Carla found this odd throwback of a baking dish for me only yesterday at a garage sale. Wonderful as she is, Carla had the seller hold the baking dish for her while she ran back to the house to get the $2 asking price. I've never seen a glass baker like this before, which was made by Corning Glass in the '70's for Pyrex. I've seen a metal version, that opens on hinges like an old fashioned lunch box, but this was a real find.
Although it was in the box, the directions were missing. But thanks to the power of the internet, I easily found someone who spent the better part of an afternoon transcribing the
complete direction and recipe book. The directions are very simple - make your bread, let it rise, and then stuff it in the greased tube for the second rising. The dough will balloon out and fill the tubular cavity. It's sort of like a perfectly circular baguette. Baguettes, if you've ever tried them, are pretty difficult to get right without a baguette pan. Due to their high-water content, which produces all the steam for the bread's honeycombed and chewy interior cavities, baguettes need a bread pan that nestles them in a semi-circle. Otherwise they just flatten out in the pan like focaccia.
This baker just takes the concept one step further, closing the baguette
pan's semi circle into a perfect, hollow glass column. And it still
works like a dream! The bread was perfectly browned and crisp, thanks
to the butter from the greasing of the tube. The inside was still moist
and chewy, perfect for a soft, gooey cheese. The only downside is that
you do need to handle this baker like, well, glass. One careless drop
or sharp bump and you'll be scouring ebay for another.
3 comments :
Just picked one up at a thrift store ! I am so excited to try it out on my sourdough =)
Thank you for posting the recipe for. I just picked a set of these at the Flea Mkt today, but no recipes.
Thank you for posting the directions and recipes. Very helpful.
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