How to Bake Bread With Clay

Make an ideal bread loaf with a clay baking pan.

Perhaps you have traveled to France and tried a delicious loaf of bread, moist inside, with a thin and flaky crust on the outside. If you tried to recreate the loaf in your own oven, you might have had trouble. The secret is not a particular recipe or cooking time; the secret is clay. A French baking device made of clay called a cloche, "bell" in English, is the only way to get this kind of bread. A cloche is a specialized clay baking pan that traps steam, creating an ideal crust, and wicks the moisture away from the loaf. You can use any bread recipe in your clay pan.

Things You'll Need

• Clay baking pot
• Vegetable oil
• Wax paper

Instructions

1. Rinse the clay pan in hot water to clean off any clay particles. Leave it overnight to dry.

2. Coat the interior with a thin coat of vegetable oil.

3. Prepare a loaf of dough as your bread recipe specifies. Place it on a sheet of wax paper.

4. Place the clay pan in the oven. Preheat to the temperature for your particular bread recipe. Once the oven reaches the correct temperature, let the pan sit in the oven for 1/2 hour.

5. Pick up the loaf of dough by the wax paper, and put it into the pan.

6. Put the lid on the pan.

7. Bake the loaf for the time specified in the recipe.

8. Open the lid of the pan for the last 1/3 of baking time if you wish to brown the loaf.

References

• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day; Baking Bread in a Closed Clay Pot; March 31, 2009
• Williams-Sonoma: Using a La Cloche Baker

Resources

• Sassafras; Crusty Country Loaf; Chuck Williams