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 - the good old-fashioned red clay kind. The 3 inch pots make individual loaves. 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. Rinse well under hot running water. Dry overnight.
3. Oil pots well on the inside, including the rim with vegetable oil 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. Heat to 400 degrees then turn off the heat and leave the pots in the oven to cool. When completely cooled oil them again, repeating the process 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. Use the same process with a saucer for serving the butter.
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