Well, here is the results of my first attempt. I used a Corningware two quart casserole dish, and put it on the cast iron grill which I had set on the bottom rung of the oven. Not sure if the grill made any difference. First I was going to bake the bread in the casserole with the cover on, but during the last rise, it rose all the way up to the top of the lid. Then, when I went to slash the bread, it deflated. Not sure how to do the slashing without deflating. So I let it rise 15 more minutes after the deflating. As you can see, there really isn't much of the slashes present. It rose a little but not as much as it had before, so I was able to put the lid back on, but it still rose up in the oven to meet the lid so I took the lid off the last part of the baking. So I ended up trying to add moisture to the oven by putting a cake pan full of water on the bottom rung of the oven. Not sure how much of it evaporated. I used a 450 degree oven for the first 40 min. and turned down to 350 for the last 10. I also painted the bread with water before putting it into the oven. When I first took the bread out of the oven, the crust sounded as hard as a cracker. In fact I thought I had overbaked it. But as it cooled the crust got soft and although it was a nice crust, it wasn't very thick and chewy. This bread turned out more like your average loaf, just round. Also, Also it tasted good but yeasty, like all the recipes from that book. Next try I am going to break the dough in half and put in two of the casseroles (I have two). In my "Laurel's Kitchen" cookbook she says to pour 1/4 cup of water over the bread before putting it into the oven in a covered casserole. I think I will be able to do that if I use the two casseroles, each with half the dough in them. I'm still not sure if the cast iron grill contributed much to the baking so not sure if I should use that or not. Also I think I might use slightly less yeast, as the bread from that cookbook always tastes too yeasty to me. Here's a photo of the bread. Oh, and also, the top got browner than the sides, which makes sense since they were inside the thick corningware casserole. And here is the bread sliced, with some beans soup with escarole. Boy, that soup was delicious, I had never had cooked escarole before, and I LOVE it! Thanks you "Greens" Cookalong!

I bake in cast iron all the time. I don't have a Romertopf . My cast iron is a Le Creuset and also a very old plain cast iron pot . Both have lids. Both go into the oven at 500 for 30 min. and then I remove them and lower the bread into the preheated pot. I replace the cover, place them back in the oven and lower the oven to 460. Bake 15 min with lid on and 15 min with lid off. I will link pics below. To get your bread into the pot, either hot or cold , simply place a piece of parchment paper over the basket that the bread is rising in and let the bread come out onto the paper. Then I tear off the extra to make a shape with handles and simply lower into the pot. I have been doing this for years...way longer than Chad at the bakery that become famous for baking in cast iron :) Here are some pics. I will be glad to answer any questions. You can look on The Fresh Loaf and do a search for info on this type of baking as well as using your clay pot. I know there are folks on there that have done so. c bread dough rises in cloth lined baskets ( old napkins that are heavily floured with rice/white flour 1/2 and 1/2 combination) dough turned out onto parchment and parchment then torn to make handles dough lowered in to preheated 500 degree pots using the parchment finished loaf still in pot loaves cooling ...I usually bake 6 loaves...just keep placing pots back in oven and reheating with lids on and removing loaves from fridge where they have retarded...turning out onto parchment and lowering into hot pot

I did not flirt, as far as I know - I doubt that would do me very much good! I made cornmeal pancakes on my rectangular griddle this morning (which weighs over 10#), and I'm a bit glad that my new pizza pan will not weigh that much. I might even switch to using my comal plus the new pizza pan when making pancakes, and then I can use two front burners. I used to make them in my 10.5" cast iron skillet, and that was not ideal because of the steep sides, although they did cook well, one at a time. Kevin's new mug is all metal, I think. When I make tea, I use the red teapot that Sheshebop sent me, and it holds 21 oz. I use one teabag for that much water, and the cup/mug that I use holds 7 oz., and so that makes three cups/servings. On days that I work, I drink one cup of tea at home and then one at work, using a teabag at work. So one pot of tea lasts three days, but I have to store the tea in the fridge and then microwave it on subsequent days. On days that I do not work, I drink two cups (14 oz) of tea in the morning, and that is all the caffeine that I need. On vacation, I will sometimes drink coffee, especially in places like Hawaii and Italy. I was not impressed with Costa Rican coffee - I thought the coffee in Antiqua, Guatemala was better. I drink coffee in New Orleans also, but not in Texas. The Kona coffee in Hawaii was the best I've ever had, and it is not possible to find the equivalent here. Even the coffee beans that we bought on Maui were not as good as the coffee we got at restaurants/coffee shops on Maui. I think the best beans do not leave the island. The coffee we had in Italy was almost as good, but it probably came from Africa - Ethiopia most likely.

Just as a cast iron pan can be handed down through the generations, so could this chain mail scrubber. It would make sense though, to test one before buying, or to have the word of a trusted friend that it is really worth the money. If you are used to paying $1.98 for a scrubber and throwing it away to buy a fresh one, the $20 might seem too steep.