MMP Living SuperStone Covered Baker with Specialty Bread Cloth,Ivory

If I'd rated it on just what it is, it'd get 5 stars - but I can't shake the feeling it's not QUITE right. Specifically, it's not QUITE big enough, either in length or in width. To be more specific, given my specific oven, typical baking temps, and average amount of oven spring, I can bake UP TO a 400g white-flour batard, but a 500g batard ends up maxing out both the length and width of the container. This leads to square edges and not the typical pointy ends, and a loaf that looks more vertical and less torpedo or "American football" shaped then I might like. Obviously my work around has been to scale my percentages to portion 400g loaves perfectly, which is fine around the house, but when it comes to giving away loaves to friends or family a 400g loaf can to a American audience feel a bit small.To a certain extent, the home baker is always constrained by his or her equipment, and you'll have to make trade offs no matter what you do, just know going in what you're getting, and you'll be fine. If you're baking 400g loaves or larger loaves with less oven-spring, this is a terrific device.

I have now had this covered baker for three months. It works beautifully. It consistently produces well-shaped loaves of bread with a thin crispy crust. I especially love Italian bread made in the baker and the Triple-Cheese Semolina Bread over at KAF.I did have an experience similar to reviewer "Crispy Crust", but it was the result of my actions not the stoneware. "Crispy Crust" stated he or she coated the baker with oil to season the stoneware, and it smoked and burned. Having done something similar, I know that was a result of the oil burning off and not the stoneware. The literature states the stoneware will eventually darken with age as it "naturally" seasons itself. After I had cooked several loaves of bread, I noticed some areas of the baker starting to develop dark areas. Even though I never had bread stick in the stoneware, I decided I would speed up the seasoning process and oil the entire baker and season it in the oven. My actions turned the stoneware baker very, very dark and imparted a burnt odor inside the baker.I thought I had ruined my stoneware baker. However, since I could not make it any worse, I decided to try a method I use with my pizza stone. I placed the stoneware baker in my oven with the bottom and lid side by side. I then turned on my oven's self-cleaning cycle. There was no thermal shock because the baker heated with the oven. Halfway though the cleaning cycle the stoneware baker started to smoke - heavily. It was releasing all that oil I had stupidly applied to try and season it. It was a little hazy in my kitchen for a while. 30 minutes later, the smoke started to lessen. By the end of the cleaning cycle, the stoneware baker was COMPLETELY clean. It looked brand new. No dark spots, No gummy areas where the oil had been to thick. Beautifully smooth. I had not ruined my stoneware after all.I have continued to use my baker since then but no longer worry about dark areas or trying to season it. I lightly grease and cornmeal dust the bottom half before placing my dough inside, and it never sticks. I learned my lesson.To clean the baker, I brush out the crumbs, and if needed, use a little clear water with a nylon pad scrub pad if something will not brush off (Like a cheese spot from making cheese bread). I follow the directions and NEVER use soap on the it. To make sure it dries thoroughly, I like to set it in the still warm oven to dry out, but that is just the way I am. The covered baker stays clean and continues to release my loaves beautifully.My mistake was thinking of seasoning the stoneware like cast iron, where the iron over time develops a nice silky non-stick surface as oil carbonizes. That does not apply to stoneware. If you oil the baker and try to season it in an oven, the oil will probably smoke. It is not the stoneware baker. It is the oil. As I learned, just don't try to hot oil season the baker. It is not needed. When getting ready to bake some bread, just use enough oil/grease in the bottom to hold the dusting of cornmeal, and it never smokes and will stay clean.As the instructions state, do not use soap. Only clear water and a brush. I ran mine through the self-cleaning cycle of my oven, but that is not mentioned anywhere by the manufacturer. I decided to try that process on my own. Before I started, I made sure the stoneware was 100% dry; I was worried a pocket of water would flash into steam and crack my baker. I also preheated my oven with the baker inside to 450 degrees F to avoid the chance of thermal shock. Then I started the cleaning cycle.Overall this stoneware baker is a nice size and seems to be the perfect thickness to create beautiful bread. I am happy with my purchase.

Just baked my first loaf in this long baker. It came out beautifully. Like some other owners, I bake using a no-knead recipe. This recipe calls for 3.25C of flour (yields a 2 pound loaf); it fit perfectly in the baker. I used parchment to line the baker, letting it (the parchment) hang over the sides so removing the loaf was painless and there was no clean up necessary. Preheated the oven - with the empty baker in it to 450. Added the dough and baked, covered for 30 minutes. Removed the lid and baked for an additional 8 minutes. The crust was perfect - nice and crisp and beautifully browned; the interior was moist and chewy. I would have given the baker 5 stars if it had been built with handles on the bottom half, making it a little easier to lift in and out of the oven.

I've got one of these over a year ago and bake sourdough bread in it at least once a week. I did season it before using and nothing sticks to it. This baker produces beautiful tall rectangular bread and everyone who'd tried it fell in love with it. I usually bake a loaf out of 2.5 lbs of dough and the bread comes out 3.5-4 inches tall in the middle part; sides are a bit tapered since the form I'm using for the final rise is shorter than this baker.I purchased 2 more of these this month - one for my daughter, who started making my bread too in a dutch oven, and one for my best friend, who also wants to bake bread. I seasoned baker for my daughter and baked a loaf in it at her place yesterday. Same great result! And, as a bonus, this newer model has a better handle than my older one.I did see a review complaining of chemical smell and was hesitant to buy it again, but this SuperStone was fine - no foul smells, no smokes, just great bread. For the reviewer who had issues with smells - maybe, it was not the baker but the bad/rancid/low iodine oil? Maybe, the temperature was too high? Just a guess.I would recommend this baker to anyone. In fact, I do recommend it to everyone I know is interested in bread making. Just season it right and do not ever use soap when washing (I had not washed mine at all since the first rinse before seasoning, I just brush off the flour residue). General rule - follow the same procedure as for the cast iron. Rinse with water, let completely dry (warm oven is helpful), use good fresh oil (I used grapeseed oil, some sources recommend flax oil, any food grade high iodine oil would do) on the interior and heat it upside down in the oven at about 450 F for 30-45 minutes. I don't remember how I seasoned my first one, but that's what I did with the one for my daughter and it worked fine.

Intanto come sempre la spedizione è arrivata più che puntuale, avevo il terrore che arrivasse rotto, ma invece sono rimasta meravigliata dal suo imballaggio, oltre la cloche ho ordinato anche la cloche dallo stesso venditore, mi è arrivato un pacco megagalattico, dentro il quale c'erano altre due scatole, in ciascuna di loro un'altra scatola...poi altra ancora...tutto sigillato da polistirolo e altro...insomma mi pareva di aprire una matriosca, questo tipo di imballaggio su prodotti così delicati è decisamente il migliore! I prodotti sono davvero belli, il materiale idem, al tatto sembra di toccare una pietra refrattaria, è spessa e grande, inoltre vi è un panno per poter conservare il pane dopo la sua cottura!! non l'ho ancora provata, ma sono certa che non resterò delusa. Consiglio vivamente questo acquisto non solo per l'ottimo prodotto ma anche per il tipo di imballaggio con cui viene venduto!

Mia moglie utilizza la pasta madre. Non sempre però la riuscita del pane dopo cottura era di suo gradimento.Ora utilizza questo fornetto e dice che è fantastico.Di solito prepara l'impasto al venerdì sera e lo lascia lievitare tutta la notte nel fornetto, in frigorifero. La mattina del sabato lo cuoce e il pane del sabato sera è fantastico.Unica accortezza: tirando fuori dal frigo il fornetto aspetta un paio d'ore prima di metterlo nel forno, per evitare di romperlo con lo shock termico.Ha un altro fornetto simile, ma rotondo e poroso solo all'interno e dice che questo è decisamente meglio.

Da quello che ho letto sembrava un prodotto fantastico ma alla fine mi ha deluso il pane si ammoscia in cottura e la parte inferiore del pane rimane piena di piccoli buchi ( no si forma la crosta ) se metti l'olio come antiaderente ti imposta la casa di olio.

Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis. Gerade bei den Broten die abgedeckt in den kalten Ofen kamen hatte ich meine Schwierigkeiten. Ich habe es immer mit Alufolie abgedeckt aber die Kruste blieb immer an der Folie kleben. Die Kruste ist schön knackig und das Brot geht sehr gut auf. Nur ich mag die Brotform ungern anfassen, das ist aber nur eine Phobie von mir.

Der Deckel passt nicht wirklich richtig auf das Unterteil, es ist ein "Gefummel", bis man diesen korrekt aufgesetzt hat. Der Brottopf sieht so aus wie auf dem Bild, nur leider wird durch den Namen des Backtopfes und durch den Verkäufer nicht deutlich, dass es sich um China Ware handelt, dies ist fett aufgedruckt auf dem Boden. Ich hatte mich schon gewundert, warum das Teil so günstig ist. Es ist nirgends deklariert, was in dem Material enthalten ist und somit geht es zurück. Wenn ich gewusst hätte, dass es Ware aus China ist, hätte ich erst gar nicht bestellt.