How do I Bake Bread in a Tagine?

The distinctive conical shape of a tagine pot can be used for cooking stew or bread.

Prepare moist and flavorful bread using a clay or terra-cotta tagine. Tagine refers to both a lidded cooking vessel with a conical lid and a Northern Africa stew cooked in that dish, according to Recipe Tips. To avoid chemicals leaching into your bread, never use glazed tagines. Use pre-made frozen bread dough or prepare the bread from your favorite recipe to bake any type of bread in your tagine.

Things You'll Need

• Tagine
• Prepared bread dough
• Baker's cooling rack

Instructions

1. Soak the tagine base and lid in water for 15 minutes.

2. Place the tagine lid and base into a cold oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit to slowly heat both the tagine and the oven.

3. Shape your dough into a rounded loaf the size of the base of your tagine.

4. Turn the dough into the base of the tagine and cover with the lid.

5. Return the covered tagine to the oven for 30 minutes to bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Remove the lid for the final 15 to 20 minutes of baking or until the top turns a golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped.

7. Let the bread cool on a baker's cooling rack completely before slicing and serving.

References

• NYTimes: No Knead Bread Recipe
• Algerian Cuisine: Algerian Tadjin (Tagine, Tajine, Tajeen)
• Cooking With Shirley: Cooking in Clay Pots
• Recipe Tips: Tagine Cooking Terms