From slab pies for barbecues to fruit-studded pound cakes in peak summer, we’ll find any excuse to show up with a tray of homemade treats. And since we do so much baking, we know that quality bakeware can make a huge difference in how your recipe comes out.
Our French Porcelain Bakeware will help you get an even bake on everything from sticky buns to cheesecake, while our Enameled Cast Iron Dutch oven does a bang-up job on sourdough boules and homemade donuts. Here are a few recipes to get you started.
Apple Cider Donuts
Yup, you can deep fry in a Dutch oven—in fact, it’s probably our favorite tool for the job. With its thick, high walls, our Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven makes for a tender, puffed apple cider cake donut. You could wait for fall to roll around before whipping these up—or you could not.
Claire Saffitz’ Classic Apple Crumble Pie
This recipe from pastry chef, cookbook author, and Made In friend Claire Saffitz offers a wider margin of error than a classic double crust apple pie: Since the crumble topping bakes down along with the apples, you won’t have to worry about a gap between the crust and the filling. Plus, that oat-and-brown-sugar topping? Should be a regulated substance.
Blueberry Slab Pie
This fruit-forward, summery recipe can be made year round thanks to the incorporation of frozen blueberries. Another recipe from our favorite dessert person, Claire Saffitz’s slab pie makes use of our innovative Baking Slab (though it can also work in a 9x13 Baking Dish).
Bourbon Sticky Buns
These buns are a true exercise in patience: Not only does the buttermilk-enriched dough need to ferment for at least four hours before being drowned in a bourbon-maple caramel sauce, but you’ll also need to wait over 45 minutes for them to bake. Once you tear into one, however, you won’t mind too much.
Brookie (Brownie Cookie)
Remember when they said you can have it all? Well, we like to think they were talking about brookies. Melding two of our favorite bake sale-friendly treats—brownies and blondies—these bars sound like a bit too much, but taste exactly right.
Mushroom Tart With Gruyère and Parmesan
This classy, delicious tart comes together quickly thanks to store-bought puff pastry. Make a mistake? Just shower the whole thing with nutty parm and Gruyère before baking it off—no one will even notice.
Peach Cobbler
It’s hard—some might say impossible—to improve upon a really good peach cobbler. Created by James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd, this recipe sticks to the classic formula of luscious baked fruit topped with a crisp, yet tender, buttermilk biscuit dough. While fabulous with ripe summer fruit, we’d still happily whip this one up using frozen peaches year-round.
Poppy Seed Country Sourdough Loaf
We’d buy a loaf of crusty, hand-shaped sourdough bread everyday if we could. Since that’s not the most practical thing, however, we’ve started making our own from scratch. This nutty rye-and-whole wheat boule gets a long, slow ferment before it’s rolled in crunchy poppy seeds, then baked to perfection in a Dutch oven.
Ready to Cook?
If you’ve managed to read this far without running to check your supplies of butter and flour, we applaud your restraint. For those itching to plunge their hands into a ball of dough, however, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the right equipment first. With its sturdy, oven-safe build, our cast iron and porcelain bakeware gets you about as close to professional-quality baked goods as you can get without a pastry school degree.
