Deli&Co. Baking Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Bread Pan Multicooker | Bake sourdough bread, grill steaks and cook stews | Seasoned with canola oil with a smooth surface finish

I was thinking of going to the challenger - which I’m sure is better finished, but I don’t really need a bread oven to be perfect. The handles on this one work fine. Good quality, heavy, bakes great bread and a good price.

Bought this primarily for bread baking and it excels! Lightly seasoned, accepted additional seasoning easily. No excessive cleaning effort needed. Good casting quality, no slag or sharp edges. You can use the domed portion as a base for soups, stews, casserole’s and use the flat for a lid if you wanted. That’s a bonus feature. We just use it as a bread oven. It’s perfect size for a 4-cups flour round loaf. Heats up quickly, holds heat in the dome. Watch your oven temperature, the flat base will scorch the loaf bottom if the oven is too hot. Holds heat very well. Compares favorably to the slightly larger more expensive bread oven, just a wee bit smaller, not as heavy weight. If you use a generous sized piece of parchment, it improves the seal between base and dome. Lucky to have bought it when available, shipped quickly, no complaints, great cooking utensil that should last through decades of use.

Love this pot for making homemade sourdough. Be aware, it is very heavy, but a great way to bake

This Deli & Co. baking "cloche" works perfectly. The advantages are that it is larger and easier to use than the typical cast iron dutch oven (which I have used for years to bake boules). I looked at the Challenger competitor and was frankly put off by the price. A simple cast iron device should not cost $300. I've used the Deli & Co pot for a dozen loaves, and it is excellent in every respect. Some have mentioned that the Deli & Co product lacks the handles on the sides, and this is correct, but in practice I had NO difficulty lifting the dome off from or onto the bottom. Like the Challenger, the pot sits flat and could easily be used as a dutch oven, and the bottom as a "skillet" of sorts. The Deli & Co and the Challenger are almost identical in volume, and for practical purposes there is no difference in size. These bakers shine in baking boules and batards, if you are looking to bake baguettes, this device is not needed. I feel that I've saved $100 in cost, and gotten a fully equivalent product. Fit and finish are excellent. I believe the Deli & Co product is made in Brazil, and that's okay with me. I normally look for US-made stuff, but will never pay extra for it.

I love this for baking bread. But, that said, it is a bit heavy! And holding a 450 deg F heavy lid is something that needs to be done VERY carefully. On the very first use, the pre-seasoning caused the smoke-alarms in the kitchen to go off, so maybe think about doing this outside in a gas grill just to get the pre-seasoning burnt off. A one-time problem.

I took up sourdough bread baking earlier this year and did pretty well with my Calphalon Dutch oven. But it's round and I've really developed an affinity for batard vs boule so I started looking for an oval Dutch oven. I guess the Challenger pan is the gold standard but it's very expensive. When I saw this one, it seemed to be everything I wanted. The reviewer Ann's picture of hers hanging on the wall sold me. I have limited storage space and this seemed like an ideal solution.I have baked one loaf so far and it came out great. I noticed the bottom didn't 'burn' as much as usual so that's a plus. Plenty of room for my 500g batard, I will try larger loaves soon. The seasoning it came with held up fine but I do plan to do a few more passes and see how that holds up. While I can use this as an actual Dutch oven, I rarely cook that big, but it's great to know it's here if I need it.This is a bit pricey but it's an investment and certainly less than the prices I saw for Challenger. All in all I think this is the best value for the most function I found and I'm looking forward to many years of producing great bread. Thanks again to 'Ann' for her thoughtful review and pictures.

Can one actually say one is in love with a pot? I can! To all bread bakers out there, this is a game changer! My sourdough went from mediocre to pretty good if I may say so. It made the difference!The design is amazing. I know there’s a famous other Dutch oven put there, that everyone loves, but hates the price. I won’t denigrate about the other, as I even wanted one, until I found this one! Not only is the price of this much more affordable, the finish and quality is great AND… because of the way they designed the handles I am able to hang the pot in my pantry! Also, I now have a griddle and a wonderful cast iron deep pot with a lid! It’s a very versatile design!I don’t have a picture of it covered, but you can see the bottom part in the oven of the loaf I also posted a picture of. I am also attaching a picture of how I hang it in my pantry (sorry if it looks messy to you… I do cook quite a bit and use may ingredients to make a variety of foods) Think about the design of “the other” bread Dutch oven out there… there’s no way to comfortably put it away! The design on this one is masterful! Easy to open it and pull out the top once it’s in the iven and easy to store!Bottom line, you won’t be sorry if you buy this Ditch Oven. It’s magnificent!