I love cast iron cookware, plain or enameled. The blue pot is one my grandmother gave me shortly after I married. After doing some research, I have come to the conclusion that it’s probably from the 1950’s or ’60’s. This is my main bread baking pot – I don’t use it for much else. I see them on etsy and ebay and always want to buy more. It’s scarred, with a lot of blemishes and aesthetic imperfections – and it’s my absolute favorite pot to bake bread in.
The Lodge cast iron combo cooker I bought from Amazon last year. I love this thing too. It’s a beast of a worker and is great for bread, stew, soup, anything. You can cook in the lid while you’re cooking in the pot – it’s great. This I use occasionally for bread, but I really prefer an enameled cast iron for bread baking. If /when my Dru Holland pot meets its demise, I like the looks of the Lodge enameled Dutch oven. It’s not nearly as pricy as Le Creuset and has mostly all positive reviews. I would order the 6-qt. one for baking, although the 7.5- qt looks like you could cook an entire meal in it on a cold, cold night, and serve piping hot. And now I’m incredibly hungry from writing that.
I’m baking bread today. Here in the PNW, it is a relatively balmy 40 degrees outside but the rain is pouring down, the damp is invasive and I love to have the oven on on days like this. The permeating aroma of baking bread, the sound of the rain on the roof, it’s a perfect day for baking. It’s the kind of ugly day where you just want to stay in and cuddle up on the couch under a warm blanket and watch a movie or get wrapped up in a good book.
I bought a few dozen cloth diapers about six years ago – high quality, prefolds, seconds (one of the larger sizes). I got them on sale and use them for letting the bread dough rise. They’re only used in the kitchen, for food purposes (bread and other) and they were a terrific investment.
Do you cook in cast iron? What are your favorite brands? Do you have an old standby that you go to each time you cook or bake a specific item? What are some of your money saving tips for the kitchen?
All of It (and More) 