Sassafras La Cloche Brick Oven

 (70 customer reviews)

I had wanted one of these baking dishes ever since I read about them in Carol Field's book THE ITALIAN BAKER. My wife and I received one as a wedding present and I have now baked bread in it multiple times. It does indeed make a difference in the texture of the crust. After years of experimenting I had never been able to achieve that especially crisp crust that you get from a bakery, until now. Another plus is that the dough's final rise inside the covered dish obviates the need for plastic wrap. I lately have purchased the rectangular "baguette" version of La Cloche at an outlet store, and have found it to be a more practical shape for day to day baking. The original bell-shaped La Cloche is great, however, for making large, round hearth loaves or a cluster or dinner rolls.

I love to bake. I really love to bake bread. My specialty is sourdough. So now I have 3 strikes against me, that is, until I found La Cloche.

Although it can be used to cook meats, I personally only use it for bread. La Cloche turns your regular oven into a brick oven, and the quality of your bread will amaze you. It browns beautifully, has a crispy, chewy crust that seems to carmelize the sugars in the crust differently. There is no need to spray water or create steam in the oven, because the steam is created inside La Cloche by the bread itself. So actually bread making is more simple and safe because you are not spraying water into a 500 degree oven.

There are 2 shapes, a french bread style and round oven hearth style. I have both and pop them into the oven at the same time, so I am baking 2 loaves of bread at once, which is a little more economical.

Truly, I wish I had this from the beginning of my baking attempts. If you are a baker or...Read more

I used La Cloche to make bread with, specifically San Francisco Sourdough, with SPECTACULAR results. The crust was crisp but chewey, and I could not imagine baking another loaf without it. But after I used it the first time, the bottom developed a crack. After a second use, the crack became so large that I will not use it again for fear it will break during cooking.

I called Sassafras Enterprises (800.537.4941), and for $8.00 to cover shipping/handling they are sending out a replacement bottom. Their customer service was outstanding, and I feel they build a quality product. I also purchased the rectangular version of La Cloche, and I have not had an issue. Perhaps our La Cloche was damaged during shipping. I would have rated it 5 stars otherwise.