Flower Pot Bread

Any regular bread, either white or whole wheat, can be baked in clay flower
pots for interesting shapes and special brown crusts. Here is how to
prepare pots for Flower Pot Bread: 1. Buy unpainted clay pots (be sure they
are the good old-fashioned red clay kind, not some kind of plastic). You
can choose from diameters of 3 inches (for individual loaves), 4 inches, 5
inches, 6 inches and 7 inches. If you want to buy just one size, the 5-inch
pots make nice medium-sized loaves. Five this size should be enough for
most bread recipes. 2. Scrub pots thoroughly in hot soapy water. I used a
vegetable brush to scrub mine to be sure any powdery clay was washed away.
Rinse very well under hot running water. Dry, then let stand several hours
to be sure the water they have absorbed is completely dried out. (if you
are in a hurry they can be dried in a slow oven.) 3. Oil pots very well on
the inside, including the rim. Use vegetable oil and keep oiling until the
pot will not absorb any more. You’ll be surprised how much oil this will
take. 4. Set the pots on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil in a cold
oven. Turn thermostat to 400 degrees. When the temperature gets to 400
degrees, turn off the heat and leave the pots in the oven to cool. When
completely cooled oil them again, return them to a cold oven and heat a
second time, allowing them to cool in the oven. Now the pots are ready to
use. Be sure to grease them well before each use, especially around the
rim. Don’t worry about the hole in the bottom of the pot. The bread dough
will quickly seal the hole closed. Try one of your favorite recipes baked
this way. Whatever recipe you use, let the dough rise as usual to the
shaping stage. Then shape into balls just large enough to half-fill chosen
pots. Put dough into prepared pots and let rise in a warm place until dough
is level with tops of pots. Baking time will vary with kind of bread and
size of pots used. Bake until loaves sound hollow when tapped lightly on
top. Use same temperature your recipe requires for these specially-shaped
loaves. Let loaves stand in pots about 5 minutes after baking before
loosening carefully and turning out on racks to finish cooling.