Baking in a Romertopf or other clay pot

[DivaDonna]

I've been baking my breads in pyrex loaf pans, or depending on the kind of bread, just as a hand-shaped loaf on a baking stone. I recently picked up a big Romertopf clay pot at a thrift store & would like to try baking bread in it.

Most of the recipes I see for clay pots are for roasts, stews, etc. But I think the moist environment would make great bread crusts.

Anybody have any experience or advice baking bread in covered clay pots?

Thank you!

DivaDonna

[Clarissa_one]

CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT WONDERFUL THIFTSTORE FIND !!!! I have one myself and I use it oven. Unfortunatly you cannot bake bread in them. There are, however, some glazed pottery baking pan designed for bread. I seen them used for making No Kneed breads. La Cloche makes Clay Bakers in 2 shapes, oblong and round. I read diffrent reviews, the biggest complaint was the pans arrived damaged or broken. For the most part people that are using them are satisfied with the results. For now I suggest you use the Roemertopf for roasting meats and veggies. Remember to always soak it overnignt first and always put it into an cold oven. I hope this helps.

Clarissa

[Mochamom]

Hi,

I have a Romertopf also. They are GREAT for baking yeast breads. Here is a recipe to get you started.

ONE Perfect Loaf.

1C warm water
1package yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1tbs olive oil (or other oil)
3C flour (approx)

Place water in bowl, ans sprinkle with yeast. Let soften 3 mins then stir in sugar,salt and oil. Add 2 cups of the flour and mis till blended:beat on med speed till dough is elastic.(about 5 mins)

Stir in 1/2 cup of the flour to make soft dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead, adding flour as needed, until dough is smooth and springy (about 15 to 20 mins by hand-less by machine). Place dough in greased bowl and let rise until double.

Soak bottom half of your clay cooker (5 1/2 cup one) for 15 mins. Drain, pat dry, and oil sides and bottom.

Punch risen dough down and shape into loaf and place in oiled cooker. Cover let stand till dough nearly reaches top of cooker (about 30 mins). Cut diagonal slashes in risen loaf.

Soak top half of cooker 15 mins, drain, pat dry, and oil. Place covered cooker in COLD oven. Set oven to 425 degree F and bake 45 mins. Remove top cover and bale till
top is brown (3-5 mins). Remove and cool on rack.

This is a goof first loaf. GOOD LUCK and there are TONS of other recipes out there.:)

[Dough Boy]

I've been baking my breads in pyrex loaf pans, or depending on the kind of bread, just as a hand-shaped loaf on a baking stone. I recently picked up a big Romertopf clay pot at a thrift store & would like to try baking bread in it.

Most of the recipes I see for clay pots are for roasts, stews, etc. But I think the moist environment would make great bread crusts.

Anybody have any experience or advice baking bread in covered clay pots?

Thank you!

DivaDonna

Hi DivaDonna,

Good find in the Thrift Store. I'm constantly prowling Thrift Stores in search of clay bakers for my no-knead breads, which clay bakers are well-suited for, IMHO.

That being said, the loose nature of the no-knead dough can be a bit unruly for new bakers, so I came up with a tutorial for using baskets and parchment paper to handle the dough (http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f23/nyt-and-parchment-paper-tutorial-50262.html) during its final proof and on its journey to the oven. It's helped a lot of people to make more bread once they learn there's an easier way of handling dough.

I love my clay bakers and now have three of them used exclusively for no-knead breads; and oblong LaCloche from Breadtopia.com, a Schlemmertopf from a Thrift Store and a "Gallery" (out of business. They were from the '80's) also found at another Thrift Store. This week I will be ordering the round LaCloche from Breadtopia so I can make oversized loaves of no-knead bread. I also use a 3 qt dutch oven, Corningware casserole dishes with covers, and several oven-safe glass bowls found at garage sales and Thrift Stores. Anything that will handle the heat and has a cover is fair game. Here are three of my cooking vessels that I use for no-knead. I can make 3 loaves of bread at the same time, thus saving on my gas bill.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Food/P1010061.jpg

Here are some of the final products from the clay bakers and other vessels. You can see they all have different shapes, but they are all delicious!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/flyfishohio/Food/P1000721.jpg

I also use my oven stone for Italian bread and other free form loaves. Can't beat it for maintaining even heat.

Hope this helps.

Joe

aka: Dough Boy