500 degrees
The knob on my Chefmate dutch oven is only oven safe up to 350 degrees, which isn't nearly enough for the no-knead bread. I went in search of replacement options and found this Le Creuset branded stainless steel knob for about $10 (you can also find replacement phenolic knobs), and this mention on the Cook's Illustrated message boards of simply using a stainless steel kitchen cabinet knob. I've seen other mentions of using a few nuts and a large washer, other people find wrapping the plastic Le Creuset knob in foil protects it well enough from high heat. I'll report back on what I find and how it works. In the mean time, what do you use?
categories: food, good to know
I would just leave the knob off, and use a fork to pry the lid open. $10!!!
Comment by Marissa — January 25, 2007 @ 11:40 am
thanks for the information!
Comment by maryse — January 25, 2007 @ 11:42 am
I have a Le Creuset with a knob that can only go up to 400. I just remove it, plug the hole with foil, and slide the lid off carefully with silicone mitts.
Comment by Gwen — January 25, 2007 @ 11:58 am
Hmm...I'm supposed to take the knob off to put it in the oven?? I will be reading over my Le Creuset Owner's Manual very soon...Oops.
(But just fyi, I haven't had any problems yet. Although I guess I usually don't cook things in my Le Creuset over 400F...)
Comment by Ty — January 25, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
I have the chef's mate and I use either foil or no knob, depending on my mood and how worried I am about losing the knob hardware.
Comment by Rachel — January 25, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
I'm accident prone in the kitchen and I don't trust myself to be able to pry a very hot knobless lid off of my dutch oven without burning the counter, the floor, or myself quite badly in the process. That's why I'm going to replace it rather than simply take it off, for my toes.
Comment by megan — January 25, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
good to know that such a knob exists - I've just been using a plug of tin foil and sort of knocking the lid off with mitt-ed hands.
Comment by jolie — January 25, 2007 @ 1:20 pm
I'd just head down to the thrift store and paw through the jillion partnerless lids down there for a suitably heatproof handle. Or for a Pyrex lid of the appropriate size (which is what one of my non-enameled Dutch ovens has anyway... and I make no-knead bread in Corningware with a Pyrex lid, myself).
Failing that, I'm thinking a big ol' eyebolt would be more practical than a knob anyway.
Comment by Karen in Wichita — January 25, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
I just use a sheet of foil instead of using the lid, and it generally works fine.
Comment by jird — January 25, 2007 @ 2:05 pm
Karen in Wichita - good ideas, thanks.
Comment by megan — January 25, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
Could you jam a bit of tinfoil in the hole where the knob would be? I use a 3.5/ 4qt? calphalon dutch oven for the no knead bread- works great- pyrex could also work great, too, I would imagine.
Comment by beth — January 25, 2007 @ 7:30 pm
i just remove mine when i need to bake at a high temp.
Comment by mipmup — January 25, 2007 @ 8:55 pm
I was able to find a chefmate dutch oven and used it to cook my first loaf of kneadless bread. I double wrapped the knob in foil, having read that it'd be fiiiine. I was treated to the smell of roasting plastic the whole time, an odd rotten fishy smell.
I've baked a few loaves having just removed the knob, and it makes me a bit nervous to handle a lid that heavy/hot. Totally understand the need for a roastable knob.
Comment by Theresa — January 25, 2007 @ 11:39 pm
It worries me to use any nonmetal knob, covered with foil or not, in any temperature oven. All the warnings about cooking with plastic(s) has me scared. I love the idea of the le creuset stainless knob or just a kitchen cab or drawer pull. Thank you!
Comment by Emily — January 26, 2007 @ 7:24 am
i made the no-knead bread in my ~7 qt. le creuset dutch oven last week, and (since it's new) it was the first time i'd used it at such a high temp. i just took the knob off. it wasn't hard to get the lid on and off with oven mitts, and i didn't bother to plug the hole - everything worked just fine. (i don't think the bread recipe is that finicky!) thanks a lot for posting about the stainless knob...i was already planning to replace the knob with a new one, and it's nice to know those exist!
Comment by melissa — January 26, 2007 @ 8:02 am
We have about 8 le creuset dutch ovens in various sizes, some do not have knobs, but handles made out of iron.
To tell you the truth, I have never really roasted in one or baked in one, just use them on the stove top.
Guess, I'm really missing out, huh?
nm
Comment by nazilam — January 26, 2007 @ 9:23 am
I am not wanting to risk using my LeCreuset pot at that high a temp. There must be something elso out there.
Pryex is risky, has any one used a terra cotta pot? If so do you emerse it in water first?
Thankyou, Gail
Comment by Gail — January 26, 2007 @ 5:05 pm
I'm gonna sound silly here, but for the astronomical price of Les Creusets they should really toss in that $10 (probably costs them a lot less than that) steel knob as part of the deal! And a little velvet bag to keep the extra knob in (you can keep the little protective plastic clips in it too).
(Everyone gets those clips with their pot, right? I carefully put them when I store it, and keep a little plastic ziplock bag inside the pot for storing them when I'm cooking.)
Comment by Lilly — January 26, 2007 @ 10:33 pm
Clips? My creuset didn't come with those... what are they for?
I too pondered the knob before using the pan for bread, but just used it anyway.
No foil, no melting, no nose detectable off-gassing.
I agree- Creuset should really just include the metal ones (heck- why isn't the included knob enameled metal to begin with?!
Comment by McAuliflower — January 27, 2007 @ 10:47 am
McAuliflower - I think it's those little plastic things that slide over the lip of the pot and keep the lid just off of contact. I'm not sure what they are meant for - if you flip the lid upside down to store maybe it prevents enamel chips? Or keep airflow during storage? I got three with my Chefmate and plan on keeping them for storage purposes.
The Ikea pots have a cast enamel knob as well, attached right to the lid. Is there some reason a removable knob is desirable in the Le Creuset?
Comment by megan — January 27, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
I'm pretty sure the clips are for keeping the lid and pot from potentially damaging each other in storage and also it's handy in transit, though I suppose you can just wrap the lid in paper. I bang around my pots a lot searching for things in the cabinet. I'm more careful with Le Creuset!
Comment by Lilly — January 27, 2007 @ 10:12 pm
I have made the no-knead bread in my Le Creuset twice, and I didn't bother taking off the handle either time. It doesn't seem to have hurt the handle at all - am I just tempting fate?
Comment by Susie — January 28, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
Thanks for the great tip! I just got mine in the mail this weekend, it's so much easier than unscrewing, then covering with foil, the re-screwing. Great find!
Comment by Annette — February 5, 2007 @ 10:53 am
did anyone notice their pot discoloring? my red chefmate pot is now a lovely shade of burgundy.
Comment by Cupcakes — February 10, 2007 @ 7:11 pm
Oh no!
Comment by megan — February 10, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
Will a ceramic casserole dish work ok for this?
Comment by sandy — February 14, 2007 @ 1:01 am
Sandy - Yes. You can see a picture of the one I use here, it's a large Corningware casserole (or dutch oven) with a glass lid.
Comment by megan — February 14, 2007 @ 10:10 am
Buy a nut, a bolt and two washers at the hardware store. This is not a replacement knob but will plug up the hole. Insert the bolt thru a washer thru the hole on top of the lib,then flip lid and place another washer around the bolt, and then and the washer and tighten!
Easy and cheap!
Comment by treeverte — February 19, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Hey, I couldnt leave a comment on flickr for some reason...but corning wear can go on the stove top it's a mix of glass and ceramic. normal pyrex cannot. Good luck.
Comment by brandon — February 19, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
[...] Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 in Uncategorized Back in November I was, of course, intrigued by Bittman’s article about No-Knead Bread—the entire internet seemed to be obsessed, too, and everyone was trying it and writing about it. I was concerned about the plastic Le Creuset handle in the hot oven, though, and didn’t get around to trying it until around Valentine’s day. (Pictures of my first batch, along with the steak, orzo, broccoli and wilted spinach salad we had for dinner that night, followed by fallen chocolate cakes, were lost in a camera memory card disaster.) I was tipped off to the existence of stainless steel knobs for the dutch oven on Not Martha, and I ordered one right away. Before and after: [...]
Pingback by No-Knead Bread, months late. « Kate F____, Girl Reporter — March 6, 2007 @ 10:23 am
did anyone notice their pot discoloring? my red chefmate pot is now a lovely shade of burgundy.
I did. I was a little worried, but 20 minutes later, it returned to its original color.
Comment by orchidophile — March 23, 2007 @ 8:01 pm
the phenolic nob on my #28 is stripped due to the heavy weight of the cover, does anyone have suggestions?
Comment by erich — October 11, 2007 @ 5:56 pm