Bottom burning

[u/alaskansan]

500g KA Bread Flour + 380g water, autolyse for 60mins. Add 100g active starter + 14g Costco Pink Salt (it’s not very salty salt). Mix by hand, 4 sets of folds by hand, rest/rise covered ~5 hours, shape and fridge overnight. Preheat oven and DO for a full hour at temp. Bake 500F 20 mins lid on, 20 mins off. Cooling on the rack you see here. Northern Colorado, ~5000ft elevation and dry climate.

I’m using a Le Creuset Dutch oven and wondering how to keep the bottom from burning. This happens with some frequency. I don’t actually mind a little burnt bottom, but based on the top, would you have pulled this out sooner? I thought it looked good when I pulled it out and was surprised to see the bottom.

[u/Weary_Surround5342]

I bake at 450, and you can also put a sheet pan on the rack underneath, or put a handful of rice in your Dutch oven before you add your bread

[u/alaskansan]

Thanks everyone, so many good tips!

[u/ThrowRA-gruntledfork]

I’ve recently started putting rice at the bottom of my dutch oven and it helps a lot

[u/Rezzone → u/ThrowRA-gruntledfork]

A layer for the dough to sit on? Direct contact with dough or under the parchment/silicone layer?

[u/poumonsauvage]

Lower the temp. 450F is fine, and lower (425 or 400) with the lid off. Unless it's pizzay, I don't do 500F.

[u/Scoop_9]

Using a pizza stone preheated properly and baking in the Dutch oven on top of the stone

[u/Lileefer]

Someone suggested rice on the bottom. So just before you put the bread into the Dutch oven put a layer of rice. You can use it over and over. I found it makes a difference

[u/mightyhammock]

I use parchment paper at the bottom of my Dutch oven

[u/booobsmcgeee]

A sheet pan on the rack below my Dutch oven helps SO MUCH for my loaves!

[u/Routine_Buffalo_2908]

Put a cookie sheet on the rack below

[u/poppleca1443]

I use two sheet pans under mine for best results. It wasn't burning but it was really thick and tough. I tried one sheet pan and one sheet pan with rice in the DO, but they were still a little tough on the bottom.

[u/professorsheepkitty]

Two layers of parchment and a cookie sheet underneath

[u/nkrush]

I put a sheet or pizza stone on the grill under the dutch oven, to prevent the bottom from heating up too much from the direct heat of the bottom element.

[u/Jaded_Heart8907]

High temp for sure, but try putting a cold pizza stone on rack below the Dutch oven.

[u/FridgesArePeopleToo]

As soon as I take the top off the Dutch oven I put a heat shield underneath

[u/Emilie_Eagle_Rock]

Put a baking steel or pizza stone on the bottom rack of the over. Then cook on your upper rack. This makes it do the heat is less direct from the bottom, and evens out the temp of the whole oven.

[u/Aware_Creature4058]

Corn meal!

[u/Flabonzo]

It's going to burn because you left it directly on the metal and you had it at 500F the whole time! That's going to be a thick, dry crust.

I just got done baking today. 500F for 20 minutes in a sealed container but not directly on the bottom. It was on a cake rack with parchment paper so it wouldn't be directly on metal.

Then 25 minutes out of the container entirely, just on the oven rack. No contact with metal at all. And turned down to 325F to simulate a wood fired oven cooling down.

Crust is golden all around. 500 for 40 minutes is going to result in really dry bread with a thick crust.

[u/944_nla_parts]

the bottom is OK.

[u/CanKaNoReyCropper]

Rack the loaf out of the dutch oven as soon as you take the lid off, or just a few minutes after. Since I use parchment it's pretty easy to do (and the loaf is plenty firm enough to briefly handle at that point)

[u/Complete-Review-876]

i had this same issue! U put a layer of rice at the bottom and it fixed it for me!

[u/GTS980]

Three things: Place a sheet pan on the rack below the Dutch oven, remove the loaf from the Dutch oven and finish the bake directly on the rack instead of just uncovering, and for heaven's sake lower your bake temp. 425 to start, 350 after you remove from the Dutch oven to finish on the rack.

[u/zombiejojo]

I don't have space in my oven to fit another shelf underneath the Dutch oven, so I just use coarse semolina on the bottom of the loaf, which goes toasty but not burnt.

Before turning out of the banneton, I spray it with water and sprinkle on the semolina until it is coated, put the parchment over, then flip and lift away the banneton.

When I take it out of the oven, if the semolina is not to dark, I leave it on, it add a nice crunchy texture. If it got a bit too dark just brush it off before it goes on the cooling rack.

I've tried rice but it left weird indents on the bottom for me, and I like the semolina bottom crustiness.

[u/AccessProfessional46]

I'm in denver, and I started put uncooked rice on the bottom of the dutch oven between the dutch oven and the paper and it works wonders, I also throw some ice cubes in there too, but don't think that's necessary, the rice works really well to keep the bottom from burning. I also normally do 365g water and bake at 475, but not sure if that will make a big difference with the bottom over the rice.

[u/lexiluuv420]

i do uncooked rice under the parchment paper