There’s a very quick learning curve when baking with the Emile Henry Bread Loaf Baker. Recently I received an email asking me for some instructions on getting the best results. Here are some of my tips for using and Emile Henry Bread Loaf Baker.

The loaf mold holds about 1 ½ to 2 pounds of dough. But this depends on how high a particular type of dough rises.  A classic white sandwich bread that has sugar and eggs might rise more than a loaf made with whole wheat flour.  Best advice, use recipes that call for 3 to 3 ½ cups of flour.  Once you have used the loaf mold a few times, you’ll get a feel for how much of your dough the mold holds.

Lightly grease the loaf mold with oil or butter the first few times you use it. This ensures that your loaf doesn’t stick.  If your bread dough has lots of add-ins such as raisins, dried fruit and nuts or a sticky filling, grease it.  Those types of bread can stick in any kind of pan.

Preheat your oven 25°F (14°C) degrees higher than the temperature you normally use. The clay is thick and absorbs heat.  I find this helps.

There is no need to preheat the loaf mold. If my kitchen is especially cold, I rinse the mold in hot water to take the chill off. Then I dry it before placing my dough in the mold to proof.

For a darker and thicker crust, remove the lid during the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking.

Kitchen Notebook

I have worked with Emile Henry and the company has given me many pieces of their clay bakeware to test. You can read the detailed Use and Care Guide that I wrote to accompany the Emile Henry Bread Cloche here.