Baking in clay

Today I decided to try my hand at making more of an "artisan" style bread. I'm not sure what that actually means but it sounds pretty smart, doesn't it? Regardless, I made some french bread (first I did the dough in my bread machine) and then I formed the loaf and baked it in my old covered clay pot (a römertopf brand ). It came out great.

Here is what the clay cooker looks like. (The lid has been lifted off and is sitting beside the base, upside down). I believe it was a wedding gift from 1975, very trendy at that time (along with fondue pots and crock pots!) One soaks the clay in water for a while (prior to putting the food in it), and then places it in a cold oven and set it to a very high heat setting. It provides a certain steam to the food item that is within. I have made some really moist entree's in this and thought it would be interesting to make some bread in it. After searching the internet, I found a recipe that I thought would do. It worked well!

p.s. In the background is my new fused-glass plate by New Jersey artist Peggy Karr. It was a recent gift from my friend Tracey and I just love it!