This is pretty basic, and I'm surprised Kenji made such an error, given that he could easily have asked someone. I'm pretty sure that a dutch oven simply allow

This is pretty basic, and I'm surprised Kenji made such an error, given that he could easily have asked someone. I'm pretty sure that a dutch oven simply allows for more humidity in the air in contact with the dough, which allows that air to be hotter, without drying out the crust. In other words, the same mechanism that commercial bread ovens use to make bread.