I have two round Le Creuset ovens: a size 26 (5-1/2 qt) and a size 28 (7-1/4 qt). I use the smaller one 99% of the time, including when I bake bread. I rarely use the larger one, and can’t imagine how big a loaf that thing would be able to hold!

For myself, I would worry about the weight of the larger one. I have the smaller one and it is pretty heavy to lift in and out of the oven.

I don't bake in a pot, but the best metallurgy is Le Creuset or Staub. OTOH, a cheap knockoff might work fine for bread since it's thoroughly heated first--it would just weigh more. Do beware of intense and hot colors. They should never be on the inside because they contain heavy metals which can leach out of the glaze. It's not a big danger or anything, and fine on the outside.

One thing to consider if you find a cast iron pot really heavy--unless you have mobility issues or some kind of degenerative ailment, slinging heavy pots around is good for you. You need to maintain your upper body strength. :)

I bake mine in an old Lodge cast iron dutch oven, it's older than I am and I use it when I'm camping. It's a 5 quart and even that's a little big, IMO. I also use a cast iron griddle in lieu of a baking stone, that also works well. Neither are enameled, both are just cast iron and both are decades old.

As for weight, the older ones are lighter than the newer ones, but they are still heavy.

Annie

I was actually thinking plain cast iron instead of enameled (which I do love because they are just beautiful) and about the Lodge 5- quart which seems to be the right size. I saw a 4-quart import at Tuesday Morning but it was a cheap knock off and I have to admit that I am kind of skeptical about the purity of the metal and whether any impurities can leach into what is being cooked.

Lol about the upper body strength. I am used to hauling my pizza steel in and out of the oven and that is heavier than dirt so I am not too worried about the workout....yet.

I agree Le Creuset and Staub are good. You might also check Tramontina's enameled cast iron, especially for price.

I have this one

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-7-Quart-Gourmet-Cast-Iron-Covered-Oval-Dutch-Oven/20665987?selected=true

and this one.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-4-Quart-Gourmet-Cast-Iron-Covered-Braiser/20665981

My son has a Le Creuset and he was impressed with these. I really like them.

I've had this Le Creuset one for many years, still love it and highly recommend it. But I have seen other brands out there that looked pretty much like they would perform just as well, especially in baking bread. The one thing I've noticed about some that I've actually checked close-up is the fit of the lid. Many of them just aren't exactly right and that's where I would pass on buying it.

Tramontina is actually pretty good quality. I once read a review...Cook's Illustrated, I think...comparing Tramontina's tri-ply stainless steel cookware to All Clad's. They felt the differences were extremely minimal, especially considering the drastic difference in price. A friend of mine bought a set of Tramontina's ss cookware...pretty nice! Just thinking their enameled cast iron could likely be comparable to LC and Staub, too. Worth checking out.

All my cookware is Tramontina and I love it! However, the enameled ones are made in China and I am really worried about the possibility of lead from the enameling.

I know I'm odd, but I like the "plain old" cast iron better than the enameled stuff. Mine is well seasoned and lighter than the cheap enameled cast iron. I do have several pieces of Le Creuset, which is pretty, but I seldom use them, I reach for the old Griswold "chicken fryer" that I got at a yard sale, my well seasoned Lodge dutch oven which was a hand me down from Grandma and the unbranded skillet I got as a wedding present in 1974, when I was 19 and first married. The skillet lasted longer than the husband, LOL, because I have the skillet and have replaced the husband!

So, if you have an old cast iron dutch oven sitting around or find one at a yard sale, I highly recommend them, especially if you are extremely lucky and they say "Griswold" on the bottom.

Annie

Annie, I have lots of regular cast iron, but I bought the two enameled one for certain recipes. I do not like foods simmered or braised with either tomatoes or wine in the plain cast iron. It takes on a metallic taste.

The large oval 7 quart is used for my whole venison shoulder with a red wine reduction.

I have read that if a cast iron pot is very well seasoned then the food does not take on a metallic taste. I have a Wagner Chicken Fryer but it has a glass top which I certainly wouldn't put into the oven. There is an outlet mall near my house with a store that sells Lodge. I think I will take a look to see if they have the 5 quart Dutch oven which I think would be good for bread. The bread will never touch the pot anyway because I would use parchment paper.

Well, mine is very well seasoned and I used to make Jambalaya in it and I could taste the difference when I switched to stainless steel skillet. Bread won't make a difference. It is the acid in food that does it.

I do love my Le Creuset but plain cast iron can be nice, too. Both are great heat conductors. I love the look of LC...a little better for oven-to-table IMO. I have used my Lodge cast iron on the grill...something I don't do with my LC. I also find the enamel coating on LC easier to clean than plain cast iron. My older pieces look like new thanks to Bar Keepers Friend, or weak water/bleach soakings on the pots' interiors.

As Sherry mentioned, I find enameled cast iron (or stainless steel) better for anything acidic.

For plain cast iron, the ones you can get at garage sale (especially Griswold or Wagner) and rehab are superior beasts to what you can buy new. The new ones are made by shortcut machines and the quality of the metal isn't there. I don't know that the impurities would be any worse in the knockoffs than the Lodge, but I suppose bad actors could use tainted ores. After melamine in the milk in China, I'll believe anything.

The thing about new Lodge is that it's thick. It's not an issue of heavy but that iron is a poor conductor. That's actually what makes it so good for cooking, and why it's called an "oven". As I said above, however, it'll be just fine for the bread. The issue is that it'll take longer to cook and takes longer to adjust the heat, but since you'll be pre-heating it, and you know how to pre-heat an oven for baking an hour before you need it so the whole cavity is to temperature (including the pot) rather than just the air at the sensor, it won't be a problem. Go for it.

Annie, I love my Le Creuset, but my mother's big Wagner frying pan doesn't even have a place in the drawers. It just lives on the stove where it's handy... :)

I have a set of Le Creuset as a wedding gift that has held up well. I've been using it for 25 years and have had no problems other than user-error because as a young cook I had no idea how to use cast iron.

Question for those of you that find cast iron pieces at garage sales, estate sales, etc.: Are you not concerned about how it was seasoned, what was used, what may be lurking in those layers? I don't know... the thought of buying someone else's cooking habits doesn't sit well with me. But I may be missing out on some good opportunities because getting my Lodge properly seasoned has been a challenge.

Well Feathers, I guess you have a good point; never thought about it before. Almost all my cast iron are garage sale items. However, I removed and reseasoned almost all of them. I would bet that many/most garage sale units are pretty grungy and need all the old crud removed. If one buys a fancy reseasoned antique, then they may in fact be paying lots of money for the stuff in some of those layers. I was always looking for the cheap stuff.

Acidic foods such as tomatoes can leach iron into the food. It can affect the taste and can increase the iron level in your blood. I know this because when I was young and poor and had only three cast iron skillets to do all my cooking, I had my iron tested during a check up. The doctor shook his head, tested again. Asked about my diet and then asked if I cooked with cast iron. Apparently my iron level was not high enough to be dangerous but high enough to double check. He said I'd never be anemic as long as I used those pans to make chili, LOL. I don't cook with wine, can't stand the stuff and won't eat anything made with it, so I can't tell you what that does but I'm assuming it works the same way. After cooking something acidic I do make sure I clean and reseason the pan, because it can compromise the seasoning, but bread won't make a difference. I use the All Clad stockpot to make things like chili.

Feathers, I don't worry about other uses for the cast iron. If it's very grubby or rusty, I'll scrub it or have my son in law sand blast it for me, then re-season several times. Others use oven cleaner, but I don't like to use caustic chemicals if I can do it another way. By the time I scrub, grease it up, leave it in the oven, repeat, it's been heated and cleaned enough that any pathogens are destroyed. And, as plllog mentioned, today's cast iron isn't made in the same manner the old stuff is, it's thicker, heavier, rougher, and in my opinion, harder to get well seasoned, the surface just isn't as "slick".

The LeCreuset are pretty and they work fine, but like my copper pans, are not used daily. Like plllog's pan, the Griswold is my workhorse. The small Wagner is used for eggs, but little else, it's too small to be one of my main cooking utensils.

I don't cook everything in cast iron, but I do cook a lot of things in it, I just like it. I like the way it cooks and the way it cleans up. I do sometimes use the enameled pot to make something that cooks a long time, like a pot roast, but I always wish I had used the Lodge instead.

Annie