Ultralight Baking Shell for Sourdough Bread (Batard) – No Preheating Needed for Crispy Crust and Even Baking

I absolutely love this shell! My husband bought me this and the heavy weight oven steel for my birthday. They both are wonderful to use and produce great results. I have a number of good quality cast iron pans for my sour dough bread, but definitely prefer using this method. No long period of time preheating pans and the shell weighs very little. He did get me the rectangle one and I ended up returning that one and exchanging it for the boule shape. This is large enough and functional for all shaped breads. The only negative is I can only do one loaf at a time. Since I do not have to preheat the cast iron and only need to preheat the oven for the Brød and Taylor steel, it actually takes the same amount of time to do two of them. This system is expensive- but in my opinion well worth it. I highly recommend the steel and the shell for bread making!

The Brod & Taylor Ultralight Baking Shell has been a game-changer for my steam oven baking. It is impressively lightweight, making it easy to insert and remove even when hot, yet it feels very durable and solid. The flat, smooth surface ensures even heat distribution, which gives consistent browning and a nice crisp crust on bread, pizza, and pastries. I also appreciate that the edges are slightly raised, helping to keep dough or batter in place without spilling. Cleanup is simple since nothing sticks, and the non-reactive surface maintains its quality over time. The shell is slightly larger than I expected, so storage requires a bit of planning, but the quality, performance, and versatility make it an excellent tool for any serious home baker.

Nice and light, which is what I was looking for. I’m using it with the clay tiles I already had. Yields a mice crust. I gave it a 4 because I do feel that putting the knob on side makes it clumsy to work with. On top would have made it easier put over the loaf, lift it off, and set it down.

I’ve had this Brod & Taylor Ultralight Baking Shell (Boule version) for about three months now, and honestly, it hasn’t gotten the attention or praise it truly deserves; this product and the company behind it are game-changers. This has given me by far the best and most consistent sourdough baking experience of my life. Before this, I spent money on two different Dutch ovens, tried every technique out there— I was even seriously considering buying a whole new oven because nothing was giving me the crispy crust, oven spring, and airy crumb I wanted reliably. Then I discovered this Baking Shell. I paired it with their base tray/steel, and if I hadn’t, I doubt I’d ever have achieved such killer loaves at home. No preheating the cover, super lightweight, easy to handle, traps steam perfectly, and the results look and taste professional — crackly crust, beautiful ear, open crumb. It’s honestly unmatched. Huge thank you to Brod & Taylor for creating something this brilliant and practically unrivaled in the home sourdough world. If you’re tired of heavy Dutch ovens and inconsistent results, do yourself a favor and get this — you won’t regret it!

While pricey, this light weight bread baking lid works great to give nice crust to your sour dough without having to use heavy awkward water baths. It does take up some space so think about that if kitchen cupboard space is at a premium. It is easy to use but it does make baking bread easier. It is well constructed so doubtful that I will ever need another. I am happy with the purchase

I doubted this would work as well as my (too heavy) cast iron pan for making a crusty artisan bread, but it worked just fine. I used it on a flat cookie sheet instead of a baking steel, and I had no problem lifting anything out of my hot oven. This did look so much bigger than I expected, I measured it to be sure. The measure was correct, and I agreed with the other reviewer who said she needed to rethink her storage area. The cost seems high, but the quality and ease of use made it worthwhile for me. There were several bread recipes that I could no longer make because the cast iron was too heavy. Now I can enjoy them again. The bread photos sent by other reviews are correct, and that is what sold me.

I bought the batard and discovered my 840g batards were rising into the ceiling of the shell. In 2 pictures you can see the darker patches on top if my batards. You can also see how the top is flattened in the crumb shots of two of them. Now, could I have made a 650g batard and gotten away with it? Sure, but I don’t want to. I want to make my recipes. I bought the Boule shell and baked a horribly overproofed 840g dough. The thing was absolutely massive. As you can see in the pictures, the top did not rise into the ceiling of the shell and from the crumb photo there is no longer a flat spot. While they are both advertised as 5.5” tall, the Batard shell comes to a point in the middle and is overall shorter than 5.5”. The Boule shell is a gentle curve where more of its height is 5.5”. No need to buy the Batard shell or both shells, buy the Boule shell and be done with it. It works great and much easier than a heavy Challenger pan or dealing with an upside down hotel pan (shoutout Modernist Bread).

This is the best money I have spent on baking supplies. If you like to make rustic artesian bread but don't like using a Dutch oven, then this is for you. I'm 74, and love to make artesian bread. I live in a multigenerational household and I have plenty of people to eat whatever I make. The Dutch oven is to heavy and I needed to wait for someone to be home to lift it in and out of the oven, as I was using a large one. This lovely dome weighs 1lb and it cools off in a minute or 2. I can put it in and out on my own, whenever I am ready. I bought the round one because other reviews said they liked that one best as it fits a larger loaf. I cut my dough in half and make 2 loaves and they both fit under the dome together. It is my most prized baking possession. I put off buying it for so long, but finally decided to go for it. The price stays the same although since the tariffs it has risen in price by $5. It seems expensive, but the difference it makes in your bread baking is worth it. The bottom crust is no longer dense and hard to cut through as it was in the Dutch oven. It's brown and crusty and so professional looking. I tell anyone looking to start baking bread more often to invest in this wonderful invention if possible. I do use a Baking steel under it, but I already had that for pizza. A pizza stone would work fine also. You just need a pan without a rim or a cast iron pan that would fit under the dome. I also use parchment paper, but I really think you don't need it. I truly love this baking dome. Thank you Brod &Taylor.

I’m new to sourdough baking and after a ton of research I came across this shell after seeing it on TikTok and thought what a great and light alternative to a super heavy Dutch oven. I’ve baked a few times with a Dutch oven and was getting annoyed at how heavy it was, it was also not yielding me the desired results in terms of bread structure etc. I used this just once and I was blown away by how light it is and how easy it is to use!! Highly recommend.

I bought the boule and the batard. I would suggest the batard for making bread rolls ( and they are amazing) the boule for making full loaves of bread. Little tip spray both with water before placing over dough and grease the inner rim to avoid dough sticking. Other than that, perfect.

Worked as advertised.

Normalerweise gibt man das Brot in den vorgeheizten Ofen, gibt heißes Wasser in den Ofen, damit das Wasser am kalten Teig kondensiert und so verhindert, dass sich eine Haut bildet, die das Brot am Aufgehen hindert. Dann geht das Brot im Ofen besser auf, man nimmt dafür Ober/Unterhitze, damit die Übertragung nicht zu schnell ist. Oder man bäckt im Topf, macht diesen heiß und die kleine Backkammer sorgt dafür, dass das verdunstende Wasser ebenfalls im Topf bleibt und so dafür sorgt, dass die Verhautung später stattfindet. Führt ebenfalls zu grandios aufgegangenen Broten. Die Backschale nutzt beide Prinzipien auf geniale Weise, wie ich finde. Die Feuchtigkeit vom Brot wird genutzt und die Oberhitze wird abgeblockt, was ein schnelles Verhauten ebenfalls verhindert, die Unterhitze kommt ungehindert ran. Das Ergebnis spricht m.E., für sich. Die beiden Bilder zeigen das obere Brot mit Backschale gebacken, das untere mit kräftig Dampf ohne Dampf. Auf dem ersten Bild ist das Ergebnis. Die beiden Teiglinge sind genau gleich schwer.

Zum Brotbacken kann ich den Deckel sehr empfehlen. Er ist sehr leicht und braucht nicht mit dem Backofen erhitzt werden das spart Energie. Bei dem Preis war ich doch etwas enttäuscht da der Deckel verzogen ist. Aber das stört nicht beim Brotbacken.