SurreyAlan
No I just lower the shelf so it sits roughly in the middle of the oven and put it straight on the shelf.
One step I left out of my method is to preheat the Le Creuset with the lid on. I put mine in empty and switch the oven on when I do the second half-hour prove on the shaped loaf. By the time it’s ready to go in, the pan is up to temp.
Couple of important points here; make sure the pan has a metal knob on the lid, the plastic ones aren’t always safe up to 235. The larger pans come with them on but you can buy the metal one separately to replace the plastic ones.
Needless to say, wear oven gloves for removing the lid!!
For anyone else thinking of trying it, I keep saying ‘Le Creuset’ but as above, any decent weight cast-iron Dutch oven with a metal knob will work.
As a final tip, as soon as you remove the loaf from the oven, prop it up at an angle to cool on a rack / board. I find cooling it flat on its bottom keeps moisture in and softens the crust a bit. You can see in my photo I’ve used a wooden spoon to prop it up with.
