Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Ok, I grew up in an Italian section of Brooklyn. There was a Italian bakery every other block. My parents are from Italy, my wifes family are all Italian and I have been to Italy twice to visit relatives and have tasted some of the best home baked Italian bread ever. I know what a good loaf of Italian bread tastes, smells and feels like. I have been cooking and baking for over 30 years at home. In fact I do all the cooking in my family; always have. My oven is electric; I use a stone in the oven and no matter what I did, the results were inconsistent for the crust. These are my results with the pot. The first try: soft crust too moist inside. So I tried some of the other reviewers suggestions, including heating the pot. Lid on lid off. Still no luck. I finally hit it. This is the method that has given me bread from my childhood. 1) Place a sheet of parchment paper in the pot and sprinkle on corn meal. 2) For second rising, shape and place in pot. I place the pot on my stove for second rise. 3) 45 minutes to an hour before it's ready for the oven, I turn my oven on to 480 deg. This I believe is the secret. Higher heat. I also grow bonsai trees and I use small clay pieces in the mixture of soil. Clay absorbs water then slowly releases the moisture. Same principle for the pot. The difference is if the heat isn't high enough the moisture does not release quickly. Which is probably the reason some reviewers have spongy crumb. After 40 min in the oven I remove the lid and cook another 6-7 minutes for a deep brown. I have made hundreds of loafs of bread in my day and I have never had a crust so crisp, the crumb is perfect. Lift the parchment paper and there is nothing to clean. Nothing at all. I did condition it with when I first got it. Of coarse It doesn't look anything like an Italian free form loaf but the taste is as good as what I can buy at a good Italian bakery. No lie. I have a meat slicer that has a blade for bread; I use the whole recipe for one loaf and it is huge. I now have two pots. I basically use Carol Fields recipe for Pane Franchise, with a minor adjustment for moisture content of my starter. What I don't eat immediately I slice and freeze. Since applying this method I have made great bread everytime (8 weeks straight as of today). I have not tried any other breads yet. 425 or 450 deg won't work in my oven. Higher heat to release moisture quickly that's the trick. Good luck