BreadPots - from my kiln to your oven

Just a few left...

2011-12-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

I have a handful of regular BreadPots left.
Also, one large cloche, one small cloche.

Once these are gone, I will take orders for the next batch which will fire in March.

Waiting for delivery

2011-11-29T12:41:00.001-05:00

I had a gas leak at the kiln, fixed it, but did not have enough gas to fire the stoneware pots to temperature. I took the opportunity to change to a larger tank and get rid of the old ones that had to be refilled every firing. So I have a batch of pots in the kiln, waiting for 80 gallons of propane to be delivered. It is getting late for starting. I will be up late tonight. If all goes well I will be shipping next week.
Because of a broken finger, I don't have many BreadPots this baking and gifting season.
They will go fast, so if you want one, let me know right away.

Saturday 11-2 if you want to come over.

a BreadBell cloche is good for croissants too

2011-11-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

so it would seem anyway; there is almost too much oven spring. a traditionally laminated, all-butter dough baked covered for 6 minutes, then uncovered for a further 12 at 400F. fresh out of the oven, it smells like a warm, dry, early autumn morning in the viennoiserie district of choose-your-french-city. the sticky-looking filling is a pseudo-frangipane made tasty and more inauthentic by the addition of freshly ground green cardamom.

unfortunately, a disappointing texture in the final baked good and a distinctly bloated aspect unknown among the trim and lovely croissants made by pros and french baking nerds (see, for instance, this). is this due to my incompetent shaping? definitely. but it is also because i laminated the dough too many times. when the instructions say to "mark on paper or a slip of parchment each time you do a turn, for this dough will not hold indentations as puff pastry dough will," they know of what they speak.

fortunately, they taste great. perhaps next time, if i follow instructions to the letter, they will also look like this on the inside.

BreadBellz

2011-10-04T23:38:00.005-04:00

8"h x 9-10 square base

I have the one on the left remaining and another in the works. If you want a cloche, send an email.

New BreadPots

2011-06-22T20:10:00.000-04:00

It has been busy in the studio with a gaggle of projects going at once. New BreadPots are in the works and will be ready in a couple of weeks. I have two new cloches made of a dark chocolate brown clay. BreadBellz. There have been orders for custom inscribed wedding present BreadPots. Nice. What a good gift for a wedding!

the base returns

2011-04-27T15:23:00.002-04:00

some weeks ago, the cloche's base self-destructed in the middle of a baking cycle. i brought the pieces to judy who, after much research, produced a New and Improved base.

for the new base's first flight, a very multi-grain bread: white wheat, whole wheat, rye, rough rye, pearl barley, and bulghur, to be exact. it has a nice crust, a really, really great crumb, awesome flavour, though less oven spring than a less whole-grain-y bread. having toyed briefly with breads requiring minimal intervention and few bowls, i am now all the way at the other end of the spectrum. here is the bread:

this formula involves 2 small bowls, 1 large bowl, no kneading, and

520g all-purpose unbleached white flour
72g rye and rough rye flour
30g whole wheat pastry flour
100g mix of pearl barley and bulghur, about half each
360g water
216g 100% hydration starter
14g salt

you will have a baked loaf about 6 hours after when you begin mixing the final dough (but you may also retard the dough after shaping. so far, up to 12 hours has worked for me).

8-12 hours before mixing final dough

make your 100% hydration starter by mixing equal masses of flour and water with a bit of your sourdough starter and leaving at room temperature until the whole begins to bubble. i do this in a 4qt glass bowl with a cover.
saturate the rye and whole wheat flours with 180g of cool water (the other 180g goes into the final dough); store in a covered bowl.
saturate the 100g mixed grains with water to cover, and then a bit more. no need to measure this water, as you will drain it completely later.

making the final dough

drain the 100g mixed grains in a sieve and press out as much free water as possible. i measure and use this water as part of the 180g of water in the final dough.
combine the 216g starter, 520g A/P flour, 180g water (slightly warmed; part of this was drained out of the grains), and the water/rye/whole wheat mixture, then mix thoroughly. i use a big spoon for this. leave to sit for 30-60 minutes.
after 30-60 minutes, sprinkle 14g salt over the dough and mix salt in thoroughly. the dough will be too wet to knead easily, so i stick with the big spoon.
cover again and leave to bulk ferment at room temperature (should be about 72F). fold every 45 minutes for 2.5 hours.

pre-shape, rest 20 minutes, final shape, then proof (covered) for another 2 hours (or, better yet, do one of the proofing tests). i bake at 450F, with steam for 8 minutes, then without steam for 21 minutes.

i have also had good results from retarding the shaped loaves for anywhere from 8-12 hours before baking.

[another guest post from vt]

April BreadPots, freshly fired

2011-04-23T14:45:00.001-04:00

Get Bakers Jobs, a site for professional bakers will be featuring the BreadPot this week.
Here are the BreadPots fresh from the kiln.
I fired 5 of them with combustibles in a saggar so they are mottled and marked with the fire.

rye

2011-03-27T12:35:00.003-04:00

the cloche slays it again. after various experiments with long-retardation, i began to fool around with rough-milled rye and increasing the amount of starter in the dough (this is a formula from peter reinhardt, by way of wildyeast). this accelerates the first fermentation ("bulk fermentation") of the dough so that you could, if you wanted, have fresh bread in about 6 hours.

rye makes dough sticky beyond belief and appears to become workable by hand only after lots and lots of retardation in a nice cold refrigerator. i followed instructions for time and temperature (which did not include a long cold period), so did not benefit. if you choose to knead a rye-heavy dough by hand, here are some discoveries i have made.

dough on fingers dissolves most readily in warm water. hot water, apart from being uncomfortable, also cooks the dough onto you.
answering the phone while kneading is not recommended.
wood toothpicks are best for getting dough out of the spaces between cellphone keys.
folding the dough is easier and more effective than kneading it.

as a test, i split the dough into two batches of equal mass, one baked with the cloche and the other on a pizza stone with a steel mixing bowl over the top. the loaf you see below is from the cloche: mildly sour, lots of rye flavour, incredible oven spring, great crisp, caramelised crust, tender crumb with great aeration.

this competent but much less delightful loaf is from the stone. still decent oven spring, nice-ish crust caramelisation, but the final rise in the oven was not as uniform, and the crumb is not as well aerated (no crumb shot though, sorry!):

[vt, yet again]

BreadPots and Wandering Educators

2011-01-01T17:36:00.000-05:00

Wandering Educators Artist of the Month

Cloche for ciabatta

2010-11-28T23:52:00.003-05:00

I had a request for a BreadPot today from Barry who makes ciabatta. It has me thinking about the BreadBell cloche again. I have one small ($78) and one large ($150) now. The large one is like the one our Vaughan (vt) has been using and blogging about. Maybe Barry will post a comment with his ciabatta recipe...

BreadBell 8" 1 1/2 lb bread SOLD

Large BreadBell SOLD

Here is the ciabatta recipe from Barry's blog
Sponge
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp warm water (105-115 deg F)
1/3 cup room-temp water
1 cup bread flour

Step 1. Stir together warm water and yeast. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Transfer yeast mixture to another bowl, add room-temp water and flour. Stir for at least 4 minutes until fully combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 1 day,

Bread
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp warm milk (105-115 deg F)
2/3 cup room-temp water
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt

Step 2. Mix yeast and milk in small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Oil another bowl with olive oil. In bowl of standing mixer, using dough hook, blend together milk mixture, sponge, oil, and flour on lowest speed until flour is moistened.

Beat for approximately 3 minutes. Add salt and beat for approximately 3 more minutes. Scrape dough into oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it set until doubled, at least 1.5 hours.

Step 3. Cut two pieces of parchment paper, approx 12 x 6 inches. Place on baking sheet and flour well. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to paper and form irregular ovals approx 9 inches long. Dust with flour. Cover with dampened kitchen towel and let rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until almost doubled.

Step 4. At least 45 minutes before baking bread, preheat pizza stone on lower oven rack position at 425 F. Just before baking, score the tops of the loaf with a sharp knife. Optionally, lightly sprinkle with coarse kosher or sea salt.

Transfer loafs, on the parchment paper, onto the stone and bake for 20 minutes or until pale golden-brown. Remove to cooling racks. Let rest for 30 minutes or so to allow the crust to cure.

Note that this recipe sounds a lot more difficult than it is. There are only four steps and each one is easy. It is also very forgiving. You can use all-purpose flour if you don’t have bread flour. Or you can mix flours. Results will vary in taste and texture, but it works. Also, if your personal schedule dictates, after completing Step 2, you can store the dough in the refrigerator and go to work (or whatever). It will rise more slowly in the fridge, which is fine…just try to let it rise to about twice the size you started out with, probably 6-8 hours.

Some Breads in the Tartine Style

2010-11-27T14:02:00.000-05:00

Photo by Matt Korahais.

I've been playing around a bit with the bread method described in Chad Robertson and Eric Wolfinger's Tartine Bread (the book is beautiful, by the way, check it out). Robertson's method uses a sourdough leaven in a wet dough--but one a little drier than Lahey/Bittman's no-knead. The dough is turned three or four times during a long bulk fermentation lasting 3-8 hours, depending on temperature. After the initial mix, the dough gets a 20 minute autolyse before salt and a small amount of water are added in to finish it off.

Photo by Matt Korahais.

The recipe is geared toward two loaves, so each time I baked one in the cast-iron dutch oven and one in the BreadPot. I scored the loaves, but somewhat haphazardly, as the depth of the pots made it difficult for me to get my scoring knife in.

Photo by Matt Korahais.

For the second bake, a walnut pecan golden raisin loaf, the garnish was added after about 40 minutes of the bulk rise, during the first turn.

Photo by Matt Korahais.

I turned the dutch oven into a cloche by turning it upside down and using my skillet as the bottom.

Photo by Matt Korahais. Uncropped!

The crumb was light and airy, well-gelatinized and full of large, irregular holes.

Photo by Matt Korahais.

One Year of BreadPot development

2010-11-08T14:19:00.000-05:00

It was just one year ago this month that I started this BreadPot project.
With the help of my bread baking buddies, this blog and hard work in clay, they are much improved.
Those of you who know the experimental nature of my work might imagine that I might lose interest in the simplicity of these. I do love enhancing the value of this simple slow bread in people's lives with clay.
Well, I have been inventing ways to keep it interesting. First, I have used it as a teaching tool with two young potters. Second, I explored different clays, adding a subtle variation of colors. Third, I have decorated some of them with brushwork. Fourth, I actually put a few in saggars with combustibles and got natural markings that people seem to like. I have had my losses, but the experiments in each firing is what keeps me engaged. This picture was taken at the kiln after the last batch showing the clay test colors and other variations. There was even one that had a wedding inscription as a special order.

You may specify decoration or special strap handle for as long as these last. I also have one oversize cloche (mid left in this picture) like the one vt is using. He loves it. Call for price. I will be sending an email about them to my list this month and I expect them to go fast. Word of mouth is my marketing plan. The BreadPots are at Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet, as are my flame painted pots. Most of them are here at the studio.

no-knead, shaped bread, in the cloche

2010-11-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

up until a few months ago, i was making bread with an involved 8-step process. good results, but sort of a pain too. i started experimenting with the no-knead, long-retarded bread formulas. below, you see photographic evidence of progress. 2 steps, no kneading, great crumb, great crust. the cloche, you will see below, continues to knock it out of the park.

full details and formulation coming soon. stay tuned.

My Version of VT's Sourdough

2010-08-26T16:41:00.001-04:00

Couldn't make it in the BreadPot because I melted the brains of my broiler, but I wanted to post the results of my version of vt's 61% hydration sourdough. A finicky formula, but the results are outstanding. Great, great crust. I baked it under a large heavy pot at the bakery, which is how I make the sourdough that we sell there. For flour, I used mostly unbleached A/P flour, but all of the sponge was made with some local 'brown' or 'half-white' flour that I bought from Cayuga Pure Organics. Vt, may I have permission to reproduce your formula and instructions (with credit) on my blog? I'd like to show this loaf off.

it's alive!

2010-08-24T16:55:00.003-04:00

obligatory "crumb shot"

close to good enough, i think. after the last few loaves (especially #7), this one was confirmatory. at 61% hydration, this sourdough loaf had a sticky (but not unmanageably sticky) dough, and was wet enough for a lot of oven spring without collapsing during unsupported proofing. it has great aeration. look at those lobes! marvel at the grigne (even if maybe there was a bit too much oven spring going on)! the only thing i would do now is extend the proofing time by maybe another hour.

more prosaically: the timing of various steps was convenient for work schedules. everything here was done while room temperature hovered in the 65F to 68F range. starting at 8am on monday, i got everything into the fridge by 10pm on monday and baked the bread at 3pm on tuesday.

the cloche-style breadpot continues to perform beautifully. great oven spring, mind-bendingly good crust. i think we have a winner.

ingredients

starter (about 1 tablespoon worth)
450 g flour mix (30g whole wheat pastry flour, 420g white A/P)
275 g water
8 g salt
2.5 qt glass or metal bowl, with a cover.
7 x 7 sheet parchment paper
peel or piece of cardboard for transferring dough
couple teaspoons of flour for dusting dough

stage 1 starter

80 g warm water (body temperature, not much hotter than that)
1 tb starter
80 g flour mix

a 2.5 qt bowl is plenty, slightly smaller would work too. glass is nice so that you can see how much aeration is happening in the dough as it progresses, but metal is also fine. in this bowl, dissolve the starter in the warm water, then mix in the flour. shaggy or soupy is fine. cover and leave in a warmish place with minimal air circulation for about 8 hours until bubbly.

stage 2 first build

stuff from stage 1
36 g warm water (body temperature as before)
110g flour mix

remove 1 tb of the stuff from stage 1 and keep as your starter. add the 36 g water to the bowl and break up the dough slurry inside with a fork or spoon. add the 110 g flour mix and stir to combine. again, shaggy is fine. the dough should be much firmer and drier compared to stage 1. cover and leave undisturbed for an hour. stir after an hour, then cover and leave undisturbed for another 2 hours. you should see lots of little bubbles where the dough touches the bottom of your glass bowl. if you used a metal bowl, tough luck.

stage 3 second build

stuff from stage 2
159 g cold water (from the tap is fine)
260 g flour mix

add the 159 g water to the stuff from stage 2, stir to break up and combine. add the 260 g flour and mix. a large wood or metal spoon is good for this. cover and allow to sit undisturbed at room temperature for an hour.

stage 4 adding salt

stuff from stage 3
8 g salt

clean a counter space. sprinkle the 8 g salt over the stuff from stage 3 and mix with the spoon. scrape everything out of the bowl and knead to combine any dry flour scraps (squishing them against the counter with the heel of your hand is a satisfying and effective procedure known to bread nerds as fraisage) and the salt. the dough will initially be disturbingly soft and sticky. your fingers will be covered in dough. it will not be the silky bread dough you are used to. as the salt gets integrated, the dough will firm up and become much more congenial. knead on for a minute or so after everything is combined, then scrape back into the bowl and cover. leave in a draftless spot for about 30-45 minutes.

stage 5 stretching and folding, then retarding the dough
take the dough out of the bowl, do a STRETCH AND FOLD and put the dough back into the bowl. (what is a stretch and fold? this video illustrates.) repeat twice, with 30-45 minutes between stretch-and-folds, for a total of 3 stretches and folds over about 1.5 to 2 hours. after the third stretch-and-fold, replace in the bowl, cover, and put in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

stage 6 more stretching and folding
take the dough out of the bowl. surprise! it feels great, though cold. do a stretch and fold. replace in the bowl, cover, replace in the fridge. repeat twice, with an hour between stretch-and-folds (put the dough back in the fridge in between each turn).

stage 7 shaping, proofing, preheating
prepare a piece of parchment paper about 7 x 7 inches square, and a small dish with about 2 teaspoons of flour on it. shape the dough. this video is instructive. (note that she proofs in a banneton. i don't have a banneton. but, really, i don't think you need a banneton.) after shaping the boule, lay it on the parchment paper and leave to proof, covered by a large bowl. after 40 minutes, fire up the oven to 475F with the breadpot inside. (next loaf will proof for an additional 60 minutes.)

stage 8 slashing, baking
when the oven has been preheating for 20-25 minutes, uncover the dough. slide the dough on the parchment onto a peel (i use a sheet of cardboard). slash with a sharp razor blade. the cutting edge of the blade should be oriented at 45 degrees to the surface of the loaf. open the oven, remove both the breadpot base and top and place on something heatproof. close the oven door. slide the loaf off the peel into the bottom of the breadpot, then cover with the lid remembering that it is searingly hot. open the oven door, and deposit the covered loaf in the oven. close the door and set your timer for 15 minutes. remove the lid after the first 15 minute timer goes, and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes at 450F.

allow to cool completely on a rack before slicing.

[yet another guest post from vt, at the sap also rises]

The Wellfleet Connection

2010-08-19T22:17:00.000-04:00

In July, Mark Bittman spoke in Wellfleet for the Truro Center for the Arts. I gave him one of our pots and thanked him for bringing me back to bread baking by writing about Jim Lahey's no knead bread method.
Today he wrote about it in his blog!
markbittman.com/on-forgetting-how-to-cook-part-ii

Bittman Bakes in the Breadpot

2010-08-19T15:25:00.000-04:00

How funny, one free spirit gets another to follow a recipe, albeit his own.
What a lovely photo. How things come around!

sourdough #7

2010-07-02T10:28:00.004-04:00

after sourdough #6 ("the loaf that was way overproofed"), this loaf is a nice validation. tasty too; bread nerds, please note the grigne.

dropping the hydration by 5% (to 59%) resulted in a much firmer dough and a crumb with much finer, more uniform aeration (compare to the massive and irregular holes in this 64% hydration loaf). giant holes are nice and craft-y, but not so good for a sandwich heavy on the condiments. #7 made a killer sharp cheddar, mustard, and cold avocado grilled cheese sandwich (why is the avocado cold? for more sandwich theory, see here).

on the other hand, i think i want a few more big holes, so the next loaf will shoot for somewhere between 59% and 64% hydration with the same flours and salt ratio.

this one was

30g starter (70% hydration)
420g AP white flour
30g whole wheat pastry flour
265g water
8g salt
two builds (12h, then 4h) before bulk fermentation (7h), then an overnight retardation (14h) before shaping, proofing (4h, but could probably have gone for a while longer, judging by the cracked crust), and baking (500F covered for 15min, then 425F for 20min) in the beta version of the cloche breadpot judy gave me.

the cloche has been nothing but great. even when i fail to proof correctly or leave out key ingredients (like salt), i get terrifying oven spring and a crisp, caramelised crust. is this correlation or causation?

so, next up, for sourdough #8, a slightly more hydrated dough, and a side-by-side baking comparison. counterfactuals, after all, are to be embraced, not feared.

[yet another guest post from vt, at the sap also rises]

the experiments continue

2010-06-16T08:30:00.000-04:00

this crumb's not bad

we're keeping this cloche prototype in business and discovering The Joys of the Scientific Method too!

the last loaf i baked (not the rye sourdough and unfortunately not pictured here) was perplexingly sticky as dough, to the point of being unworkable. i avoided abject loaf failure, always looming on the horizon, only narrowly. after baking it in the cloche and tasting the result, i discovered the reason for the dough's weird consistency: i'd forgotten to add the salt. the always-reliable bread nerds at king arthur tell us that "bread baked without salt will have a flat and insipid taste ... salt tightens the gluten structure. when salt is left out, the resulting dough is slack and sticky in texture, work-up is difficult, and bread volume is poor." don't forget the salt.

this time, i didn't forget the salt. this is a white (93%) and whole wheat (7%) sourdough boule, 1.8% salt. slightly lower hydration ratio (63%) compared to the sourdough rye, but with a longer autolyse (12h), longer bulk fermentation with more folding (14h!), and a much longer proof (5h!). no kneading on this one, just many cycles of stretching and folding. i think the unseasonably low temperatures in massachusetts are messing with things. the crust on this one is great (crunchy, glossy, caramelised), crumb is good and improving (more uniformly aerated through the loaf, fewer dense spots), flavour is excellent (mildly sour, richly flavoured, a marvelous lactic aroma), but the dough is still too wet in the shaping stage and the shaped dough spread too much as it proofed.

the crumb issues are, i think, associated with the hydration ratio on the dough. a slightly drier dough may proof better and (maybe) yield a better crumb. next time around, i'll drop the hydration even more (maybe 61%). flavour is good, so i'll keep the flour types and proportions and the approximate autolyse/bulk/proof times.

a note on the cloche: so far, the cloche seems to be associated with consistently excellent crust and great oven spring (3 for 3) even when i do something boneheaded like forgetting to put in the salt and the dough spreads out into a huge puddle during the proofing. but you know what they say about the relationship between correlation and causation.

[another guest post from the sap also rises]

sourdough rye boule

2010-06-09T22:20:00.005-04:00

hello, hello. judy mentioned a cloche for experiments and now here, just weeks later, is an actual experiment. up above, for your viewing pleasure, is a 1.6lb 64% hydration sourdough boule. the flours were 80% white wheat, 10% whole wheat, 10% rye. the loaf was retarded in the refrigerator for 14 hours, shaped and proofed for 2 hours, and then baked in judy's cloche-style breadpot for 20 minutes covered at 500F, and another 20 minutes uncovered at 425F. this array of numbers is the hallmark of a bread nerd. if you are also a bread nerd, you may relish these additional details:

starter hydration = 70%
autolyse = 30 minutes
salt = 1.5%

during baking, there was a pronounced and pleasant lactic aroma, and the crust developed a warm brown colouration. waiting for it to cool completely was difficult, owing to the fragrance of warm bread that permeated throughout. the loaf has a crisp, robust, crackly crust rich with flavour, and a completely aerated, gelatinised, mildly sour crumb with irregular bubbles. if you are a bread nerd, you will have noticed the well-defined edges where the loaf was slashed open prior to baking, to allow for expansion of the dough. did you know that these edges have a special name in french that is all their own? i will tantalise you no longer: they are called grigne.

let us not forget the taste of this loaf: it is mighty tasty. in addition to being staggeringly delicious (especially with some sharp cheddar), this bread formula is also easy and accommodating to people whose schedules see them at home only in the evenings. more details and full instructions when i've baked this a few more times.

the breadpot cloche verdict:

the loaf: lots more oven spring with this cloche than with my previous duct tape and baling wire attempts to create a high humidity baking environment, often involving exciting times with preheated cast iron skillets and boiling water, ice cubes, spray misters, and pyrex bowls. judging by the rate at which the loaf is being consumed, the quality of crust and crumb far exceed previous attempts.
usability: the cloche shape seems already nearly perfect. handle on the lid is easy to use even with oven mitts on. the slope of the base sides exactly contains a boule of the size i like.

[vaughn, guest-posting from the sap also rises]

smoky saggar fired experiment with BreadPots

2010-05-15T18:43:00.000-04:00

I will be firing a batch of new brown toast stoneware BreadPots tomorrow to cone ten 2350F. I am trying an experiment in this kiln load that will make a connection between these pots and my saggar fired work. I have built a container in a bottom section of the kiln and filled it with sawdust and two bakers. I also filled one of the three oversize cloche shaped bakers with sawdust. I made these on a request by Vaughn Tan, who wants to experiment with this form for his baking. I will let you know how it turns out.

Breadpots on breadexperience.com

2010-05-04T20:04:00.001-04:00

The BreadPot is featured on the Baking in Pots feature on www.breadexperience.com.

Whole wheat Tofu Challah

2010-04-13T20:12:00.004-04:00

This is a very different bread recipe. It is a variation on challah, but I've been using silken tofu instead of butter. As for the flour, almost any kind or any combination of different flours will work. I've been experimenting with this for a long time. The bread is on the cakey side - but great toasted. It turned out great in Judy's BreadPot - so cute!

Tofu Challah – makes 4 loaves
4 pkgs yeast
4 cups warm water
Mix and let bubble (add a little sugar )
Then….add
1 cup sugar
1 package of silken tofu (put between paper towels to soak up moisture for about ½ hour before using)
4 eggs
4 tsp salt
12 cups of flour (I have been experimenting with all kinds of flour – including whole wheat, buckwheat, spelt, quinoa, oat, etc.)
I also add a little bit of protein powder

I also do this in 2 batches (using 2 big bowls) – which makes it much easier to work with.

Cover the bowls with a damp cloth – put in refrigerator overnight or even up to a few days (doesn’t seem to matter).

Braid the dough into 4 challah loaves. The one for Judy’s BreadPot can just be formed into a circle.

Brush with butter – sprinkle with sesame and/or poppy seeds

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown on top

Check out the bread baking day #29 Bread in Pots theme at www.breadexperience.com

The Great American BreadPot -- phase 3

2010-04-11T20:56:00.000-04:00

The BreadPot Experiment is entering a new phase. I have been teaching Brenna, a young potter/intern, how I make these and she is a quick study. She has helped me make a batch last week and we will be firing them next week. We plan to have them available, with bread tastes, at the Cambridge Open Studios/North on April 23-24. We will be in Porter Square at beneath the Star Market. We also will be sending an email offering them to a preferred list of community, family, friends and customer. They are coming out great. A handful have been shipped out to people in the bread blogging world and beyond. There are toasty brown, white stone and brick clay BreadPots. We are also offering a BreadPot gift kit which comes with the dry mixings for my favorite rye, caraway seeds and all. Potter's choice is also available, a select pot with something special about it--that je ne sais quoi. I am starting to find decorating the white ones irresistible...

Toasty brown stone

2010-03-24T15:43:00.005-04:00

New no knead bread pots, a whole kiln load of 'em.
They have tested well over the last few months and I am just now putting them up for sale. They mold the bread into a nice form, letting it bake evenly and slice well. They are strong, simple, unglazed stoneware with integrated handles on pot and lid. They get a lived in patina with use. They are a beautiful bird-like form. The brown stoneware is coming out toasty. The rough brick clay is a nice autumnal orange.
Contact me for info, call for credit card by phone or use paypal. The price is $78 plus shipping. If you are local, come and pick one for yourself.

Freshly baked breadPots.. later this week

2010-03-20T16:27:00.010-04:00

Wheel thrown stoneware in a variety of humble brown clays, cloche or casserole style, knob or strap handle, slip decorated, inlaid recipe or proverb inside. These are some of the variations of the BreadPots I will be firing this week. There will be a great variety to choose from. They are for advance sale here, in our virtual clay boulangerie, for $78. Please pass this along to any no knead bread bakers you know. You can call, visit the studio, send a check or use paypal button. They will ship after Passover and Tomb Sweeping Day and Nceca.
www.motzkin.com/breadpots.htm

Irish Soda Bread

2010-03-14T18:10:00.000-04:00

For a few weeks now, I've been thinking about Irish soda bread again. Soda bread is a treat I should make more often, as it's comparatively abstemious (at least for me). I like John Thorne's very simple recipe:

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 - 1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk (as much as it takes)

Mix all the ingredients together quickly, as lightly as possible, like biscuit dough. I roll in some golden raisins. shape into a rough ball and throw into a baker preheated to 425F. Bake covered for about 45 minutes, until golden brown.

I suppose one could slice it, but I tend to tear pieces off it hungry-wolf-fashion, with the excuse that it's never as good as right out of the oven anyway. It has no butter at all and is better than all but the best biscuits.

Pistachios

2010-03-05T06:39:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted for awhile, but that doesn't mean that I'm not happily baking in my Breadpot. I think that I've shared the important points of my baking with Judy and am now happily anticipating the first batch of pots for sale. Just want to share that of late I've been mixing in a "bunch" of pistachios and love the taste of the finished loaf. I'm bring a loaf of this bread along with cheeses for a cheese course at a friend's house this weekend.

The Eagle Has Landed

2010-03-04T11:18:00.000-05:00

The eagle has landed. The travelling pot of brick clay has finally landed in its permanent home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It arrived in perfect condition and is doing just fine, thank you. Here it is with a loaf of wheat/rye bread with flaxseeds and wheatberries. Its flatter, wider shape also makes it a great breadbox. Thank you so, Judy.

And don't think I'll be ignoring the original glazed pot. It's become one of my best rising vessels, and keeper for all sorts of things, and I still hope to bake beans in it someday soon.

Judy's Rye bread

2010-03-01T13:28:00.008-05:00

This is Judy's rye bread. It has been the best fit for the pot so far. I have had too much dough with the other recipes. I think this is due to the warmer weather. I began this loaf on a gray cold day. It was still cold, but sunny on my baking day. This loaf had great texture and crust. The pot is holding up quite well. No pings since the first baking.

My next trial was to make a double batch. I cooked half in the clay pot and half in an enamel pot. This bread was not the best batch. The dough seemed quite dry when mixing, but was extremely wet the next day. I tried adding extra flour and probably kneaded more than I should have.

This is the blob I ended up with after it was supposed to rise. The bread was divided between the two pots. They were each cooked at 450, 30 minutes with the lid on and 15 minutes with the lid off. Both breads were cooked through. There were no doughy centers. Both breads had smaller cells than the previous batch.

As you can see from this photo, the bread in the clay pot has a warmer color to it. I found the bread cooked in the enamel pot was too chewy, almost a rubbery texture to the crust. We all agreed the texture of the bread cooked in the clay pot was far superior. I wonder if the unglazed clay soaks the moisture from the clay at a faster rate than the enamel pot. I could see this as a selling point for the clay versus the enamel.

The bread cooked in the enamel pot is slightly larger, but less tasty. We ate it toasted.

Name that baker

2010-02-24T13:46:00.001-05:00

Joan and I held an impromptu focus group about the selling phase of these pots with Ellen, Libby, Robbie, and Zach. We talked about the name? Do you have the perfect name in your mind? What should these be named? Branded as? Any thoughts? Some like Motzpots, some find it silly sounding or unprofessional.
Earth-Hand-Grain? Bread Bearer? Hand Made Bread Baker?
Talk among yourselves. New pots are nearly ready for sale.

At long last bread ( a long post)

2010-02-24T09:56:00.020-05:00

Although I baked the NoKnead bread recipe immediately after it appeared in the Times I soon left it behind in favor of kneaded breads and other baking adventures. When Judy offered me this chance though I happily volunteered. I was in the 2nd wave of pots and had various family and work stuff that slowed me down but I finally post.

Even before I received my pot I did some practice rounds. It had been a while. (Did I remember how "shaggy" the dough really was?) My first try was with some French SAS yeast that was still good by date but clearly had lost it's lift. I don't have a photo of that mess.

New yeast . I used an old Copco enameled pot that I thought I had used previously. I got a pretty bread with a perfect crust . Not as "holey" an interior as I would love but yummy.

Richard then delivered this beauty to me. Oh my goodness, just lovely. Seeing pictures in previous posts I was thinking a lot about handles and lids but these looked beautiful and functional. Hooray.My only concern was that it looked small.

I baked a loaf. I followed the original NYT recipe with 1/4 t yeast because I used all white flour in these test bakings. The loaf looked good, but seemed to not be browning well. I took it out after 55 min total and it was just not quite done enough and had not risen as high as I had hoped . The very center was a little mushy but I didn't think I could have baked it longer.
It came out of the pan easily.

I baked a second loaf and it had a beautiful crust. It was also not as round and high as I hoped

and it too had a mushy core, not really raw but different than the crumb surrounding. I don't think it was undertimed and I got to thinking about volume.

The original NYT article says to put the loaf in a 6-8qt casserole/cast iron pot. Other articles said that the size didn't matter too much but when I measured out my beauty it only held 2 qts.

That makes it only 25% or 33% of the ideal. I am thinking that the air space around the covered loaf must have some effect on the outcome.

I spoke with Judy and decided to try a side by side from one double recipe to limit the variables.

I used a big red cast iron that hold 7 quarts and my Judypot. (which I think looks like a bird,maybe Breadbirds for a name.

I switched oven position during both the covered and uncovered bakings.

My bread from the larger pot clearly was bigger . My little pot still had that tiny soft core. I think the energy that is expanded while covered in the space must be turned inward in the little pot. This might not be as useful a characteristic in breads as it is people. I will next try the judypot with a 1/2 or 2/3 recipe to give it more space.
I havn't been part of the comments yet but here are some of my thoughts:

I look at too many school supply catalogs to think Motzpots is a worthy name of these bakers.

Something more elegant. I added the BreadBird thought after I wrote this but I still like it.

I was going to link to the hydration article in the NYT but you have done that for me. All this thinking about volume and hydration is liking taking a class.

As much as bakers buying for themselves I see the pots as a lovely gift. In light of my volume problem I would be looking for some consistency in the volume versus the recipe. Bread baking is an art but there is also chemistry and many people may want to bake without a great deal of experimenting.

My white pot has some beautiful signs of use, it is aging well.

Brick clay baker journey

2010-02-22T21:45:00.001-05:00

I brought a baker with me on my recent circle of visiting dear friends. This pot is made from the red sculpture clay that looks like brick. I love the color, though the sandy, groggy clay has worn off my fingernails. The shape of this pot is nice, taller, more volume. The lid fit is a little rocky though serviceable. I decided dear Katya, with her avid baking and thorough posting, deserves something beautiful, with safe handles, instead of the original ugly second class one she got when she visited the cape house. So I brought it with me to Northampton from whence it will go to Brooklyn.

First, however, it traveled to Bristol, Vermont. I arrived at my friend Beth's store, Almost Home Market, with a rye bread dough that had been rising in the car. We put the baker in the commercial Blodgett Oven and cranked it up, set the dough out to rise in the lovely kitchen while Beth and Larry finished up the evening work and soon had a bread out of the oven. Here we are learning how to use Beth's iphone while it is in the oven.

Yummy taste of new york corn rye! Beth took pics on her phone.The next day we did a back country ski on heavenly Bolton Mountain. That Beth is tough, she does this several times a week, for me, once in a lifetime opportunity

Next day off to Northampton where this pot got its third baking in the kitchen of Joan and Stan.

Another rye ...

2010-02-21T10:14:00.002-05:00

Yummmmm the smell of fresh bread is filling my house.
i tried putting cornmeal all over the bread this time to help with the difficulty getting the baked loaf out.

i actually made two loaves ... on in the Bread Pot and one in a dutch oven. i do love our little rounded loaves!!

i will post in a little while about:
1) ease of getting it out of the pot
2) cleaning the pot

We KNOW it will taste divine!! LOL

Going on the radio - will talk about the Bread Pot

2010-02-18T00:58:00.002-05:00

Judy - do you want to sell pots yet? On April 25 i am being featured on a public radio station where i am featuring my Grandma Peggy's Chicken Soup AND i am going to bake a seeded rye and bring in the Bread Pot! i'll bet people will be very interested.
Let's figure out the best place to send people. This blog maybe?

Sweet Soft Sandwich Bread

2010-02-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite commercial sliced breads is a Pepperidge Farm brand called 'Oat-Nut.' Sounds healthy, but it's really a soft squishy sweet bread with bits of nutty things, that I could eat straight from the bag, toppings optional. I've tried a few times to reproduce it in a home version, and I think I've finally gotten pretty close. The following is an adaptation from a recipe for 'Toast Bread' from Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread.

I made one loaf in a loaf pan, and one in the baker, and they were pretty much exactly the same in crumb, crust, and consistancy. The difference in texture on the tops of the two loaves was largely because I dusted the pot loaf with wheat germ to keep it from sticking. I could eat it all day, toppings optional.

Formula;
2 lbs flour (about 7 and 1/4 cups) - I used mostly All-Purpose with about 1/4 cup of whole wheat)
2 and 5/8 cups water
2 tsp sugar (I used maple syrup, bet honey would be good)
1 Tblsp soft butter (or hard butter cut in tiny pieces)
Malt powder or syrup (optional) 3/8 tsp
1 Tblsp salt
1.5 tsp Yeast

Nutty things--flaxseeds, wheat berries, nuts, etc...whatever...

Knead all ingredients, ferment for 2 hours, folding once in the middle, shape, proof for 1 - 1.5 hours, bake at 430 degrees, 30-45 minutes (making allowances for large or small loaves).

More beautiful bread

2010-02-17T16:27:00.003-05:00

What I like is the beauty of the rounded loaf - no matter what I dump into the hot pot, it comes out reliably adorable. I find the wetter doughs make a higher loaf and I like that better. I am liking the size a lot (compared to my original posts wondering if the pot was too small.) I made yet another bread with the original rye recipe and it was good. I baked it in a pot/oven heated to 500 degrees for 1/2 hour and then, when I took off the lid for 10 -15 minutes, I lowered the heat to 450. I don't think I am going to post any more breads with pictures after this because they are so reliable.
I love my little bread baker.
-Joan

Still at it.....

2010-02-17T13:42:00.002-05:00

We've been baking up a storm, the challah recipe is wonderful, and the deli rye is, too! I am currently without a digital camera, so I have no pictures, but our bread looks a lot like everyone elses!
Also, Judy, I added a comment to the question about pricing. (I'm anonymous, apparently.)
Our pot is holding up beautifully, no cracks, no problems.
I wanted to inquire if anyone washes their pot? If so, how? I have not washed mine at all, but this morning Thiago asked if he could wash it.
happy baking, and thank you for all the great recipes!

Rye Bread

2010-02-15T14:49:00.001-05:00

my dough is in the final 2 hour resting stage. It is VERY sticky. i just realized that i made no adjustments in any of my breads for high altitude (i'm at 7500 ft!)
i will send pictures and a review in a few hours.

New batch of bakers coming out well...

2010-02-13T22:16:00.000-05:00

So, now that we have been using the bakers for a while and I have some new ones done, I am looking for input about what the price should be. At what price would you jump at a chance to have this? At what price would you think twice? Buy for a friend who bakes? At what price would you say, "forget it, who needs a handmade clay baker anyway"? Please comment.

Friday Night Challah

2010-02-13T11:13:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make a challah last night, but didn't have time for my traditional braided one. So, I opted to use the Baker and am pleased to report that it was successful. I apologize for not having taken a picture, but the bread was consumed before I could get to it. This is the recipe that I used:
3 cups white flour
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. yeast
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
barely 1/4 cup oil
Water to bring the wet ingredients to 1 1/2 cups

The resulting bread was quite good and sliced better than any of the others have. This morning I could slice the remnant very thin. I'm glad that I tried this.

Deli Onion Rye

2010-02-09T10:02:00.002-05:00

Another side-by-side test in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Continuum, this time a sourdough 'deli' rye, with onions. ~~I won't put in a full formula, because~~ it was many steps, but the basic idea was a rye sourdough starter, with sauteed onions, that fermented in the pot at room temperature for a few hours, then for about 24 hours in the refrigerator.

The final formula added yeast, AP flour and more rye, along with a little bit of sugar, molasses, oil, and caraway seeds. Baked at 400 for about 40 minutes. Both the inside and the outside loaf seemed to do well, although the outside would have been prettier if I'd egg washed it and scored it as directed, but it was late and I was falling asleep between rises.

Taste is outstanding, ~~so if anyone actually wants the full formula, comment and I'll add it~~. Crumb is soft and gently dense, in a non-pejorative sense. It is as advertised, just a very good deli rye. The onions don't add a discernible onion taste, just a bit of depth. Maybe it's the Jew in me, but rye is just the star of the bread baking universe, it makes everything better. But I used to eat peanut butter and jelly on this kind of deli rye, so I may be an odd judge.

You asked for it, you got it. Here's the formula:

New York Deli Rye
Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart

Sponge:
1 cup sourdough starter/levain (any kind would probably do, mine is a stiffish rye mix)
1 cup white rye flour (I used whole rye)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 medium onions, diced
2 Tblsp vegetable oil

Saute onions in oil, cool. Stir all ingredients together and let ferment at room temp until sponge is bubbly (3-4 hours--I left it about 6). Refrigerate overnight, or for 24 hours.

Final dough:
3.5 cups bread flour (used AP)
1 cup white rye flour (I used whole again)
2 Tblsp brown sugar (I used white and added a bit of molasses)
2.5 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 Tblsp vegetable oil (I used one)
1 cup buttermilk or milk (I used buttermilk)
1/4-1/2 cup water, as needed

Mix everything together, knead for a short time, adding flour as needed. Dough won't be as elastic as a wheat dough...don't knead too long or it will get gummy. It should be tacky but not sticky. (I kneaded only lightly, and then did a fold about 40 minutes in). Let rise 1.5-2 hours. Shape as you please and proof for 1.5 hours. Reinhart suggests brushing with egg white, which I didn't do. It'll make it shiny.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, then rotate loaves or remove the cover, bake about 20 minutes longer until golden brown.

Unimpressive Sourdough

2010-02-04T10:53:00.001-05:00

I make sourdough nearly weekly at home, and ten to fifteen loaves of it at the bakery, so you'd think I could do a good job with it. And usually I do, but this time around my starter seems to have been a bit sluggish, or I didn't wait for it long enough. This little pot-loaf looks lovely and crusty on the outside, but it was dense and wet, with a few large tunnels but a largely sticky crumb.

In fact, it looks a lot like some of the early loaves I made at the bakery, which didn't rise or spring properly for whatever reason. In this case, I'd put the blame on sluggish sourdough, and possibly too short a proof. It's edible, but could have been much better.

This one was baked for about 20 minutes at 450 in the pot, and then another 10 minutes with lid off. Probably would have benefited from a slightly longer bake, but it wouldn't have done much for the crumb. Amazing how the baker can make even lame bread look so good, though, isn't it? This one had flaxseeds and sesame seeds in it as well. Hopefully now that I've woken up the home starter a little bit things will get back on track. I have a 25-lb bag of wholesale flour to get on with.

Conversation with Ejo

2010-02-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Ejo: At any rate, I did a second baking using my wheat recipe. I followed your measurements for flour, but still had too much dough. I cooked it about 15 minutes less to see if the bottom would not be almost burnt. The bottom was not burnt, but the inside was slightly under done. It was interesting to compare the taste of the bread cooked in your pot vs the bread I completed the day I started it. The no knead bread had a slightly more sour taste than my sandwich bread. The bread cells in the no knead bread were slightly larger than the sandwich bread. All in all, I enjoyed the flavor and texture of the bread. I would cook it longer next time. I will tweak my measurements and include those next time (as long as they are correct). ejo

Judy: At what temperature are you baking? I was baking at 500, but now find that 450 is better for less burning and more even baking.

You are the only one whose pot does not seem big enough. Can you measure the lid diameter and the height from the bottom inside to the lid flange?

I wonder if you are using a better yeast, hi gluten flour, or just have a warm place to rise, something we do not have this time of year.

I am making more pots with the leftover sculpture clay I used for your baker. Any problems with the clay? I find it uncomfortably groggy to work with, so I won't end up using it. It crumbles in the drying so I have lost a few.

Pane Pugliese, Better Out

2010-02-03T12:56:00.000-05:00

This bread, Pane Pugliese, was the first time that the side by side test was won handily by the open oven, which version surpassed the pot version (right) in looks and texture. This may not have all been the fault of the pot, though, as I had to bake the pot loaf under a large sheet of parchment paper that stuck to it after proofing, hence the flattened shape.

Pane Pugliese is often described as ciabatta dough baked in a larger loaf. It is soft and (ideally) full of large holes. I stirred but didn't knead it, instead alternating 20 minute rests with 'French' folds with a dough scraper. I don't think I quite nailed this one, but would definitely try it again-it was soft and engaging, and Matt liked it. The formula, adapted from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice:

10.8 oz (approx 2 cups) Biga (similar to Pate Fermentee)

10 oz (approx 2.25 cups) Flour (AP flour and a small amount of semolina)

.38 oz (1.5 tsp) kosher salt

approx 1.5 Tblsp potato starch (in lieu of the mashed potatoes Reinhart recommends

8-9 oz (1-1.125 cups) water

I mixed the very wet dough throughly and turned it out onto the counter. Over the course of about two hours, it went through several folds, in and out of the bowl. After about 2 hours, I lightly shaped the loaves and proofed them on parchment for a little over an hour. Heated oven, pot and baking stone to 500, baked at 450 with steam. Pot loaf was covered for 25 minutes, uncovered (parchment removed) and cooked for about 15 more.

next....

2010-02-01T19:50:00.002-05:00

My little baker daughter was visiting this weekend and I already had this dough rising. The ingredients were 2c. white flour (bread), 1/2 c. rolled oats, 1/2 c. whole wheat berries, 1.5 tsp salt. the usual H2O, double the usual yeast...
This time, the bread came out very good tasting, a bit wet inside and the crust not so crusty. Here are pictures.
Sorry to say that the bread stuck to the sides again and was not so easy to remove. It seems that unless I really powder it up (with something flour-y) on the outside, the bread sticks. I wonder if there was some way I could have proofed the pot??

Size matters

2010-01-31T13:40:00.002-05:00

Katya has pointed out that the sides don't brown as much as the top if the dough does not see as much open oven. When a pot is too small the dough is less exposed to the oven air and it may hit the top of the lid.

Janes stuck to the lid when she removed it.

Ejo's also hit the roof, making for a nice positive of the inside volume of the pot.

However, my understanding is that the bread should have that hot air above to fully grow and crust nicely.

So I ask you to take a minute to send me three dimensions.

Lid diameter, height at the lid seat, and with the lid on. Do not include the handles.

January 30 - Bread with nuts, seeds and rasins

2010-01-30T08:53:00.006-05:00

Working on my second loaf. This one has added nuts (walnuts and pecans), seeds and raisins.
This time i didn't put the dough in the fridge to rest as i did last time. And, it tripled in size!
i will attempt to post ictures. When i took the bread out after the 30 minutes of baking the top was sealed onto the bottom. It took alot of trying to pry the top off. with it came some of the bread. So, i managed to get what was stuck to the top and "paste" it onto the bottom! i'm not sure what caused this. i did use 1 cup of a flour that i'm not sure what! Might have been a whole wheat flour. So, i used 2 C of AP and 1 C of the mystery flour.
i did put corn meal on the bottom of the bread pot and this time the loaf came out easily. Stuck to the sides just a little bit.
i'm eating my first peace. Awesome.

Rye Bread

2010-01-26T19:25:00.003-05:00

I just took "Judy's Rye Bread" out of the oven. The dough was not as loose with the rye flour(I guess that's BECAUSE of the rye flour). I am no longer having any problem getting the bread outof the pot because of the semolina that I use. I just tasted the bread-delicious.

Pain de Campagne (ish)

2010-01-26T08:07:00.021-05:00

Another recipe with a large percentage of prefermented dough. This was supposed to be a rustic style bread, but it came out unusually soft and even-crumbed. I think this often happens with kneaded, slightly drier doughs, in the baker. Good sandwich bread.

Formula: (Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice)
1.5 cups pate fermentee
7/8 cups unbleached bread flour
1/6 cup whole-wheat or rye flour
3/8 tsp instant yeast
3/8 cup water, lukewarm

(the measures are a little approximated--I just got a scale and will soon be able to document down to the gram--very excited)

Just mixed it all together, kneaded, fermented for 2 hours, shaped into a ball, proofed for another hour and half, and baked in a 500 degree oven, turned down to 450 about ten minutes in, cover off after 30 minutes, baked about 20 minutes more.

Sweet Potato Rosemary Bread, In and Out

2010-01-24T10:08:00.000-05:00

This time, I finally made enough dough to do an inside/outside test, one loaf baked in the baker, one out on the baking stone. The test was a little unfair because in order to get the best out of the baker, I baked the loaf at a slightly higher temperature than would have been ideal for it. Both came out well, but for this loaf at least, the pot-baked loaf was much prettier. Because the pot protected it, the inside loaf showcased the beautiful color of the sweet potatoes much more. I haven't checked for difference in the crumb yet--this is meant to be a fairly fine-grained, soft bread, but I'll update when I do. Pot or no pot, this is a really nice bread. It's made with a pate fermentee, which is really just a piece of yesterday's dough, but you can find instructions for making some here.

Formula: (adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart)
1.5 (about) cups Pate Fermentee
3 cups plus 2 Tblsp A/P flour
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (I may have used more)
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp crushed dried rosemary (this is really to taste, the recipe recommended 2 Tblsp fresh but i didn't have any, it probably would have been even better)
3/4 cup to one cup water

Cut pate fermentee into small pieces. Mix all ingredients, knead, adding flour or water as needed.
1st rise: two hours at room temp plus 4 hours in the refrigerator (not necessary, scheduling related)
Shape.
Proof: 1-2 hours, until doubled.
Baked at 450, turned down to 400 later in, for about 45 minutes. Uncovered baker after about 20 mins.

Here we go!

2010-01-23T13:34:00.002-05:00

11:30 AM Saturday morning. i just put the kneaded dough , covered (bowl) into the fridge. Looking forward to tomorrow to do the actual baking. Finally could put the 18-24 hours together to let it sit!

Joan's second try

2010-01-23T11:15:00.004-05:00

Hi all,
With more pictures than you could ever want, I tell the tale of loaf #2.
Not much of a tale, actually.
Dough less wet. I put the saran wrap on top of bowl, instead of on dough - much better!
Put more flour when I laid it out...thus a flour-y finish.
I baked it at 450 rather than 500 degrees - it had a softer crust and a denser interior. Used exact same flour, water,yeast,etc. but think I forgot the salt!!!
Good for sandwiches, did not stick to pot, liked the first loaf better.

Pain a L'Ancienne in a Pot

2010-01-22T12:55:00.000-05:00

This could get tedious for those of you who follow my blog, but I'm going to combine this testing project with a baking-through-a-book project that I'm already doing (and neglecting). This will let me test how a variety of recipes work in the baker. When possible, I'll do side by side tests in and out of the baker. I just posted the first of these experiments here.

This was the recipe:

3 cups AP flour

1 1/8 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoons instant yeast

approx. 1.5 cups water

whole wheat flour for dusting

Kneaded for 5 min and then covered (in baker) in refrigerator for almost 24 hours.

Removed from refrigerator, additional rise/warm-up of 2-3 hours.

Shaped into round, rose on counter covered for 1.5 hours.

Baked in baker at 450 for 20 minutes with lid, additional 30 minutes with lid off.

My baker is getting a little more weathered, with some brown spots and cracks in the glaze. This recipe was the best I've done in it yet. The lack of a decent handle is still proving the major hurdle, the shape improves with a kneaded dough.

A failed bread in a commercial pot

2010-01-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

Hey bakers,
I have been at my mom's this last week and baked bread three times. I struggled to find a pot to bake in. I tried a vertical porcelain crock first and made a can-shaped rye. Then I tried one of mom's corning ware baking dishes--too wide-- and made a low flat rye. Tasty, rustic, but not a great shape. So I envy the lovely round loaves you are making.
Anyway, we ran out of flour and my mom's boyfriend brought over the flour he had in his home. I tried an all white loaf. It did not rise well. I was running out of time so I tried to bake it last night in a smaller corning ware baking dish. These are the squared ones with glass lids. As I was putting the dough in the hot pot the lid slipped. I wisely did not reach to catch it (avoiding burning my hand) as the lid slipped to the floor and shattered into a million shards of glass. So, after an hour of floor cleaning, I ended up baking it in a not preheated pot under less than ideal conditions.
We could barely cut into the loaf this morning, it was hard and heavy. I looked at the flour bag to find it was "self rising" which means it had salt and baking soda in it. Yuck. It was salty like biscuits. We tossed it and left for the airport. (Rich and I will be in Culebra this week)
So I am more convinced of the value of these baking pots.
Keep on baking. I am enjoying and learning from the feedback and love knowing my pots are in your hands.

Baking in the Snow

2010-01-20T10:22:00.003-05:00

Several loafs have come and gone since I posted last, all with great success.
The last loaf came out of the oven and in my great hurry, I left it sitting on top of the stove with the lid on. When I came back to it, about 6 hours later, there was condensation and the bottom of the loaf was moist- I wouldn't say soggy, but moist. The upper crust was not as crisp as it usually is, BUT- here's what I loved- the bread was moist and rich and dense. It reminded me of the bread I grew up with in Germany. It is delicious, slightly sour, and has such a wonderful crumb, it holds up well in sandwiches and toasts great.

Here's our latest recipe:
2 c bread flour
1 c whole wheat
1/2 c sliced olives
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast

mix olives and herbs in the the flour and yeast and salt, add water last. proceed as usual.

(we had this with roasted garlic and minestrone soup in the middle of a snowstorm, and we ate in front of the fireplace. I think that even my 2 1/2 year old understood that the whole evening was pure magic!)

My pot still pings, the surface color is changing, but after 4 loaves, it is starting to have a very rustic, humble but beautiful feel and look.

happy baking from Thiago and Johanna

First Try

2010-01-19T11:13:00.002-05:00

finally got to the bread baking.
I used the trusty rye recipe (2c. white flour, 1 c. rye)
The dough was wetter than I remember and I lost a fair amount in the saran wrap.
Dough rose for 19 hours and then 2 hours.
The bread stuck a bit to one side but was easily pried off.
The loaf was a pleasing shape.
I served it on an appetizer plate with cheese, etc. and everyone commented on the bread, even those who had no idea I made it.
The texture was great and the crust perfect.
I still like bigger loaves (greedy, I know, but why not after all that waiting and rising?)
Would have appreciated handles.
Agree with other posters re: recipe on lid (mine doesn't have it) including oven temp - but in very clear print (maybe a template?)
All in all, a smashing success.
-Joan

Chestnut Corn

2010-01-17T10:33:00.000-05:00

A full recipe this time, mixed and fermented in the baker.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coarse cornmeal
1/4 cup whole wheat
1/2 cup (approx) chopped cooked chestnuts
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups water (approx)

First fermentation time: 22 hours
Second fermentation time: 1 3/4 hours
Baking notes: with lid 25 minutes, lid off, 15 minutes
could possibly have baked longer

The cornmeal and the chestnuts reacted to the long fermentation with a lot of flavor, the result had a very sourdough/playdough edge--a pretty wet crumb, from the wet dough, the texture wasn't as light as I'd hoped but the taste was enjoyable-good for cheese. As usual, the sides of the bread didn't brown as well as the top b/c they never see open oven. This one fitted well in the baker.

Inside of Rona's Lid

2010-01-17T10:29:00.004-05:00

This was the picture that I took when I did my first rising. I am no longer using the pot to rise the dough in. Don't laugh, but I have finally found a use for a forty year old pyrex type of covered casserole that my grandmother got with points or stamps at her Coney Island

Waldbaums. I've also posted a picture of the inside of the lid as it looks after it's second baking; becoming harder to decipher.

Random Comments

2010-01-17T10:12:00.002-05:00

I agree with the last posting, I forget who made it, about how helpful it is to have the ingredients and instructions in the lid. Keep that, Judy. My lid doesn't have the oven temperature and times and I think that it should.Also, mine says one T. of salt, which I think is too much. The lid on the last posting said 1 teaspoon; I think that's a better measurement.The size of my pot really is perfect. The dough fits nicely, unbaked and then baked. I'll check to see if I still have the picture of the inside of my lid; If not I'll post another one. The white slip isn't as bright anymore, but I think the writing will still show up alright. I'm wondering if the ingredients will be readable after many uses of the pot.

Ejo posted her first bread on facebook...

2010-01-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

I followed the original recipe the first time. I was concerned about how wet the dough was, but it certainly did not cause any harm. I let the dough rise for 18 hours. I preheated the pot for 30-40 minutes. I did hear a ping when I removed it to add the dough. I did not notice any cracks in the clay after I baked the bread. I almost had too much dough for the pot. I tried shaking the pot per instructions, but still had some dough peeking out after the lid was placed on top.

I baked the bread for 30 minutes with the lid on and 15 without the lid. The bread was a beautiful brown. We are bread lovers in this house and almost ate the entire loaf immediately.

The bottom on my loaf was slightly round, but not a hindrance when cutting. The bottom of my loaf was much darker in color than the sides of the bread. I am not sure if I need to cook for less time, or if the bottom of the pot could be slightly thicker. I had a bit of trouble with the lid of the top. It was hard to grasp with the oven mitt. Using tongs solved that issue.

My next attempt will be with my wheat sandwich bread recipe. I am interested to see how the crust will differ in the clay pot compared to my loaf pans. We are looking forward to the next loaf.

I love the recipe written on the lid. You must keep that in there.

Hot From The Oven

2010-01-15T19:28:00.003-05:00

Bread Number Two is hot from the oven. This time I used 2 cups of white flour, 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of white wheat. The other ingedients and measurements were still from the lid of the pot. The result is the same, though healthier of course. I'm thoroughly enjoying the small loaves that come out of this pot; thanks Judy.

i just received my bread pot!

2010-01-15T13:45:00.001-05:00

and am eager to bake a loaf over the weekend. i will post pix and words when i do.

great bread on a cold day

2010-01-13T21:55:00.002-05:00

Our first test loaf was successful: Thiago helped with the dough mixing, and we let it rise for about 20 hours near the woodstove. Pot went into the oven cold, I did hear some pings and pops when I took the hot pot out to put the dough in. We used 3 cups flour- half whole wheat half high gluten bread flour- and it was the perfect amount for the size of the pot. The loaf was done in just over 45 minutes. I'm exploring the locally milled flours, and stoneground flour seems to produce the most delicious loaf.

Observations: The pot makes a good sized loaf- big enough to share with several people for a few days, but small enough to finish off before you get bored and want to bake again! The pot has ample handles for easy lifting, so does the lid. (I used a variety of pot holders to test functionality.

Concerns: I dont' know if the clay body will stand up to the thermal shock over time. I also wonder if the greater public will have an issue with the shape of the loaf. It's not exactly a loaf as we know it here, and it's not exactly a classic rustic bread shape; the slightly rounded bottom causes it to tip over when it's cut in half. That's fine by me, but perhaps not so for everyone?

Up Next: I'm going to try some variations, with cranberries and nuts. Also, I'm going to try putting the bread dough in the cold pot and letting it all heat up together and bake.

No photos yet, my loaf looked a lot like the Rona's.

Happy baking!
love, J and Thiago

My first product--from Rona

2010-01-13T19:21:00.007-05:00

We just ate half of the first bread with soup and salad. Judy, I liked the finished shape; good planning.

Nice crust.

I allowed the dough to rise for about 48 hours, due to other committments this week. No harm done at all.

Lifted nicely out of the pot. I gently used a spatula in one or two places to release it from the pot.

2/3 Formula Buckwheat No-Knead

2010-01-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd try a slightly smaller recipe, 2/3 what Judy wrote on the lid of the baker, and instead of rye, I tried buckwheat. Buckwheat, unlike rye, has no gluten at all, and so breads made with buckwheat are often heavy and dense. I thought the very wet no-knead formula might help to counteract that.

Formula:
all-purpose flour - 1 and 3/4 cups
buckwheat flour - 1/4 cup
water - 1 and 1/4 cup
salt 3/4 tsp
yeast 3/4 tsp

First fermentation: 18 hours
Second fermentation: 2 hours

It wasn't the best bread ever, but it was pretty cute. And there was plenty of room in the pot.
I baked this one in the pot the whole time.

Rona got her pot

2010-01-12T21:54:00.000-05:00

I got this message on facebook today from Rona:
Hi Judy. I received the pot today and have the dough rising. Do I send you messages directly or do you want me to post on the blog? I am almost embarrassed to say that I wasn't sure if I should let the dough rise in the pot. Before I received it I was SURE that I was going to do the rising and the baking in it. Then, when I looked at the recipe you sent, I had second thoughts. However, I finally decided to rise in the pot; that just feels right. I love the look of the pot on my counter, knowing what's happening inside of it. I guess that I might(not sure) have to clean out the pot before the baking. Also, I decided to use the recipe inside of your lid...not the one in the NYT. Next time I might try that one. I will take pictures and keep you posted; just want to know about how you want us to use the blog. Bakers Gone Wild! Love it. Rona

Rona,
I don't mix or rise the dough in the baker, but go ahead and let us know how it goes. Definitely clean it before baking. Since you have to heat the pot in the oven to 500 before baking, if it is not clean it will burn the gunk on. I will also set you up to directly to post here soon. And, my mom says hello.

First test report from the ugly pot and beautiful Katya

2010-01-08T16:18:00.002-05:00

Our first report:
"the main thing I've noticed from my first informal tests is that I've been putting in loaves that are slightly too large, thus the crust gets nice but the bread didn't have large holes in the crumb. i also tipped the loaves out about 10 minutes before done-ness to brown them up. perhaps with a smaller loaf i would just need to remove the cover. handles are a good idea, i think, (mine doesn't have one) for handling fragile vessels."

Katya

Let the testing begin

2010-01-08T13:33:00.002-05:00

I have assembled a team of friends who will test these bread bakers, keep records of the use of the pot, take pictures, and make notes.
1. Katya, who has already started, posted about it on Second Dinner. She has one of the overfired, glazed, ugly ones.
2. Joan got an earlier design with added handles, in the best color of clay, fired at cone 6, unglazed.
3. Johanna is taking the one pictured, the nicest yet clay body, a little small for the white and black sesame bread I made this week. She will also ask the When Pigs Fly people to test it in their wood fired oven.
4. Jane will get one of the three that came from the kiln this morning. Hers has a blow out in the foot and interior because I was rushing and it was not dry. The clay was a mix which I find anemic in color and will not use again.
5. Rona will get the other light colored one that has an s crack in the lid.
6. Ejo will get the one made from Standard 547 sculpture clay. It is very groggy, nice color.
Carol and Susan will get pots to test from the next batch in February.

I will include a recipe and no knead bread method, but I hope you will try other things and keep notes. I will share all the info here. In addition to baking, I want feedback about design, marketing, naming.