Also, new icon.

itastelikelove has apparently been leveling up in beer lately, and in one of those blips of family synchronicity, I've been cashing in some Baker job points. The big news lately is this thing:



This trick comes from my latest baking crush over at Wild Yeast, who will helpfully explain the whole concept for the curious. And yes, it is in fact a big fat clay flowerpot. (And yes, I am paranoid and tested it for lead.)

A pot that looks like the ones in her article would be probably be better, but this one's working fine. It's FINALLY solved the mystery of how to get that perfect crust; at long last, I'm getting that serious golden shit, along with huge oven spring and razor-sharp grigne just like I routinely sliced myself up on over at Rustica. (And that's just with my newly revitalized sourdough; I haven't even tried any yeasted bread in it yet.)

'Course, it puts a bit of a crimp on the shapes of loaf I can make. Even a bâtard is pushing it a bit (yesterday's attempt at stuffing two bâtards in there was downright comedic), so I'd better learn to love the boule. Anyway, given how well this is working, I'm thinking the next step is to follow the rest of her advice and rustle up a junky pan, some chunks of lava rock, and a long-spouted watering can. I'd been down on steam for the longest time because Reinhart's techniques turned out to useless, but now I'm a believer.