Getting my partner a Dutch oven for her birthday and I'm wondering what size I should get her. I know she's talked about making bread in it. I don't think she often makes soup but it would be nice to have something that does everything. Would a 5qt be enough for most of the normal applications someone would make food for 2 people in? Occasionally she may make food for 4. I know I would use this pot for Coq Au Vin and Beef Bourguignon. Things of that nature. Any pros and cons for the two?

Might look into getting one however, I don't bake bread as much so it can be good for baking seafood or potatoes. I do think they're a bit heavy but if I do have a family it would make sense to get the 5 qt. What about the cooking skillet/frying pan? Would a skillet be better for someone who doesn't bake as much?

Update : Wow, thank you for all your input. New to all of this! I love to cook but mostly use a skillet but sometimes bake meals (hate using disposable aluminum trays. and would like to see what fun high end cookware to buy that will last me in the long run. Not sure where to start.

Hi all! My bf and I are looking to get our first Le Creuset and are having trouble deciding. We live in NYC so we don't have the most burner space. We typically like to cook for ourselves and love to have a good amount of leftovers which is why we originally were decided on the 5.5 quart round dutch oven. With our Le Creuset, we mostly are hoping to be able to cook primarily pasta / meat-based sauces (bolognese, braised short ribs, pot pie, chili, etc.). It would be nice to be able to cook a soup every once and awhile as well although we wouldn't do that as often which is why I started seeing that perhaps the Round Wide Dutch Oven might be a better fit as then we'd be able to have more space browning meats (although not sure if it's really that much of a difference). The dishes we're looking to cook don't seem to require the taller sides of the traditional round dutch oven and the Round Wide seems a bit like a hybrid between the braiser and DO so would eliminate any future need of getting a braiser. Although the Round Wide DO does seem significantly heavier than the other two was another thing we were considering.

Would appreciate any and all insight about the pros and cons of each. To me, it seems we either stick with the 5.5 Qt Round DO with intention of potentially getting a braiser in the future or just get the Round Wide DO.