Baking in a Cloche

Emile Henry Cloche 09

There are many ways to get a crusty loaf of bread, but one of our favorites is to use the tried and true method of baking in a clay cloche, here, the Emile Henry brand cloche. It is very similar to using a Dutch Oven, but the cloche was designed to bake bread, so it is an even more intuitive method. In other words, you aren’t lowering the bread into the piping hot vessel, you just lift the lid and slide the loaf onto what is essentially a baking stone. The cloche traps the steam from the dough to create a perfectly crisp and beautifully shiny crust, without having to add steam to the oven.

This loaf was made with the Master Recipe from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day:1 pound of Master Recipe from TheNewABin5

Baking in Cloche | Breadin5

Shape the loaf into a ball and let it rest for 40 to 90 minutes on a piece of parchment or a Pizza Peel covered in cornmeal.

Emile Henry Cloche 02

The dough will rise, but may not double in size, this is perfectly normal for this method.

Emile Henry Cloche 05

About 40 minutes before baking, preheat your cloche to 450°F.

Emile Henry Cloche 06

Slide the loaf onto the bottom part of the cloche. Put the cover on and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking for 5 to 10 minutes,

Emile Henry Cloche 07

or until the loaf is a deep caramel color.

Emile Henry Cloche 08

Remove the loaf from the cloche and parchment to allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. If you leave it on the parchment, the bottom crust will not be as crisp.

Emile Henry Cloche 10

This loaf was rested for about 90 minutes, and you can see that it has a nice open crumb. If you are in a hurry you can reduce it to 40 minutes.

Emile Henry Cloche 03

Note: Red Star Yeast (Lesaffre Corp) sponsored this post, and supplied yeast for recipe testing. Emile Henry also sponsored, and provided the cloche for testing. BreadIn5.com is reader supported–when you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.

561 thoughts to “Baking in a Cloche”

  1. I would love to try baking in a cloche! Plus, I don’t have your newest book yet, so thanks for the chance to win!! 🙂

  2. I have yet had any success in making a nice loaf like yours. I really need some assistance. Hopefully, the book and the cloche could help me to bake some nice bread for my family. Thank you.

  3. A good friend, and fella vegetarian, told me about your book. Just now saw your site for the first time. My family and I would be thrilled to win. Our 9-year-old daughter enjoys helping us prepare food in the kitchen. One of her favorite actions is dipping warm bread in olive oil. 😉

  4. I have all your books, except for the new release (hope I win)… You have made homemade pizza every Friday night so much easier for me!!! Thanks, keep it up!!!

  5. Been baking bread for many years, but there is always time to learn something new. I have one of your books and love the ease in which we can have at home what our favorite artisan bakery sells. We have been using an old cast iron dutch over and non bromated flour….so good….

  6. I love your book! I didn’t realize just how good simple bread done with little effort could taste, and impress. The Cloche sounds like a wonderful idea allowing the bread to moisturize itself.

  7. In the past month I have gone from having a long-held fear of any recipe that includes yeast to a confident (and excellent) bread baker. Going gluten-free???? Not gonna happen!

  8. That all looks beautiful and amazing. I would absolutely love to try it!

    I’m new to baking my own bread and I’m extremely intrigued by this technique. Thank you for sharing.

  9. Your books make me look like a genius and a master baker. I have loved being able to give my family memories (and smells) of fresh bread on a regular basis.

  10. I would consider it a very lucky day if I won this contest. I’m a fan of your books from the very beginning. Merry Christmas!

  11. I have tried an open iron pan but not one with a cover. I would love to try the cloche. I am planning to buy your new book for my sister for Christmas. I’m sure she will love it as much as I do.

  12. I am definitely getting your book. My first attempt at cooking was making a loaf of bread back in my apartment days. I still have the picture…flour was everywhere! My cooking skills have improved with the growing family. But my bread making skills are still dismal. Thanks so much!

  13. Just starting to experiment with making bread, a friend made a rye bread from the book and it was delicious. Can’t wait to try your recipes!

  14. There’s much drama in my kitchen when I spray water into the oven – I would love a cloche! I’ve had fantastic results from your recipes, looking forward to trying more from your new book – Thanks.

  15. I just purchased a copy of your new book. It arrived a couple days ago; yesterday I read over the basics and today I am giving it a try. I made the Master Recipe this morning and have been letting it rise. I have not had much opportunity in the past few years to make bread, but now that I am retired, bread-making is one of my goals. I tried a couple loaves in the past month, without much success. Can’t wait to get a loaf into the oven this afternoon. Your new book is quite inspiring without being intimidating. Thanks so much!

  16. I have your original volume and the “Healthy” book is on my Christmas list. I like the idea of a cloche…always thought of them for plants, not bread.

  17. Baking two small loves at this moment, from 1st batch I’ve made using 50% Gold Medal All Purpose, 25% wheat and 25% Emmer wheat. Just started a new batch of 50% all purpose and Emmer. can’t wait! Easy to make and smells wonderful coming from the oven. First batch I did in the wood fired Forno and missed the aroma.

  18. I love your recipes. Totally changed the way I bake bread! Wish my mother was still around so I could show her. She would be amazed!

  19. Been baking in cast iron. Would love to try a cloche. Make your Healthy bread every few days. Love the recipe.

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