Challenger Bread Pan VS Dutch Oven

In this video, I put the Challenger Bread Pan to the test against my trusty Dutch Oven, baking the same sourdough loaf in the two different pans back-to-back. Watch to the end of the video to see how the loaves turn out and to see some differences you have to consider when baking with each pan. #challengerbreadpan #dutchoven

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:59 - Baking in the Lodge Dutch Oven
03:30 - Baking in the Challenger Bread Pan
05:30 - Comparing the Bread : Dutch Oven vs. Challenger Bread Pan

Check out each pan here:

✏️ The recipe that I used for each loaf:
Bread Flour................................................360g
Whole Wheat Flour....................................60g
Whole Grain Rye Flour...............................30g
Water.........................................................300g
Sourdough Starter (100% hydration)......100g
Salt.............................................................10g

Final dough weight comes out to 860g per loaf. When I made each loaf for this video I scaled them out to be 845g each, so I must have lost a little mass along the way through mixing and shaping. Stuff happens!

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Affiliate Disclosure:
Grant Bakes is a participant in affiliate advertising programs which allow me to earn fees by linking to products on various websites. This does not affect the cost of a product for you, and I only recommend products that I believe will help you make better bread, sourdough, and pizza at home. The products I link to are usually the same products I own or similar versions (or sometimes products I really wish I did own because they're way better than the thing I actually bought.)

[GrantBakes]

Public Service Announcement: I did clean my Lodge Dutch Oven post this video. Thanks for your concern 😂

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[KevinPeffley]

One thing I would recommend is to spray your parchment paper with water before you place your bread dough on it. Then immediately use the parchment paper as a sling to transfer your dough into your Dutch oven or challenger. The wet parchment paper will produce more steam while your bread is being baked. This may also prevent the bottom of your bread from burning. I have never had a loaf burn.

[walkingjudy]

Drop you temperature to 450 from 500. Your crust is burning too much on both the top and bottom. You might enjoy a more moist crumb as well.

[northdevonwildlifewithandy]

Great that you just cut to the test without 5 mins of waffle. Like it.

[GrantBakes]

What do you bake your bread in - a dutch oven? The Challenger? Something else? Let me know in the comments!

[michaeld]

Just found your vids which I will review but I like this one, very informative and not overly wordy and "cute" with obnoxious production values. Good vid. I bake two loaves per week; one in a Le Creuset and one in a Staub Dutch oven. I like them and get good results. I use the parchment paper idea for the same reason you mentioned but I trim the paper into rounds with 'wings' using a plate for a pattern to allow safely placing loaves into the preheated pots. A suggestion if I may about the 'burnt' bottoms; I bought a baking steel for making home made pizza a while back and I leave it in the oven on the bottom shelf (first level) all the time. This seems to even out the heat and prevents the bottom from getting too dark on my loaves. BTW, very nice oven spring.

[susanbeal]

Thanks for the video and also a thank you for all who left comments. I picked up some good ideas re burning on bottom. I bake my sour dough in antique cast iron dutch oven..no enamel. I have both a round and oval one. My loaves turn out the same color as the challenger and wondering it is because of the” purity” of the cast iron. My only problem is slight burning on the bottom. I am going to try spraying parchment … and/or rice flour on bottom to prevent. I can’t raise the rack as 1938 wedge wood oven.

[maureenperez]

This is an excellent video. It might also be a good idea to tell viewers the price of the Challenger Pan while showing it. It looks and bakes beautifully and I like the shallow base. It's quite expensive. It's over 200 DOLLARS. If I was a professional, showing off my bread skills, it might be worth the price, but I cook a few loaves per week, so the stone brick works well enough for a Batard...which is my preferred shape because it is easier for me to shape one. Boules are a little more difficult for me.

I am fortunate enough to have an oven with a steam function which I didn't even know it had it when I bought it. I wasn't baking bread yet, but I am using that function now for brick baking.

What does amaze me during this time of sourdough baking, is that the Cast Iron Lodge Company didn't come up with this pan themselves. It is "in their Wheelhouse", I would think. A Sourdough baker did design it, and he did an awesome job.

I love my two Dutch ovens, so will stick with those. It was great to see that a Batard shape can fit into a dutch oven. I never dared to try it. I love the pot method so will try a Batard shape in it for the next bake. Thank you so much for this video.

[hakuji]

Challenger has a video where the guy put 2 ice cubes on the hot cast iron to create more steam to trap. Also they show that after you take the lid off, if you invert it and put the base plate on top with the bread it really helps to mitigate the excessively dark crust. Was just curious if you have tried doing either and if you noticed any difference doing so.

[garykramer]

I bake with a Lodge combo cooker, you have the advantage of the low sides. I can fit two of them in my oven at once and they're only $40.

[breadmd]

Grant, Benito from TFL here. You could consider heating your dutch oven and your challenger bread pans in the oven with the lids off on the rack next to the bases. That way when you’re ready to place the dough into the base, you just take the base out and the cover stays in the oven retaining maximum heat. When ready, put the base with dough in it onto your stovetop, take the lid out of the oven and place onto the base.

[AnnaTan]

Thank you for doing such a clear & objective comparison. From your video, I am sold on it and will get one

[StagArmslower]

I don't bake in that high temp, I'm heating my Duch oven to 500 deg load the dough in and reduce temp to 480 deg and after removing the lid I drop it to 460 deg and bake for up to 25 minutes. In the same time I put the cookie sheet under the DO to prevent burning; bottom is not even black. Biggest difference is if I forget to spray the dough with water and oven spring is a little less, Thanks for this comparison.

[medilink]

OK Grant. First of all, use the top of the Challenger to put on the bottom to prevent burning the bottom of the loaf in step two of oven baking.. Next try to put a few ice cubes in the first oven step to encourage oven spring. Finally, do not score and dust the Challenger loaf in the pan. All that should be done before transfer...which can still be done on parchment paper. Good luck implementing these improvements.

[davidlatif]

I have baked enough Sourdough Bread to say I’m very happy with my $60.00 Dutch Oven. I don’t see any reason to spend $200.00 plus dollars on the challenger. Yes the Challenger may have a couple designs for easier access but not $150.00 more. Great video… I was actually expecting a significant difference between loaves using the Challenger.

[Romanog]

If you use a baking stone in the rack below the Dutch oven it will even out the heat. You also won’t over bake the bottom of the bread. If you spray the top of the bread with a spray bottle of water prior to baking it will create more heat and give a nice crust.

Thank you for the I may purchase one of these now

[faytong]

No problems with burning if you use parchment paper AND a peel! ( I use the bottom part of a tart pan and just slide the dough in! ) I haven’t burned yet!

[sylviacarlson]

When baking the bread in a Dutch oven, I line it with Aluminum foil and then I put it on an inverted cookie sheet in the oven. It made a big difference.

[glendagai]

Just beautiful bread … learning so much from you!

[dianedoster]

I use an oval shaped Dutch oven and love it! Great video...thanks!