A less expensive alternative to the Challenger Bread Pan is an oval dutch oven (similar dimensions). An oval dutch oven can be used for bread, may be easier to handle (depending on brand), and has the advantage of being useful in other cooking applications, such roasting meat and making stews.

I purchased one of these a week before I saw this video, and agree with everything you say about it. It’s transformed my baking.

Challenger is a beautiful pan and I have no doubt it is worth the money for many. Too rich for my blood however and I will continue to use my Le Creuset and Staub Dutch ovens as I have for the past four years. Love the channel and I look forward to all your vids. Editing is good, background music is pleasant and not too loud and your directions and explanations are clear and concise. Keep 'em coming.

You have a great channel, so much useable information. Thank you! I bake small loaves of bread often because there are only two of us. I use a round or oval enameled cast iron Dutch which I put into a cold oven and turn the temperature to 500°F and allow to heat for at least 30 minutes. The oven spring was good, but the crust, while OK, it didn’t have that shatteringly crispy crust that I was looking for. A real baker suggested that the problem was lack of steam and that professional bakeries use steam ovens. I had no idea. My solution to the inadequate steam problem was to fashion the admittedly awkward parchment paper sling for the dough, reduce the oven to the temperature I want to bake the bread at, pull the Dutch oven out, put the dough in it, pull the parchment to the side, pour in boiling water and quickly cover with the lid. The parchment doesn’t get soggy and protects the dough. I get create a real blast of steam and the crust I want.

I have one heck of a time getting the Challenger in and out of the oven. I have small hands and trying to get under the handles to bring the whole pan out is a huge challenge, no pun intended. The handles on the lower pan are so close to the oven rack it is hard to get a grip on them. Also, can you recommend truly heat protective gloves to take this pan in and out of the oven. I have to use layers of mitts and potholders.

I bought one of these when they were first released. I found out about them from a group called The Fresh Loaf. I was able to buy one at the introductory price. It wasn't significantly less expensive, but still. I love it. The only issue I have is that it is heavy enough to make the racks in my oven bend. I have a light weight cooking try beneath it to stabilize the rack.

Would love to see you review your bread proofer from Brød & Taylor and also a sour dough bread using buckwheat flour! Love your channel and all your sourdough recipes I've made have always been spot on!

Sune you have been an incredible source of information and I have had great fun and success baking alongside of your videos. I am looking for a new baking vessel and this one looks wonderful. I am baking several times per month and do a variety of sizes/shapes. Happy to shop your link! And that site is a great resource for many things I’ve been needing - grains and flours. Thank you and always look forward to learning from you.

Love to hear a review about bread knifes. Love all you experiments and comparisons, well thought out and presented. So helpful. Thank-you.

I almost sent mine back but glad I stuck with it. Pros: - Very well made and seasoned. Best I have ever seen for cast iron. - Cleaver design, shallow bottom fits in the top so you can have it closed and open with both pieces in the oven, good for multiple bakes. - Great steam and good results Cons - It's heavy, and with a 700g bread in its substantial to get in and out of the oven. - It is not big enough for two loaves so my bake on a steal tray has double in time. - It is expensive albeit justified. You can get great results without it but if you like nice equipment that is versatile then this is a great choice

Having had this for around a year, I can really recommend treating it with linseed oil (hørfrøolie), before heating it up. It makes a nice glossy, non-stick and rust resistant surface. Linseed oil is the best polymerizating oil ive found.

Love to see your reviews. Thanks. By the way, I have adapted your best sourdough recipe to make two loaves in different variations. By far, your bread instruction is the best on the internet and KZfaq.

I am a fan of the Challenger bread pan. And you have practically covered every detail about why The Challenger bread pan is superior to a Dutch Oven pan. It was designed especifically for baking bread. Dutch Ovens just happen to be "able" to bake bread. As far as price is concerned, its worth it. Even if one just merely makes bread once a month, the advantage is that a very large loaf can be made in one shot. So unless you get a Dutchess Dutch Oven, or The Bayou Dutch Oven; you still have the problem of possibly burning your hands putting in the kneaded bread into them, even with parchment paper. Another advantage of The Challenger is, that you can bake at a lower temperature to brown the bread crust less. Specially on the bottom. And for those that say that they cannot afford it, often what they mean is that they are not willing to change their habits to buy it. What I mean is....how many cigarettes do you buy a month, or how many beers do you guzzle on the weekend; how much money do you spend buying lottery tickets a month, or how much money do you spend on your hairdo, and nails per month. Do you buy a lot of cheap clothing, and store it away because you are a hoarding rat!. I think I've made my point. Great review!! 👏👏👍

I have 2 challenger pans and love them.I burned myself several times using a cast iron Dutch oven and parchment paper slings. My husband loves my bread and gifted me the pans. I use them exclusively to make all my sourdough bread and recently heard I could make focaccia using just the bottom portion of the pan. I will be trying that soon! Thank you for confirming what I already know and thank you for your bread lessons, especially how to handle high hydration breads.

I have baked in the Lodge Combo Cooker for a while. and just godt the Challenger. My biggest complaint is that I actually have to take the darn thing out if the oven to get the lid on/ off. I don't need to do that with the lodge. The Challenger is heavy for an old person like me (62 years) and big/ unhandy to move around with. Leaving the lid of the Challenger inside the oven during the last part of the backing saves a lot of time when baking breads serially. I frankly think baking on a steel and creating steam with a tub of water is the easiest solution in my kitchen.

I’ve used the challenger for three years and I swear by it. I have never burned myself while using this vessel.

I’m popping for this next week. I’ve been thinking about this for a few years. The price is off putting, but I bake nearly daily and I really want this.

Thanks, Sune. Great video! I love my Challenger 😄 I also did a side by side comparison of the Challenger and my Dutch oven on my channel. Very subtle differences between the results of the two sourdough breads, but the Challenger is amazing if one has the budget for it, in my opinion 😄

Sune. I purchased another Challenger bread pan though your link so you get the reward. Appreciate all I've learned from you. Thank you.

I definitly want to see more alternatives for baking at home. It’s quite great!

The only advantages I see are the low sides and the longer length. The major disadvantages (other than the cost) are the weight and the fact that no steps can be done with one hand. I have a vintage aluminum Wagner that is probably 1/3 the weight and can be handled with one hand if necessary.

I wish you had posted this last week, we just ordered one on Monday, and would have been more than happy to help you out.

I’ve had my Challenger for awhile...love it..great oven.....cute mini baguettes...just perfect for two!!!

i have the Challenger Bread Pan and it is an excellent product. I paid $295 here in the US,, money well spent.

Please do more reviews! My round clay baker developed a crack after using it yesterday and I bake twice a week, so this was timely!

I will stick with the Brovn , love it! You can see the bake and all shaped 700 gram doughs went wel so far. It is way cheaper to buy and will heat way quicker as well (=energy saving)

Appreciate the review but would have liked to have seen a side-by-side comparison with some bread baked in the Challenger and bread baked in your combo cooker/Dutch oven, and your thoughts on each loaf.

Just ordered one and am really looking forward to upping my bread-baking game.

Just ordered one thanks to your review. Hope you make a bundle because your experiments, recipes and reviews are worth it!

Even if there is a bias there, you were honest in your review. Thanks. I’ve been thinking about getting one and this review has made my decision easier, I’ll be buying the Lodge Combo Cooker. 😂👍🏻 Edit to add that I would buy the challenger but I’m a cheapskate and I only bake a couple of dozen loaves a year.

I'd like to try one of these, but I fell in love with this Japanese cast iron pan from a company called Oigen. It's really a Dutch oven but is also a Bundt pan and is designed to bake a loaf on the stovetop. I used it alongside the Lodge cast iron bread pan with the same recipe and the one cooked in the Oigen was more moist. In fact, I'm baking one right now on this rainy Arkansas January. You should really get your hands on some Nanbu Tekki! It's amazing.

Thank you for the great review! I bought the Le Creuset bread oven because it went on sale! I am enjoying the cast iron heating with the protection of the enamel! 🥖

I love the Challenger. Love it for all the points that Sune brought up. This is a heavy baker, butcI like that a lot...keeps steam in and produces very even baking. If you buy it, you'll love it. Make sure that it is completely dry after washing with hot water only. I put all my cast iron cookware in a oven to make sure it's good and dry.

I’ve got one; think I purchased it during a sale; but I love it; it really is an excellent product. I do a lot of baguettes and you can go ¾ length or a ficcelle. Perfect.

Hi Sune I love your channel and your clear style of presenting. I also appreciate the range you cover: recipes, experiment and review/tests of equipment. Thank you!

I think the best way to start is to have a flat stone or cast iron plate. Over the years I have tested about every possible way to bake bread at home and I think the most I have learned about bread was using a flat stone. I am currently using 3/4" thick polished granite slab which I use both as work surface and to bake on it. Covered cast iron pan like this is fantastic for various reasons (especially convenience), but it blocks your view of what is happening with your bread and I think it is important to observe your bread baking without opening the oven. You can achieve same results with a granite slab (having another pan with boiling water blocking the radiant heat from the heater) which is less convenient but lets you see what is happening to your bread. Flat surface will help you learn to shape your bread correctly -- any vessel that contains the bread will hide your shaping mistakes. Also granite slab will be quite cheap, at least here in Poland (mine, the size of my oven, was about 25USD) and take much less space in your kitchen. It is also more versatile as you can bake other things on it like pizza.

I have had my Challenger for a little over a month. Previously I was using my Tramontina dutch oven. What I've found with the Challenger is the 'oven spring' is not happening. Once I set my dough on the pan it seems to just flatten out. I do properly pre-heat to 500 before taking it out, and putting the scored load in the pan. Not sure what I need to adjust in my recipe to get back to a nice oven spring. I have read the using the round dutch oven, the dough hits the sides then goes up, so that shape can make up for issues with the dough not having a strong enough gluten structure. Any thoughts?

Owning both this and the lodge combi there's no way I'd recommended this. I bought it purely as I wanted longer batards. Cooking wise they are the same with the lodge handling easier. And so much cheaper. I do still love my challenger though but it's far too expensive for what it is.

Thank you for the video and the review. I bake in Emile Henry cloche and I always get an excellent result, but it's great to know about other products out there:)

I bought it and wish it was three inches longer. I bake 800 gram free standing sandwich loaves and they simply won't fit in this baker. The biggest I can put in is 600 grams and that has to go in at an angle to fit. Also, the baker has a tendency to burn the bottom of the loaf. I've discovered that once I lift the cover after the first 15 to 20 minutes I need to place the bottom of the baker on a cold aluminum baking sheet to keep the bottom of the bread from burning.

Great in-depth review, very many thanks.

If you have a Lodge double dutch, invert it and it functions like this vessel.

I have been wondering about this product; it’s quite an investment! Thanks for sharing your review.

I bought this and linked you to the purchase. Thank you for all you do.

I just bought a challenger bread pan using your link. :) I wanted it for so long and I prefer to do it and help people like you. BTW, things I didn't like at all (of course it is not your fault): 200 euros for the bread pan, plus more than 100 euros of taxes and shipping!

Ha dasked you in a prior video about this pan. I was unaware you had this review. Thank you much!

I use a ceramic cloche, it works well and is much cheaper. Also rather than pre-heating I wet the inside of the lid for extra steam, I find that to be very effective.

A real honest review Sune. Thanks. The people at Challenger are definitely a little proud of their Dutch oven @ $225, but they, no doubt, don't have near as long of an assembly line as Lodge. It is a beautiful product but too rich for my veins.

Hello Sune First of all, thank you for the quality of your communications, especially with regard to the content that is always relevant. I noticed that you don’t add water or ice during your cooking. I suppose that the high % of hydration provides enough steam, but imagine a 58% firm dough, would it produce enough steam or should we have to add some?

Thank You ...

The con is I can't fit two Challengers in my oven. I can fit two lodge cast iron dutch ovens and can bake two loaves at a time. Then there is the price difference.

As always, your videos are succinct, well edited, interspersed with lovely music. As it does so often though, KZfaq interrupts with irrelevant ads that are ridiculously long based on the length of your video. And its slmost as though they search for the most inconvenient place in which to insert them. Sorry for the rant - YT is just particularly annoying today. I appreciate the advice you included regarding who it will most benefit & why. Great review.

shame, looks neat but gets very expensive when you have to import it to denmark allmost 2000kr when its on sale(like now) and 2500kr when not.

Tip - try getting it used! Got most of my baking stuff used so I don't feel burned if it does not become a lasting hobby. If you look at Ebay etc. you can see that the allure fades for some. :-)

I love you breadgeek:) thanks for all your precious, intelligent info.

I realize this is an older video but I still wanted to comment. I would love this pan and would even consider spending the ridiculous amount of money on it even though it’s just a Dutch oven and I can get one from lodge for $50 that would fit the bill. But what bothers me about it is you can’t flip it over and use it as a pot. I have other Dutch ovens that I can use the lid as a frying pan or to put my bread in, or flip it over and it becomes the cover for the pot, so you have two pots in one. This one, because of the handles on top can only be used for bread. That’s a big pan in my house for one single use.

Please carry on reviewing tools for sour dough bread baking.

Review of different bannetons and bread lames (including razor all alone)

Almost 100k subscribers. Well deserved sir

I just got the challenger, wish me luck, great video, God bless you

Great honest review. Keep them coming.

I’m glad that you gave an honest review. I personally do not have the Challenger, but am considering buying one. The fact that you do not have to drop your loaf into the hot pan is good enough for me. I guess I’m hoping that the price will still come down or I win one .

So glad it worked out and I love bread too hugs and loves

I really appreciate your honesty about cost-benefit, and your possible bias in light of your getting a commission if someone buys this product using your link. Since I suffer from living with a too-small kitchen, I wouldn't buy a product like this which can be used for only one thing. Everything I own needs to be multi-purpose (well, almost everything! I haven't found a second use yet for my lame).

Thanks for sharing. Would love to hear about your views on Romertopf and how to use it for bread baking. Was told not to load cold dough into preheated clay pot. But I usually restart my dough in the fridge.

I have the Le Crueset bread cloche. I haven’t been able to find a single example on KZfaq, of a serious baker demonstrating its abilities! It would be great if you would review it! Klaus

THANK YOU! This is exactly what I've been looking for!

Sune, thanks for the info on the Challenger. Have you looked at the Fourneau bread oven? I’d love to see a comparison. Thanks

Nice change of pace video. I liked it a lot.

I would love one of these pans and may well get one...my only issue is weight...I am not very big and am a bit worried it might get the best of me, but I guess since it’s two pieces, that would help. It is a fabulous tool. Thanks for the in depth review. 😊🧑🏼‍🍳

Thank you, Bro. I have been wondering about this pan!

I agree with you but I think in the U.S.A. the price is reasonable but in other countries, E.U and Asia the prices include tax and shipping is more than $500.just for baking sourdough anyone knows that the good method is more important.

The question should be not whether the Challenger pan is 'better' than any others out there, but whether baking in a cast iron is necessary in the first place (btw, cast-iron is actually 'terrible' at heat retention. See below for explanation of what it is useful for) .. The fact is, cast iron pans are more about 'convenience' than being able to bake 'better' bread. Although the Challenger pan scores well in terms of being able to bake larger loaves, batards in particular. However, if you are a domestic baker, and you know how to properly set up your oven, you will find that cast iron pans are unnecessary. There are three keys to setting up your oven properly: 1) Baking on a pre-heated stone; 2) Focusing on making sure the 'stone' is pre-heated instead of just the oven; 3) Enabling an abundance of steam .. After placing the baking stone (or any heat retaining 'mass' such as granite or a heavy baking steel) in the oven, pre-heat at 500F/260F for at least an hour. This is necessary because the dough will immediately suck heat away from the stone, and you need a little extra to compensate, and for the stone to deliver heat at the required 475F/250F (an inexpensive infra red thermometer will help monitor when your baking stone is properly up to temp). Once the dough has gone in, you can then drop the oven temp to 475F/250F for the bake itself .. Regarding sufficient steam, 20 mins before the end of the pre-heat cycle place a 'heavy' metal tray underneath the baking stone, then right after the dough goes in, fill it with 'boiling' water. The objective is to see steam exit the oven vents for the first 20 mins of the bake. After 20 mins (the period required for maximum oven spring) the water pan should be removed, and the remainder of the bake to take place with dry heat (to accelerate the Maillard reaction that causes browning of the crust) .... On the subject of the 'thermodynamic characteristics of cast iron as they relate to baking bread' (which you will be able to test/confirm with the infra red thermometer I suggested), cast iron takes a long time to pre-heat, and loses heat rapidly when removed from a heat source, or when something cooler is placed upon it, such as bread dough (or a steak!) .. What it is good for is "conductive" heat (direct, surface to surface heat transfer). When placed on or in a heat source cast iron will continue to absorb heat, up to and in fact beyond temperatures impractical for cooking .. which makes it great for delivering immediate high heat, but which also means the heat source needs to be maintained .. Cast iron also has "radiant" heat qualities that are also useful in bread baking, where the lid, once up to temp, can deliver all around heat in close proximity to the dough. However the benefits of the proximity are negligible .. Much is made of the ability of cast iron pans to 'trap steam', which its lid will do, and sufficiently to inhibit crust formation to enable oven spring .. but no more steam, or the creation of higher pressure around the dough, than if baked on a baking stone in a properly set up oven.

Ahhh, see you are using the Brovn gloves!

Fantastic T-shirt Sune! My island... Wish I could afford the Challenger

Thank you, Sune!

I have two clay cloches, and would not trade them for the world. The challenger design is based on this concept.

Wonderful mate, always helpful videos. Are you able to find out a way to bake 4 bread in one oven simultaneously? I bake a lots for friends and family and wanna figure out the ultimate way to bake 4 breads in one batch. Thanks heaps

Really enjoyed your review. Would love to buy one of these but only bake 1-2 loaves a week. I bought the Zatoba through the link on your you tube channel its great and beautiful. Have now bought one for Christmas gift for my son in law. I would like to see more reviews of equipment, banatons, yoghurt makers ( for prooving) would be gratefully viewed 😁

Good evening. I would like to know what is the high of Challenge. The dimensions everywhere 39x26cm . But no high . I have small AEG oven, and it is very important for me. Thank you

It’s simply too heavy for me. I use lightweight enamel coated roasting pans with lids and the oven spring I get is no different than what I got when using heavy ceramic / cast iron dutch ovens and my back thanks me.

Thank you for this review. I am not sure if you've done it already... As a beginner baker I am looking for a good sets of oven mitts. My regular mitts are getting charred.

300 now. Looks great but that buys a lot of bread. Thank you for an excellent review.

Putting price aside, this is a beautiful piece of hardware with the ability to bake bread in other shapes than round. However, the Lodge Combo is NOT a uni-tasker and can be used for many other things by simply inverting it. All depend upon your needs.

I have been "umming and arring" over one of these for a couple of years and have been using my trusty Le Creuset in the mean time, but they do mean it is pretty much one shape only....but they are a whole lot of money in the UK...£350!!!

Two things: 1- Would love a review of the Fourneau Oven- also expensive and debating this or the challenger. Also, you put your bread right on the challenger and score- what about those of us that do more intricate scoring and take time? I assume we would have to cut parchment exactly to size to put it on to avoid the challenger not sealing vs using a bread sling? Lastly, Challenger should over a discount to your subscribers as many others like Fourneau do. We would be more inclined to purchase with your link

Here is an idea for a future video. First a bit of background. I purchased a 4 quart Cambro container to help judge the rise during proofing. I have watched your videos on proofing and watched you mark off your container. What I find is that the starting line is extremely subjective with spaces and uneven top. But it is easy to read off the finish height as the dough fills all the voids as it rises. My conclusion is that you personally just know how high the dough should rise because you always use the same amount of dough and have experience so you know how high in your container is the correct height. What would be helpful is for you to tell us what the finish volume is not based on the dough but rather based on the bakers weight of the dough or some other knowable quantity preferable a weight. Weight can be measured where what you were doing in terms of starting height cannot be determined with any useful accuracy. So for example if you are using 700 grams of flour, proof until you have 3 liters of total dough. Those are just examples and I have no idea if they are close to correct. Just picking them to get my point across.

do you use convection bake or non convection? I notice your oven has a fan and appears to be running.

It’s a better buy than a Cuisinart Dutch Oven, and it would allow me to make long breads rather than rounds. Maybe after the first of the year. I guess it comes pre-seasoned.

Is there a silicone and fiberglass baking mat which fits the Challenger? I'm quite surprised that they don't have their own such accessory!

Wouldn’t buy one for just bread but if you can use it upside down for stews and roasts like a normal Dutch oven I can see value in it .

The pan looks great and I am sure that it bakes great. Way out of my price range though. I don't bake enough Batards to justify that price. What I will say, is that The Lodge Cast Iron Company should have been the most well-funded to create a similar pan like this one at a more affordable price. I remember looking for a pan shaped for batards on their site with no luck. They could have made a lot of money for themselves, while making it more affordable for the home baker. As applies to most things, mentioning the term "Artisan" makes the price go up accordingly. I would spend one hundred dollars for this pan if I preferred to bake batards, but not double plus. I understand it was costly to research and engineer and the price is high for now. Maybe someone else will come up with a more affordable alternative or the price will drop on this one sometime in the future.

Could you please review the Netherton Spun Iron Baking Cloche? Would be great to know how it compares to Challenger since it's quite a bit lighter. Thanks!

Yes..I need one.

If $225 sounded like a lot of money back then this company now charges $299 USD for this product. The good news is that Deli&Co, a Brazilian company has made a comparable very well made oval cast iron bread pan multicooker that sells for $150 USD go ahead and check them out if money is an issue. This product is overpriced and hope the competition drives the price back down.

How is it for grain free breads? My son has allergies and I am struggling with my bread machine and dutch ovens.

Great video. Thanks. More of those please.

Thank you for your work! Can you please make an experiment to demonstrate if bannetones are really necessary? cheers!

Hi Sune. In the video you mention the Brown with a glass dome. Where can I find tgat?

I been wanting to get one, I been baking sour dough for about 3 months and love it