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I found my old clay cooker the other day. When was the last time I used it? I don’t remember. I think I bought it in the 90s when there was a hype about cooking in clay pots.
But like most hypes, it finally fell into oblivion and don’t ask me why. It’s an ingenious concept.
But now it seems to have re-emerged again. You start to see it here and there in food blogs and recipes.
You can put almost everything in a clay pot, and cook it with steam to tender and flavorful dishes.
And you can bake bread in it.
BAKING SOURDOUGH BREAD IN CLAY COOKER VS DUTCH OVEN
There are lots of people out there, claiming that a clay cooker is a perfect substitute for a dutch oven.
And it’s cheaper.
But I’ve always been a little skeptical about it.
A clay pot is quite porous, and I have always doubted that it can transfer the same, massive amount of heat you want at the beginning of the baking process as a dutch oven or a baking stone.
But since I had never tried to bake in a clay pot, my opinions about it was not worth much. So I decided to give it a try.
For this test baking, I chose the sourdough Spelt bread I wrote about last year.
I have never been entirely happy about the shape of the bread showed in the photos, and I thought that this was the perfect test for the clay pot.
Could it provide a better oven spring than my baking stone?
HANDLE IT WITH CARE
One thing you have to consider is that a clay pot is quite fragile.
My clay pot, for example, is not glazed inside, so it needs to be soaked in water at least 15 minutes before use to avoid cracking.
It should also be placed in a cold oven and pre-heated to baking temperature.
You should always avoid any sudden and dramatic temperature changes.
Which brings up my next concern.
What happens when you place cold dough in a hot clay pot? How big is the risk of it bursting?
I googled around a to see if anyone had experienced it, but couldn’t find anything, so the risk is probably not that high.
However, I still think that there is a risk and you should be aware of it.
A RISING STAR?
I normally bake on a baking stone with a steel cover over the loaf to trap the steam, so getting the dough into the piping hot clay pot felt a bit hazardous. Those of you who bake in a Dutch oven knows what I’m talking about.
I placed the loaf on a piece of parchment paper, grabbed the paper on each side of the loaf, and lowered it into the pot.
I’m sure there are better ways of doing this, but it worked.
The pot was covered with the lid, and then it went back into the oven. After 15 minutes I removed the lid of the clay cooker, and I have to say that I was impressed. The oven spring was great, to say the least.
Much better than in the original recipe.
The crumb was more or less identical as you can see at the photos below.
Perhaps the crumb to the left, which is the bread baked in the clay cooker, is just a bit tighter. But I think the difference is too small to make any assumptions that it has anything to do with the clay cooker. It can just as well depend on how I managed to handle the dough.
SOME DISAPPOINTMENTS
The crust turned out to be a little disappointing. It was not as crisp and delicate that I’m used to, especially not when Spelt flour is included.
It’s hard to describe what was missing. It felt a bit boring.
Can I blame the clay cooker for that?
I don’t know. I think I have to bake some more with it to be sure.
Meanwhile, I welcome all opinions from those of you who have more experience with baking sourdough bread in clay baker.
CONCLUSION
So what is my overall opinion after my first trial with a clay pot?
PROS:
- Great oven spring. Even if the dough floated out a bit before going into the oven.
CONS:
- It feels a bit fragile. It didn’t crack when I dumped the dough into it, but what will happen next time?
- Just like with a Dutch oven, it’s not the easiest thing to place a loaf into a hot clay cooker.
- Poor crust.
However, after I had published this post I got a lot of feedback with tips about baking in a clay cooker. I was adviced by several readers NOT to soak it before baking. It felt a bit hazardous, but I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the loaf became a bit over-proofed and the oven spring was not as good as the first time, as you can see in the picture below.
But it didn’t matter that much, because the crust was much better. Just the way I wanted it. So here is an updated conclusion.
PROS:
- Great oven spring. Even if the dough floated out a bit before going into the oven.
CONS:
- It feels a bit fragile. It didn’t crack when I dumped the dough into it, but what will happen next time?
- Just like with a Dutch oven, it’s not the easiest thing to place a loaf into a hot clay cooker.
And if that wasn’t enough, I got an email from a reader claiming that you can get an excellent result from cold oven baking. You can read more about it here but in short, you place the clay cooker (or dutch oven) with the loaf in a cold oven and turn up the heat. I haven’t tried it myself, perhaps because it turns everything I have learned about baking upside down.
But I’m always curious, so I will come back with an update as soon as I have tried this concept.
Until then, take care, and happy baking.
41 Comments
I’ve tried multiple methods of baking my sourdough, but the finest results have come from the Clay baker. I soak just the lid in it, not the entire loaf pan part. It does go into a cold oven. I adore the results and the crust is to die for from this method without having to spray the oven or use pans of water or any other weird thing during baking which lowers the oven temp from open door and I’m sure affects the bread poorly.
My only complaint is that these are quite delicate! They are super expensive to buy, (though I found I can get tons of them from thrift stores here in CO for few bucks,) however, they break crazy easily, especially if your loaf gets stuck and baked between the 2. I’ve had to go after it with a table knife just to separate the lid off the loaf and try to get it out of the pan, and no matter how delicately I tried to do it, I cracked some, an annoying and expensive proposition! And you really can’t expose them to differing temps or they’ll just crack apart too.
If you can live with those things, they produce wonderful bread that works consistently well!
Mine hasn’t cracked yet, but I’m always a bit nervous when using my clay baker. I use my combo cooker quite often. Better for your nerves. But the shape of the clay baker is better for batards, especially for the big ones.
I always start baking in a cold oven and I like Emile Henry clay baker or Emerson Creek long covered baker. They make bread which is shaped better for sandwiches. I put my bread in, turn the dial to 450 and bake for 55 minutes. I don’t have to remove the lid for browning. If the dough is cold when I put it in the cold baker takes about 10 extra minutes.
Hi Debra. Do you soak your baker before putting in a cold oven?
No. I greased my Emerson creek clay baker. It is unglazed.
I use an Emerson creek clay baker and I start in a cold oven. I often chill my bulk proofed sourdough for 3 hours to firm it up. I place it in a glass Pyrex loaf pan in the fridge. I then carefully dump it on parchment and place it in the baker with the lid on. I like sandwich sized slices and this works well. A 500 g flour recipe for sourdough tapers at the end. If I want it of uniform height, I place one end of the loaf at the end of the baker, and wedge an aluminum piece against it to make a 9×5 type loaf. It takes about 65 minutes total from a cold start. I keep the lid on and it is nicely browned and not burnt. I use freshly milled flour 400 g and 100 g of bread flour. I go add vital wheat gluten and a little grape seed oil and lecithin to make it softer for sandwiches. Sometimes I soak flax, hemp and chia in water and add that. I make up my recipes and they rise well. Maple syrup adds some sweetness too.
At what temp do you bake the bread Debrabarb
It might be worth springing for a ceramic baker or cloche, eg sassafras (Amazon – China) or Emerson Creek Pottery ( or). They are much sturdier. Have you tried doing the final proof in the baker or starting from a cold oven? David – Dallas
Hi David.
Honestly, I bake most of my bread in a dutch oven. I just wanted to see if I could get the same result in a clay baker.
No, I have never tried to bake from a cold oven. I have read something about it, but I have never tried it.
I want to purchase a gift for a special friend who likes to bake bread. ShE does not have a clay pot. Do you think this is a good gift and if so what size and/or shape would you recommend? Also would you get the glazed bottom? Any particular brand? Thanks so much for the input!
Hi Susan.
I think it’s a great idea. I have baked with both a clay pot and dutch oven and both work just fine. I prefer a dutch oven as it is less fragile, but it’s also more expensive.
When I use a clay pot, I use something similar to this (this is not an affiliate link).
I don’t have a Römmertopf myself, but it’s a brand with a good reputation.
Thanks for the best advice yet! I picked up a vintage, unused, still-in-the-box Romertopf for $2 last week and have been stumbling around to find info on baking in it since it is unglazed. To compound, I’m gluten-free, so much, much testing of the sourdough will go into all of this but I’m optimistic after reading this blog!
Hi Jennifer,
$2 for a Romertopf is a real bargain. Congratulations. I hope you will find a formula that works for you.
You know…I have used one of my clay pots–I have many of them—all makers, and ages. I have cooked/baked a lot of breads. I grew my one sourdough and it cooks fabulous. I use parchment paper and use it to load my dough into a cold pot, into a cold oven; set it for the correct temp…usually abot 425 degrees and put my dough in the oven. Most always I set on the rack and set the timer about 10 minutes past the suggested bake time. I find that works well for me! Then, I turn on the oven. At the end, I then take the lid off my clay baker and cook it about 5 more minutes, turn sides and bake for another 5 minutes as this creates a beautiful crust! I pull it out, set the clay roaster on a trivet. 10 minutes later, I lift out the bread and parchment paper, set that on a cooking rack. 20 minutes and it is ready to slce!
Hi Ted,
I have also used the technique with the parchment paper you describe. It works fine. I have never loaded my dough into a cold oven, though, but I have heard from others that it gives great results. Perhaps it’s time to try it.
Many thanks for your input.
Thanks for your comment Ted – I’m just reading it a month later after my bake today in a thrift store clay brick. This one is glazed on the bottom half and the body isn’t as porous as other bricks I’ve seen – actually it feels like a vitrified body to me. Anyway, I baked in a pre heated oven 450 degrees – didn’t heat the brick and the dough came straight from the fridge. I didn’t achieve much of an oven spring. Really interested in trying your method next time. Was your proofed dough cold from the fridge? Best Regards, Kathy
Thanks for your comment Ted – I’m just reading it a month later after my bake today in a thrift store clay brick. This one is glazed on the bottom half and the body isn’t as porous as other bricks I’ve seen – actually it feels like a vitrified body to me. Anyway, I baked in a pre heated oven 450 degrees – didn’t heat the brick and the dough came straight from the fridge. I didn’t achieve much of an oven spring. Really interested in trying your method next time. Was your proofed dough cold from the fridge? Best Regards, Kathy
Hi Ted. Do you soak your baker before putting in a cold oven?
The trick with the parchment paper is one I use whether I bake in a Dutch oven or clay pot. My Dutch oven is quite tall, so turning/tipping the dough onto a parchment paper on the counter, scoring it and then loading it by the paper edges into the pot is a lot easier for me, not to mention a lot safer in case of burns!
In my clay pot… well, it’s un-glazed, so using a parchment paper means it won’t stick to the bottom or edges.
I’ve yet to have any issues with it breaking or chipping, but soaking for 15 minutes and placing in the oven to heat it along with the oven might actually make it last better. Or it might be the quality of the pot. I’m not that updated on the issue; I only knows what works. And my mama taught me that. (She taught me about the clay pot, I taught her about the sourdough!)
Many thanks for the input, Hermione,
It’s the same with my clay pot. It’s also un-glazed, so parchment paper is necessary.
Do you soak only the lid or the whole clay baker? Do you put the dough into the cold, soaked baker or do you heat the baker and then load the proofed dough into it?
I found a Schlemmertopf Clay Baker in a secondhand store and have not found this brand o the internet so I assume that it is not a top name brand. I have been afraid to try it so it has been sitting in my cupboard for a year or so. I’d really like to use it.
Shirley, I have both a Romertopf and a Schlemmertopf. I got them in Austria years ago. They are both of equal quality. Mine are both unglazed. I’d like to try baking sourdough bread in them. It sounds like it could work out great!
I recently bought a vintage Litton Simmer Pot for $14.99. I tried making 2 sourdough loaves 2 weeks ago in a glass bread pan and although the crust came out great, the bread was very heavy and not suitable for sandwiches. Do you think that this Litton Pot would be an improvement? It’s a non glazed clay pot.
Hi Chris,
The reason your bread came out a bit dense does not necessarily have to depend on the glass pan. Does your glass pan have a lid? If not, I think the clay pot will do a better job. The trick is to trap the steam inside the pan together with your bread. However, dense bread is often a result of proofing issues.
Has anyone tried using a terracotta pot to bake sourdough? Was thinking of playing with it. I have a cast iron Dutch oven and I’m not in love with the way my bread turns out. I’ve used a crockpot inner pot and that worked great but it cracked from the higher heat. One of my friends mentioned using a clay pot and I started wondering if terracotta pots would work. I think you could get two shallow ones and turn one over for a lid or use a bigger tray for the top. Just a thought and thought I’d ask here if anyone has done it.
I have a loaf in the oven right now in a claypot. I rubbed the pot with olive oil, placed the risen sourdough spelt loaf in it and did an overnight second rise in the refrigerator. I took it out of the fridge and let us rise 2 more hours. I soaked the top fully submerged and kind of floated the bottom in water with the dough in it. I forgot that one is supposed to put it in a cold oven and instead I pre-heated to 500° . I have it in there covered for 30 minutes. Just peaked at 22 minutes and it looks good so far. We shall see…
Well, it looked great after 30 covered and 10 uncovered.
But when I took it out or the pot it was all squishy on the bottom. It appears some water got in the pot, under the dough when I was “floating the bottom.”
I am trying to dry it out. We shall see.
By this method looks good and I will use parchment paper under the loaf next time.
Sometimes it helps to put the loaf back into the turned-off oven for 10 minutes to let it dry. I use to do that with sandwich bread.
I would caution baking in a terra cotta pot. They’re made for plants and I really doubt they’re foodsafe – especially since most are made in China now. There could be lead and other toxic heavy metals/chemical. IMHO
I’m intrigued with the simple terra cotta pot! Perhaps with the parchment paper, no issues about not being foodsafe?
I think adding parchment paper to the pot is a good idea. Makes it easier to remove the bread as well.
Hi! I agree with your post about using ordinary clay pots for food use. That said, I recently bought a Sheurich Schlemmertoph Keramik #830 clay baker. The bottom is glazed. Do you happen to know if by today’s standards it is food safe? I have been searching for an answer to this weeks. I even reached out to Rita Bolles, Pres of Reston Lloyd, which at some point bought out Scheurich.
I’m not sure about other clay pots/ovens but I have a Romertopf. They are legit, not made in China. “Each Römertopf® is handcrafted in Germany using the natural clay resources found in Germany for the finest quality in the world. The unglazed top is to be soaked before use.”
After reading this blog post I decided to try baking my sourdough loaf in the Romertopf I bought at a thrift store for $5. I’m glad I tried, it came out perfect. I’m super happy.
I soaked the lid, used parchment paper and placed it in a cold oven. Best loaf I’ve ever baked.
Thank you for all the information and happy baking!
Great to hear that. $5 for a Romertopf sounds like a bargain.
I’ve been baking my bread in a Romertopf for 10 years now (not broken one yet)! As with a Dutch oven, I put my I unsoaked Romertopf into a cold oven and heat up to 245 Celsius. After 45-60 minutes, I put my big oven gloves on, remove bread from banneton and put into Romertopf. Cook 25mins, take lid off, cook further 25 minutes, with heat lowered to 225 Celsius. Works fabulously well.
That’s how I’ve always baked in my Romertopf too and had no issues thus far. Preheat RT from cold and unsoaked, transfer dough with parchment paper straight from frig, spritz with water, lid on and bake 20 mins and lid off.
Miranda, is your Romertopf glazed? I have a glazed one, and I would like to bake my next sourdough batard in it. Is your dough cold when you put it into the clay baker?
this might be the most educational comment section I’ve ever read, thank you!
That’s how I’ve always baked in my Romertopf too and had no issues thus far. Preheat RT from cold and unsoaked, transfer dough with parchment paper straight from frig, spritz with water, lid on and bake 20 mins and lid off. for 10-15 till browned as I like.