Sourdough Bread Cloche

Bake beautifully crusty, golden sourdough bread at home with the Symbiota Sourdough Bread Cloche — a simple, purpose-designed bread baker that helps create the steam-rich environment needed for exceptional artisan sourdough.

The domed lid traps steam released from your dough during the first stage of baking, helping your sourdough loaf rise beautifully while developing a crisp, golden crust. The result is that classic artisan sourdough finish: a beautifully caramelised crust with a light, open crumb.

Unlike a traditional Dutch oven, the Sourdough Bread Cloche is designed with a practical two-piece construction that makes handling your freshly baked bread easier. The separate base gives you a stable surface for loading and scoring your dough, while the domed lid sits over the loaf to create the ideal baking environment, minimizing wrist burns!

The generous internal dimensions accommodate a good-sized homemade sourdough loaf, while the lid provides ample room for oven spring without restricting your dough as it rises.

Why you'll love it

• Designed for sourdough bread – Creates the enclosed, steam-rich environment that helps produce a crisp crust and excellent oven spring.
• Domed lid for steam – Traps moisture released from the dough, helping prevent the crust from setting too early.
• Easy to handle – The two-piece design makes loading and removing your bread more manageable than handling a heavy, preheated Dutch oven.
• No awkwardly reaching into a deep pot – The shallow bread base makes it easier to place and retrieve your sourdough loaf.
• Generous baking space – Designed to accommodate a substantial homemade sourdough loaf while allowing room for oven spring.
• For beautiful artisan bread – Ideal for sourdough boules and other naturally leavened loaves.

Dimensions

Lid

• Internal dome height: 95 mm
• Total lid height: 125 mm
• Internal diameter at widest point: 243 mm

Base

• Base height: 50 mm
• Base width where the loaf sits: 180 mm
• Internal diameter at widest point: 254 mm

How it works

Place your shaped and scored sourdough dough onto the base, position the domed lid over the loaf and bake according to your sourdough recipe. As the bread heats, moisture released from the dough becomes trapped beneath the lid, creating steam around the loaf during the crucial early stage of baking.

This helps keep the dough surface flexible while the loaf expands, supporting good oven spring before the crust develops its characteristic golden colour and crisp texture.

Whether you're an experienced sourdough baker or just beginning your bread-making journey, the Symbiota Sourdough Bread Cloche is an easy way to create bakery-style sourdough bread in your own kitchen.

Bake better sourdough. Create a crisp, golden crust. Bring artisan bread home.

 

Sourdough Bread Cloche FAQs

What is a sourdough bread cloche?

A sourdough bread cloche is a purpose-designed bread baker that creates a humid, steam-rich environment around your dough during baking. The Symbiota Cloche features a shallow base and domed lid, helping you achieve the crisp, golden crust and excellent oven spring associated with artisan sourdough bread.

What is the difference between a bread cloche and a Dutch oven?

The biggest difference is the design. A traditional Dutch oven has a deep pot, which means lowering your dough into a hot vessel. A cloche has a shallow base, allowing you to place your shaped dough directly onto a flat baking surface.

This makes loading and removing your sourdough easier and gives you much more room to work — without awkwardly reaching down into a deep, hot pot.

Why does the domed lid matter?

The domed lid helps trap the moisture released by your dough as it heats. This creates steam around the loaf during the early stages of baking.

Steam helps keep the surface of the dough flexible for longer, allowing the loaf to expand before the crust sets. This contributes to good oven spring and helps create the thin, crisp crust that makes artisan sourdough so satisfying.

The generous 95 mm internal dome height also provides room for your loaf to rise without pressing against the lid.

Will my sourdough loaf touch the lid?

The Symbiota Sourdough Bread Cloche has a generous domed interior, with 95 mm of internal dome height. This gives your dough room to expand during oven spring.

As always, the final height will depend on the size, hydration, shaping and fermentation of your particular loaf.

What size sourdough loaf fits?

The generous base is designed to accommodate a substantial homemade sourdough boule. The loaf sits on an approximately 180 mm wide baking surface, while the internal diameter of the cloche reaches approximately 254 mm at its widest point.

This provides plenty of room for your dough to expand during baking.

Do I need baking paper?

We recommend using our sourdough sling to make life easy. But you can use a small piece of baking paper underneath your dough, particularly when you're getting started. It makes transferring the shaped loaf onto the base simple and helps make removing your finished bread effortless.

Alternatively, you can dust the base with flour or another suitable bread-release method according to your recipe.

Do I need to preheat the cloche?

If your baking method calls for a preheated cloche, preheating the base and lid allows the baking vessel to provide a strong, consistent source of heat when your dough goes into the oven.

Can I score my sourdough directly on the cloche base?

Yes. The shallow base provides a convenient, stable surface for placing and scoring your shaped dough before covering it with the domed lid.

For particularly sticky or high-hydration dough, baking paper can make transferring the loaf even easier.

Does a sourdough cloche really make a difference?

It can make a noticeable difference to the baking environment. One of the challenges of baking sourdough in a domestic oven is creating enough steam during the initial stage of baking.

The cloche solves this by enclosing the loaf and capturing the moisture naturally released by the dough. This helps delay crust formation and allows the loaf to expand, supporting good oven spring and the development of a crisp crust.

Is a cloche suitable for sourdough beginners?

Absolutely. A cloche is a particularly useful tool if you're learning to bake sourdough because it simplifies one of the trickier parts of home bread baking: creating steam.

You don't need to set up a separate tray of boiling water or worry about creating steam throughout your oven. Simply place your dough on the base, cover it with the dome and bake according to your recipe.

How do I clean my sourdough bread cloche?

Allow the cloche to cool completely before cleaning. Remove any loose flour or crumbs, then clean by hand with a sponge and soapy water. Rinse thoroughly after. 

Avoid exposing a hot baking vessel to cold water, as sudden temperature changes can damage some baking materials.

Why is the Symbiota Cloche easier to use than a deep Dutch oven?

The shallow base is one of its biggest practical advantages. Rather than lowering your dough into a deep, hot pot, you place it onto the base from above and then cover it with the dome.

This gives you more control when handling your carefully fermented and shaped dough — and means less reaching into a hot vessel.

What makes the Symbiota Sourdough Bread Cloche special?

It's designed around the way sourdough actually bakes.

The shallow base makes loading your dough easier, while the generous domed lid creates an enclosed, steam-rich environment. Together, they help create the conditions for good oven spring, a beautifully developed crust and that unmistakable artisan sourdough finish.

Shape it. Score it. Bake it. Beautiful sourdough, made at home.