Cold Oven Baking

Am I the last person to discover cold-oven baking? I only heard about it a few months ago, even though the method has apparently been around forever. The idea of putting my carefully crafted artisan loaf into a cold Dutch oven felt completely backwards and totally against everything I’ve learned about baking bread at home.

Cold-oven baking basically means placing your food into an unheated oven, turning it on, and letting the bake happen as the oven warms. It cuts out preheating time, can save a bit of energy, and actually works well for certain breads, cookies, and cakes that benefit from a longer, gentler bake. It can also protect your bakeware from being heated empty. King Arthur even has a great comparison of sourdough baked in a cold oven versus a preheated one.

In theory, I love the idea. It sounds so much simpler: no half-hour preheat, no wrestling a blazing-hot Dutch oven out of the oven just to drop dough inside.

So on Sunday I baked two sourdough loaves—one cold-oven, one hot-oven. For the cold-oven test, I loaded the dough into my Aldi bread dome, covered it, slid it into the oven, and set the temperature to 450°F. I baked it about 30–40 minutes covered, then uncovered it for roughly another 20 because I wanted a deep brown crust.

Well…I definitely got a deep brown crust on the bottom. Burnt is probably the more accurate word. We literally had to cut the bottom off. The loaf did rise well and looked pretty good otherwise. For whatever reason, though, I think our oven just bakes oddly—uneven and painfully slow to heat.

The second loaf went into the same bread dome, but this time preheated in a 450°F oven for 30 minutes. It baked 30 minutes covered plus 20 uncovered, rose even better than the cold-oven loaf, had great color, and didn’t scorch on the bottom.

Brown, but not torched

So for now, I think I’m sticking with the method I know works. Still, I’m happy with how much my sourdough has improved over the past year. Next year’s goals: improving my pizza dough and finally nailing a really good focaccia.

My Love For Aldi

Anybody who knows me knows I love Aldi. We’re lucky enough to live close to one, so it’s our go-to spot when we need groceries;  it’s convenient, affordable, and full of surprises. While Aldi doesn’t carry everything, they have all the essentials plus an entire aisle of rotating specialty items. Shoes, home décor, rugs, candles - you name it! Most of my fall and Christmas decorations actually came from Aldi.

This week, they already have Christmas décor in the specialty aisle!  My mom recently picked me up one of the cast iron bread domes they’re famous for, and I can’t wait to try it.  Oh, and the knock-off Birkenstocks I wore during the Perfect your Pizza competition?  $14.99 at Aldi... you're welcome.

A couple of honest notes: you’ll want to use their produce fairly quickly, and there are a few items I usually skip - their electronics (looking at you, food dehydrator and space heater), most clothing, and some of the frozen meals.

Our Aldi Grocery Staples 

If you have toddlers, you know how important it is to keep fruit stocked! Bananas are always a win at our house.

We usually get a couple of salad kits a week along with broccoli, mushroom, and asparagus.

And berries - lots of berries! Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries… my boys can’t get enough.

For snacks, I love that Aldi’s in-house brands don’t use artificial food dyes. Turtles, veggie straws, cheese crackers, and popcorn are always a hit here.

Oh, and I can’t forget the all-natural fruit strips - Oliver is obsessed with these!

Aldi also has a surprisingly great cheese selection: burrata, camembert, brie, and more. Around the holidays, it gets even better.

I always pick up no-sugar-added applesauce for the boys (they’d eat it all day if I let them!) and those little applesauce pouches are perfect for on the go.

Avocados are another staple - because who doesn’t love avocado toast on sourdough? 

Their white basmati rice is a favorite too - easy to cook and always delicious.

And of course, we keep plenty of sparkling water (“bubbly water” as my kids call it!) on hand. Aldi’s version is just as good as the name brands but way cheaper.  I drink one of these at least every day and add a little cherry or pomegranate juice to it.  

Butter.  Enough said.

Milk... it's shocking how much milk you go through with a one year old and a three year old.

I'm actually burnt out on these, but the peanut butter cups are really good!

So, what are your Aldi go-tos?  I must know!