stone before putting it in the oven, this way the water inside it will evaporate and it won’t absorb any of the steam.
Using a baking stone with a pot over the bread will be just like using a dutch oven. You have the pot that will trap the steam, and you have the baking stone for the extra heat.
3. Loaf Tins
Another great option to replace a dutch oven is to use loaf tins.
Loaf tins are, as the name implies, made especially to bake bread with them. So the metals that they are made out of are great at capturing heat and then transferring it to the bread. The only thing that keeps them from being as good as a dutch oven is the fact that they can’t capture the steam. But this can be easily solved by placing one tin on top of another, like this.
Just make sure that you use something to hold them that way. I usually use some cooking twine, but in the past, I’ve used metal paper clips and they held them pretty good.
This method is extremely good at transferring heat to the bread, and quite good at steam retention. The only problem is that there will usually be some gaps between the tins, and steam will come out.
The best solution that I found to this problem is to put a bowl of ice in the oven.
4. A Bowl of Ice
Putting a bowl filled with ice in the oven will fill it with steam in just a few minutes.
The reason why you want to use ice instead of water is simple. Ice is a lot colder than any water that you can get from your sink. And the big difference in temperatures will create steam a lot faster, and it will last longer.
The reason why this method works great with the last one is that there will be so much steam in the oven that the difference in pressure won’t allow the steam from inside the tin to escape. And some of the steam from the oven will also get in between the tins as well.
This method also works great in combination with a baking stone. But on its own, it’s not the best way to replace a dutch oven, as this method doesn’t provide any extra heat.
But if you don’t have anything else that you can use, go ahead and use this method, while it’s not the best, it’s definitely effective and it will help your bread a lot.
Just remember to use a bowl that is made out of metal. Glass can break easily due to the sudden change in temperature.
5. The Sauna Method
This is definitely the most complex method, but it’s definitely worth it. In my opinion, this method doesn’t just make sourdough bread as well as a dutch oven, it does it even better. Let me tell you how and why.
For this method, you will need:
A baking stone
A cast-iron skillet
A metal tray
Lava rocks
3 – 5 kitchen towels (100% cotton)
- The first thing that you want to do is to put the lava rocks in the skillet, and then roll up the towels and place them in the tray.
- Now palace the skillet at the bottom of the oven and the baking stone in the middle of the oven.
- Start preheating the oven with the rocks and the baking stone in it.
- After 30 minutes, start boiling some water.
- When the water starts to boil, put your loaves in the oven.
- Now, pour half of the boiling water over the towels
- Use some gloves to take out the tray in the oven next to the skillet.
- Now you want to pour the rest of the water over the rocks without taking the skillet out. Be very careful when doing so, and make sure you are wearing gloves, you don’t want any water to get on your hands.
- Quickly close the door of the oven to trap the steam inside.
- After 20 to 30 minutes you can remove the tray and the skillet from the oven and continue cooking your sourdough bread as you usually do.
Be very careful: Don’t use any stone that you find around the house, some rocks explode when heated up. And make sure that the towels are 100% cotton, otherwise, they might melt or catch fire.
Here is a video of the method:
As you can see this is not the simplest method but it’s definitely one that has great results. In my opinion sourdough bread baked this way is even better than the one made in a dutch oven. But that’s just my opinion.
But whether you choose this method or any other on this list, one thing is clear, you will get a better bread than you would have otherwise. Let me tell you why.
Why Home Ovens Are Not Good for Baking Bread
Home ovens are not the best at baking bread for two main reasons:
- They let a huge amount of steam escape
- Heat fluctuations
Steam Loss
Sourdough bread needs a lot of steam to bake properly, and home ovens are not that great at keeping steam in, especially after you’ve used them for a few years.
The role of the steam is to keep the crust from forming too fast. When the crust hardens it stops the water from inside the bread to escape, which means that in the end you will be left with a slightly uncooked bread with a very thick and hard crust, which is not ideal.
The steam in the oven softens up the crust, giving more time for the water inside the bread to evaporate.
So to make up for the steam loss of the oven we have two options, we can either add more steam by using ice, wet towels, or pouring water over hot rocks. Or we can put the bread in a container that won’t lose as much steam, like a dutch oven, for example.
One thing that you don’t want to do is to open the oven and spray the loaf with water. While this will definitely soften up the crust, it will also let heat and steam escape.
Professional baking ovens are much better at trapping steam, and some of them even have humidity control, but home ovens don’t, so you have to get inventive.
Heat Fluctuation
The other problem that ovens have is heat fluctuation.
Just like in the case of steam, heat can easily escape from a home oven. And this will stop your sourdough bread from growing as much as it can.
A sourdough bread will only rise for the first 20 minutes of baking. After that, the crust has formed and the bread won’t be able to grow anymore. And if you don’t have enough heat the growing process will stop way too soon, and you will be left with a dense and uncooked loaf of bread.
Using a baking stone will solve this problem, as the baking stone will have a constant temperature, and will not only transfer heat to the bread, but it will also regulate the temperature of the oven.
A dutch oven won’t necessarily regulate the temperature of the oven, but it will maintain its temperature constant, so the bread won’t be affected by the temperature fluctuations in the oven.
Things to Avoid
Before ending this article I want to tell you about a few things that might seem a good way to replace a dutch oven but are actually terrible.
Using Improper Cookware
Dutch ovens are specially made to withstand high temperatures and are made using materials that are good heat conductors. You can’t replace them with any bowl or pot in your kitchen.
Most glass bowls are not meant to go in the oven, as they will break due to the high heat, so unless a bowl is made specifically made to go in the oven don’t use it.
Most pots are not great at transferring heat equally, so while they can be great for making soup, they won’t be very efficient at making bread. And a lot of them have plastic handles, which you definitely don’t want in an oven.
Don’t Spray the Loaves
While spraying the loaves will slow down the formation of the crust it will also lead to a significant drop in temperature.
If you have an oven thermometer you can easily see that briefly opening the door will lower the temperature by 20 to 30 degrees.
So if you want to spray the loaves do it before you put them in the oven, not while they are in.
Final Thoughts
Dutch ovens are great, they are easy to clean and they can help you make an amazing sourdough bread, but they are not irreplaceable. Dutch ovens can be easily replaced with common items, like a pot, a loaf tin, or a bowl with ice.
But are all of those methods as efficient as a dutch oven?
In my opinion, the sauna method is slightly better than a dutch oven, mostly due to the huge amount of steam that you can get, but it requires a few items ( which are way cheaper than a dutch oven).
The other four methods are significantly better than simply baking in a normal oven, but on their own, they are not as efficient as a dutch oven, but if you combine them, the results are very similar.
I would say that you don’t really need a dutch oven to make tasty sourdough bread, but it definitely makes things easier, so if you can get one go for it. But until you find a quality dutch oven at a good price you can use the methods that I described and get similar results.
Common Questions
What should I do if my starter has very few bubbles? Bubbles are created by the good bacteria that live in the starter when they eat. Having just a few bubbles means that the starter needs more food, so it requires more flour.
My starter was really active on days 2 and 3, and then there was zero activity. Is this bad? This is a very common thing. Most starters have a surge in activity during the first few days then scale down the activity. After a period it will regulate its activity.
Why is my sourdough starter so sticky? Depending on the amount of flour and water used, sometimes sourdough can become sticky, but this is usually common for starters that have more flour than water.
What is a 100% hydration starter? A 100% Hydration starter is a starter that contains equal parts of flour and water. As the name implies, for every gram of flour there is one gram of water to hydrate it, thus it’s named 100% hydration.
My starter doesn’t rise enough, what should I do? The most common cause for a starter that isn’t rising enough is excessive discarding. If you discard too much of the starter it won’t have enough resources to rise properly.
What is a feeding ratio? Feeding ratios are usually written like this: 1:1:1, 1:2:2, 3:1:1. And they refer to the amount of starter left, the amount of flour added to the starter, and the amount of water added to the starter. Here are a few examples:
- 1:1:1 – equal amounts of starter, flour, and water – 100 grams of starter, 100 grams of flour, and 100 grams of water
- 2:1:1 – 200 grams of starter, 100 grams of flour, and 100 grams of water
- 1:2:2 – 100 grams of starter, 200 grams of flour, and 200 grams of water
When can I start using a different type of flour? While there isn’t an exact amount of time specified anywhere, I would advise you to at least wait two weeks after you made your starter. At this point, the starter should have a good balance that will allow it to successfully accommodate the new flour.