(Dome + Base)
from the Netherton Foundry in Shropshire, England
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Spun Iron Bread Cloche — Netherton Foundry
$149.00
In stock
Spun Iron Bread Cloche
By simulating a hearth oven in your kitchen, the cloche style of bread baker helped usher in an era of quality artisanal bread baking at home. We’ve been using a round ceramic cloche in our kitchen for over 20 years and the oblong style for nearly as long. We couldn’t live without them.
Much lighter than cast iron, but with similar baking properties, you can bring Old World charm into your kitchen with this classic cloche style baker handmade in England. It will last for generations.
- Weighs just 4 lbs 5 oz (1/2 lb lighter than our clay cloche).
- Inside baking area: 11 1/2″ x 6 1/4″ high.
- Outside dimensions (for determining fit in oven): 12 3/8″w x 7 3/8″.
- Oven safe to baking temperatures of about 570º.
- Set includes both dome top and base.
Comes pre-seasoned and ready to use straight from the box. As with cast iron bakeware, spun iron also requires occasional seasoning. Simple re-seasoning instructions are included with the cloche. For best results use flax oil.
Baking bread in a covered vessel is a crucial for getting those sought-after artisanal results, especially with a home oven where it’s difficult to inject steam early in the baking process. Early steam is important for getting good oven spring and for creating that crisp golden-brown crust that we all love. The moist dough within the cloche creates the steam needed to produce both the crackly crust and a more open crumb.
Instagram’s @breadstalker_ says it best:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4s3FR_pGOn/?igshid=1milmcglwccqv
Wondering what “spun iron” is? Check out this 1 minute video…
Pro tips from British sourdough baking instructor and author Vanessa Kimbell –
Spun Iron Bread Cloche — Netherton Foundry
Add a review
KatTheBaker (verified owner) –
I’m still learning how to really get the most out of this beautiful item, but so far, so good. It’s easy to pre-heat and easy to get the dough in and out of (keep your gloves on so you don’t inadvertently touch the hot iron!) and my first results were solid while not being amazing just yet – I haven’t yet achieved the really crackly crust I’m after. But seeing what others have managed I’m confident I’ll get there soon and in the meantime, what a beautiful addition to the kitchen!
Susan –
I got this for Christmas and I absolutely Love ❤️ it. It has been working great for making sourdough. I oiled it with grape oil before using it. I feel it has really improved my crust on my bread. It is easy to add the bread onto when the clotche is hot out of the oven. I use parchment paper under my bread when I bake it.
Kate Warden (verified owner) –
I love this! I make sourdough bread almost every day and this is so much better than a clay baker or dutch oven. The loaves turn out golden brown and beautiful
J –
This is an absolute treat to use. I have several enameled cast iron dutch ovens that I used to use that worked wonderfully. The downside was that they were so heavy and after removing from the oven retained heat so well—almost too well. I was always afraid someone might accidentally try to pick up or touch the still hot lid or pot that remained burning hot for hours. The Netherton cloche is lighter than a cast iron or even stoneware cloche and unlike a stone ware cloche it will not break. Very pleased with this cloche and think it was worth every penny and the wait. Now, even my teenager can make bread and I won’t worry about anyone trying to manage a 400+ degree 15 pound pot.
Stephanie (verified owner) –
What a treat this thing is! I got it because my oven does not, will not, no matter how many steam pan work arounds I’ve tried, keep any steam. So my bread is basically limited to covered containers. I did a Dutch oven for a while, but mine is a little small for making oval shaped loaves, and too deep to score my bread well. I treated myself to this because it’s large enough to do round and oval loaves and I absolutely love it. It’s soooo much lighter than a cast iron dutch oven, durable, easy to handle, saves you dropping dough into a deep dutch oven, makes scoring easier…it’s just great. If you bake bread often this is absolutely worth it.
Now that I look at the pic I uploaded on a screen bigger than my phone, I see they’re a bit blurry, but you get the idea. Bread was naturally leavened, 100% fresh ground wheat flours, unsifted.
Linda L Faulconer (verified owner) –
This spun iron cloche is certainly worth its price to me! While my bread bakes just as well in my 7 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven, this cloche makes it so much easier to bake this bread. Allow me to list how this cloche has benefited my bread making:
* The cloche is so much lighter and easier to handle than the Dutch oven.
* Getting the dough in and the bread out is so much easier than reaching down into a hot pot.
* My recipe calls for allowing the dough to rise for a period inside the baking vessel, then scoring the bread. I could never score properly inside that pot as movement was restricted by the sides of the pot. Not so with this cloche. I can follow through with my cut unrestricted.
What I hope will be helpful tips:
* Although the cloche comes pre-seasoned, I followed the instructions to re-season, and did so twice. It was smelly business,just as when seasoning cast iron. Fearing the stink would taint my bread, I allowed the cloche to cool, then left it in a very hot oven for a couple of hours to burn off any remaining odor. It worked.
* Having no handles on the tray, I was worried about burning myself on the oven rack trying to remove the cloche from the oven. But I used Oven Gloves, sold here at Breadtopia and elsewhere. It was quite easy to maneuver the cloche wearing the gloves.
The 11″ loaf pictured was baked from 2.85 pounds of dough, so it will accommodate a large loaf.
Matthew Percival –
This is exactly what I was looking for. Really love it! If anyone is on the fence wondering if it has the same thermal properties as a Dutch oven, I’ve attached a photo of two loaves from the same batch. The one on the left came from a Lodge cast iron Dutch oven, on the right from the spun iron cloche. This really is the best of both worlds. Cast iron results but with better control. The flat base is so much easier to work with. As is the lighter weight lid with an easy grip for uncovering during the bake cycle.
Mo (verified owner) –
I have tried steaming my bread with the dutch oven method as well as using a large stainless steel bowl. I prefer the stainless steel bowl over the dutch oven for several reasons; chiefly because of the lighter weight and also the dutch ovens always seem to burn the bottom of my loaves. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the stainless steel.
I always thought the best solution would be a mid-weight metal bowl that would be heavier than stainless steel and not as heavy as cast iron.
This cloche is pretty much what I dreamed of. If I had one wish for improvement it would be to make it oblong, not round.
I am super happy with the quality of the bread I am making. I’ll try to upload some photos.
Linda (verified owner) –
I was still mourning the loss of my beautiful EH red cloche (I broke it), when I learned of this new addition to the Breadtopia store. I immediately ordered the Spun Iron Bread Cloche, and it arrived a few days later. It is light, strong and attractive – and, as my husband pointed out, not breakable. I decided to try Vanessa Kimbell’s recipe for sourdough bread, though as I like rye I used 100g of my (rye) sauerteig instead of Vanessa’s recommended (white flour) leaven. The loaf and crust look beautiful! I look forward to slicing that loaf once it cools. The only (minor) negative to this cloche compared to the EH cloche is it doesn’t have handles, which would have made it a little easier to manage in the oven. That said, I love this cloche! Kudos to the Netherton Foundry of Shropshire, England, and to Breadtopia for bringing it to us.