Lekue Silicone Bread Maker - Durable Brown Bread Baking Pan for Homemade Artisan Loaves | Perfect for Kitchen, Baking Enthusiasts & Gift Giving

I have been baking sourdough bread for several years, in cast iron dutch ovens with good results most of the time. I am getting older and my arm strength is not what it was, and it was only a matter time before I dropped a dutch oven and ruined either the oven door or my floor, not to mention myself. I decided to give this product a try, and I will never go back. I have bought three, which may seem a bit extravagant, but my sourdough recipe (not in the instruction book) will make three Lekue loaves, plus I can bake them all at the same time. They weigh practically nothing and I no longer fear having an accident with heavy iron dutch ovens. I mix and do the first rise in a bowl over night, then put the shaped loaves in the Lekue bowls for the final rise and baking. I am usually pretty suspicious of gadgets, but these things are great.I use this all the time to make sourdough bread. If you don’t bake bread regularly this might not be easy to use right away, but it was for me. Now I can weigh, mix, proof, stretch, proof and bake all in one. Seriously, so easy. The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t close well enough for proofing. I have to cover it with plastic wrap and a towel to keep air out so the bread doesn’t get dry spots. Also, it is not the easiest to clean. The first time you bake with it, it smells chemically but the bread didn’t taste like the smell. I used it for cinnamon raisin sourdough and the cinnamon smell stayed with the bowl. I will need another one to separate savory and sweet flavors. But I can whip up a quick loaf in this easily. It has made my little bread baking for friends and family much easier.I tried sourdough bread during the covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021... the results were never what i was looking for... misshaped loaves, loaves that flattened out, etc. I ultimately reverted to the trusty lodge Dutch oven for no knead bread, but secretly wanted to perfect a sourdough loaf (having grown up in the SF Bay Area and having access to great sourdough bread in the grocery. So, I happen to see a YouTube video with the Lekue bread maker and I popped over to Amazon to check it out... not too pricey, I guess I'll give it a try. While I was in the process of making a new started, I tried a couple of yeast loaves, and was disappointed in the results. (In my impatience, I did not let it rise long enough).Then, my starter came alive and was bubbling furiously, so I decided to give a 500 gram loaf a try (150 grams starter, 250 grams water, 25 grams olive oil - all mixed together first, then 500 grams of bread flour and 10 grams of salt - all mixed in the Lekue (which I had placed in a larger bowl for rigidity) and started the bulk rise. A couple of pull and turns in the Lekue, and slight forming of a ball, then the final rise, close the Lekue, place on a quarter sheet pan and into a 400 degree over for 40 minutes, then remove from Lekue and 20 minutes at 400 for final browning.An untouched photo is attached. The flavor was remarkable. This device makes me look like the baker I aspire to be!Lekue Bread baker/ recipe to amazonThis is a really fine product. I’m 84 years old and was having difficulty handling the weight of the Dutch oven that I used in making bread, particularly when it was 400 degrees, so I thought I would give the Lekue a try. Admittedly the booklet’s recipes aren’t too helpful. What I now use it for is making whole wheat Irish soda bread and it does a great job. My recipe is simple, and I mix it right in the cooker, so I don’t have any dirty bowls to wash. For what it is worth here is the recipe: Tools needed:1 teaspoon measure, 1 tablespoon measure, 2 cup mixing cup for the flour, bran, and buttermilk and an optional egg-use the cup for measuring the flour and bran first, plastic scraper for mixing, a fork for whipping the egg, and the Lekue cooker. Turn on your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 to 205 Celsius, so it has time to heat. Dry ingredients (put the ingredients directly into the Lekue cooker): 2 ½ cups of whole wheat flour 1 cup of bran--½ cup of wheat or oat bran and ½ cup of ground flax or chia seeds or a mix of the two. Remember to use your mixing cup for measuring the flour and bran before you use it for the wet ingredients. 1 teaspoon of salt ¾ teaspoon of baking soda-in Ireland it’s called bread soda-tip from the Irish housewives; baking soda and baking powder tend to form small clumps which will ruin your day if you bite into a lump at breakfast, so put the baking soda and baking powder it in the palm of your hand and press it with the back of a spoon to break up any clumps- then dump it in the Lekue baker2 teaspoons of baking powder (why I don’t know, but it works, i.e. the bread rises) Mix the dry ingredients well with your plastic or silicon scraper/spoon. Make certain they are very well blended.Wet ingredients:Crack one egg into your 2 cup measuring cup and whisk with a fork. I’m not certain if an egg is necessary, but I think it makes the bread hold together betterAdd 8 to 12 ounces of buttermilk start out with 8 ounces (you can use dried buttermilk--one brand is Soco Cultured Buttermilk--which is ok, and if you use dried buttermilk mix it with the dry ingredients, but I think liquid makes a somewhat better bread). Start out with 8 ounces of buttermilk or water if you used dried buttermilk and mix it with the egg.Using your tablespoon add 2 tablespoon of cooking oil to your buttermilk and egg mix and stir it up. Using the same tablespoon you used for the oil add 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey—by using the same tablespoon you used for oil with no cleaning the honey will roll right out with no sticking and no mess. ProcedureMix all the liquids well, make a hole in the center of your dry ingredients and pour the liquids in. Here I depart from the Irish ladies. They mix with their hands, and I have done so, but it is a very wet dough and your hands will soon be covered, so now I just mix with the spoon. You will undoubtedly need more liquid to get it all mixed together, so just keep adding liquid and stirring until you don’t have any more dry ingredients to mix. Shape the mix into a loaf shape crosswise in the Lekue baker. Cut or poke a line down the center of the loaf, so the bread can expand. I just use the fork I used to beat the egg. Irish ladies use a knife to cut a quite deep cross in the bread to let the Fairies out, or to protect the bread against the Devil, or maybe to just make certain the bread is cooked through. Close the top of the Lekue cooker and put the bread in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, then open the top of the Lekue and cook for another 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for an hour or so. Use a rack, so air can circulate below. No rack--tip from the Irish ladies—two upside down forks work as well as a rack. Tip from me—I cool it on a turned off burner on the stove—works fine.This is a very good bread. 100% whole grain with added fiber and minimal cleanup. I only wash the Lekue cooker after, give or take, a dozen loaves. Since I am both the baker and the dishwashing machine clean up is important, and the cooker does a great job of being both the mixing bowl and cooking the bread.Wer keine Lust hat lange zu lesen, der Kniff steht weiter unten separat. Wie es dazu kam und wieso ich mich für diese Form entschieden hab, steht im längeren Abschnitt.Ich habe mir die Form für Teige geholt, die gerne mal auseinander laufen. Ich hatte immer das Problem, das diese Teige zu weit auseinander liefen, in der "klassischen" rund gewirkten Form. Die Brotscheiben waren aufgrund dessen so flach, das man sie nicht anständig belegen konnte. Außerdem wollte ich keine Form aus Metall o.Ä. , da diese immer eingefettet werden müssen, damit nichts haften bleibt. Mein erster Versuch mit dieser Form, hat bis zum Backen gut funktioniert. Der Teig ging direkt in der Form auf, sodass ein lästiges umstoßen des Teiges nicht nötig war. Als ich jedoch das Brot (welches ich bereits häufiger gebacken hatte) nach der im Rezept angegebenen Zeit von 30 Minuten aus dem Ofen holen wollte, zeigte mir der "Klopftest" das das Brot noch nicht fertig war. Dies stimmte jedoch nur teilweise, da der Boden durch die Silikonform angefangen hatte zu "schwitzen". Die Feuchtigkeit am Boden konnte nicht verdampfen, deswegen war der Boden noch weich. Ich habe das Brot daraufhin aus der Form genommen und nochmals 10 Minuten gebacken, es war perfekt! Eine schöne Form, welche letztlich perfekt belegbare Scheiben lieferte. Als ich die Form mit dem selben Rezept noch einmal verwendet hab, habe ich nach 20 Minuten das Brot aus der Form genommen und normal auf dem Ofenblech für die letzten 10 Minuten Backen lassen. Siehe da: das Brot ist genau wie es sein sollte und ich bin mehr als zufrieden!Um es abzukürzen: Der Kniff besteht darin, ca. 10 Minuten vor Ende des Backvorgangs, das Brot aus der Form zu nehmen. Für den Rest der Zeit, einfach auf dem Backpapier weiter backen lassen, damit der Boden schön kross wird.Verarbeitung: 5/5 Robustes, wertig wirkendes Silikon, ohne unangenehme Gerüche.Funktion: 4/5 Macht was es soll, gibt dem Brot eine schöne Form und ist wirklich simpel zu "bedienen". Das Brot lässt sich leicht entnehmen und muss nicht herausgeklopft oder "herausgeschnitten" werden (wer kennt es nicht, mit dem Messer am Rand entlang fahren zu müssen, weil das Brot nicht so will wie der Hobbybäcker :P) Einziger kleiner Kritikpunkt: Das das Brot herausgenommen werden muss, damit der Boden kross wird. Ist ein bisschen aufwändiger, als bei einer Form aus Metall. (Mich persönlich stört es nicht, aber ich Bewerte aus dem Blickwinkel der meisten Anwender, welche ich so einschätze)Reinigung: 4/5 Einfacher geht es kaum. Da die Form aus Silikon besteht, kann sie ganz einfach mit Leitungswasser gereinigt werden, keinaufwändiges schrubben nötig. Um ganz kritisch zu sein, das Abtrocknen ist ein wenig schwieriger, da sich die Form aufgrund der weichen Konsistenz nicht richtig festhalten lässt. Eine starre Form ist hier leichter zu trocknen. Insgesamt bleibt die Zeit zum reinigen jedoch deutlich unter einer Kastenform, welche mit Fett o.Ä. eingerieben werden muss und später beim abwaschen geschrubbt werden muss.Preis/Leistung: 5/5 Wie ich finde völlig angemessen für ein derart haltbares und wertiges Produkt.Fazit: Ich kann das Produkt uneingeschränkt empfehlen! Wer eine leicht zu reinigende Brotbackform sucht, welche nicht umständlich eingefettet werden muss, ist hier an der richtigen Stelle!If you bake bread at home by mixer or by hand you MUST get one. Brilliant. I tip from mixer in, close the pouch, and allow to rise in oven with a pot of hot water next to it. When it rises first time I take it out and gently massage the sides all round. Back to the oven for second rise. Then I take it out, turn on the oven to 200C and since it is sufficiently insulating it does not suffer from cold shock. After about 30 minutes I open the pouch and put it back in the oven. This helps to evenly brown the surface. Then I give it about 15 more minutes. No need to cover with cloths to stop crust hardening... Just close pouch again and put oven mittens on both ends if you want. When cooled sufficiently it's all done. No washing... The bread looks lovely and even and pouch does not need any cleaning. In 15 years of bread baking I reccomend this very strongly.Esperimento riuscito alla perfezione con la mia ricetta del pane:500 gr. farina di semola di grano duro300 ml. acqua1 gr. lievito di birra9 gr. di sale1 cucchiaino di miele50 ml di olio evoImpastato nella planetaria, riposto nel contenitore Lékué con 24 ore di lievitazione.Infornato con linguetta chiusa a 220° per 40 min. in mod. statica e 10 min. con linguetta aperta in mod. ventilata.Ciao a tutti,ho comprato questa Panera un po' scettico per provare a fare il pane qualche volta ma poi non ho più smesso...Sembra strano che dipenda solo da questo pezzo di silicone, ma adesso fare il pane è semplicissimo dato che uso questo unico attrezzo per tutto il processo ed in più mia moglie è contenta perché non sporco niente in cucina.Per ora l'ho usata solo nel forno elettrico, sia tenendola aperta durante la cottura, sia chiusa, praticamente non cambia niente, solo la forma finale.Sto sperimentando diverse farine, sia da sole che combinandole e sempre con ottimi risultati (integrale, manitoba, segale, avena, farro).Mia moglie adesso mangia solo il pane che preparo io, lo faccio un giorno si e uno no, addio pane in cassetta! Addio conservanti, coloranti, sale in eccesso e maxi quantità di lievito!Spero con questa recensione di essere stato utile a qualcuno.A presto.Two days since the delivery and already at the fourth loaf. Different flours, different sizes, no knead method as per instructions, my recipes and their recipes. Result continually brilliant. Well impressed.Tried this afternoon with 900 gr dough the (clam) as my wife call it, is too small so I had to leave it open.Brilliant result and 1 and I repeat 1 bowl to wash.Please make it a two pounder size and I buy 3 of them.Highly recommended and two of them will go to abroad very soon.