Emile Henry 614553 Flame Top 5-1/2-Quart Round Stewpot, Red

Surpassed my expectations-a wonderful Dutch Oven
I researched Dutch Ovens on-line and in several cookware shops. Looked at Le Crueset, Staub, and Emile Henry. With some hesitation I ordered this one from Amazon. I did not believe that a ceramic one would really brown ingredients well the way that braises require. Believe me, it does an excellent job on meat, poultry, and vegetables. I have made Beef Bourguignon and Coq a Vin so far. The pot is a joy to use, the shape and size is perfect, food does not stick or burn as it is cooking, and after cooling and a brief soaking it cleans beautifully. This Dutch Oven is not light weight but is is much lighter than the cast iron ones and I do not need to worry potential rusting or enamel chipping in the future. I expect that you do need to be more careful to avoid sudden temperature changes such as putting a really hot pot on a cold counter. Note that the first one I ordered was not packed well and arrived broken in many pieces. Amazon promptly and courteously sent a new one and a postage...

Need for No Knead
As with another reviewer, I also primarily use this for no knead bread, although I have a few old cast-iron dutch oven recipes I am aching to try. I bought this primarily because someone who borrowed my dutch oven failed to clean it properly, and it rusted. I am now in better financial shape and appreciate great kitchen items, so I decided to splurge. I was looking at the Le Creuset line when I came across this beauty. At the same time I was getting into bread baking and I discovered the no-knead method outlined by Jim Lahey in his wonderful book "My Bread". In the book he recommends several options, but the biggest problem with using most enamel covered cast iron pots is that you have to remove the handle, or you risk damaging it during the high temperature baking (475-500F). There were two models I found that would not have this problem. The first was the Kitchenaid cast-iron/enamel with the silicone handle. That is a tough one to find. The second is this beauty. The Emile...

Emile Henry Flame Top 5 1/2 qt. round oven red
I bought this pot specifically to bake no-knead bread in it at very high temperatures. It performs excellently, is much lighter and easier to handle than an equivalent iron pot, cleans like a dream, and I am looking forward to cooking with it as well. It is pricey, but I found it was worth getting it!

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