Hello, Mary,

This is actually my first post since joining "The Fresh Loaf." I have only been baking for about 10 months--I am no expert. I have made some nice, heavy doorstops. But I am doing pretty well now--thanks to my clay baker and the many fine instructions from this site. I learned about clay bakers from the "Breadtopia" site. The moderator there goes into specific instructions, which I have followed with good success. No need to pre-soak. You may place the baker in your oven dry to preheat. If you allow your dough to final rise in the clay baker at room temperature while the oven preheats, I suggest lining the baker with parchment (or other of your choice) or the bread will stick to the baker and damage the final loaf. Be aware, the clay baker will turn very dark after many uses.

Hope this helps,

Harry

basic.  DO NOT PREHEAT the oven with or without the clay baker.  ALWAYS soak the top for at least 10 minutes.

I line mine with parchment paper and do the last proof right inside the baker before putting on the top and setting it all into a cold oven.

http://www.romertopfonline.us/How_to_Use_Your_Romertopf_s/1823.htm

Works well every time.

Best,

Anna

I use sometimes a clay pott for my bread and what I do is brushing sligltly the bottom with a a bit of oil and then scatter through some breadcrumps, this helps the bread to slide off easily once it is cooled down.

I also  put the loaf in the pott 30/40 minutes before putting it in the oven and  I cover it with a plastic bag. It  helps the dough to settle into the pot and to grow a bit more.

I don't soak mine in my water prior to use but it is a specific one for bread so I'm not sure about yours.

Claudia

Mary, why is it you want to use the clay pot for baking bread? Is it because of properties of clay, or is it just the best vessel you have at the moment? The reason I'm asking is because these pots should be handled very very carefully, and in my experience, they do need a little TLC before they'll work well. I have a clay pot that's intended for roasting meat, I soaked it in water before 1st use as per instructions but I think that was meant to protect the pot and remove air bubbles, rather than prevent the meat from drying out. It doesn't dry out much anyway, because although breathable, it's still an enclosed space

For the first 8-10 uses, my pot would also give off a strong earthly smell when heated, I didn't find it unpleasant (it's just a clay smell) but my husband did. I'm not sure you want your bread to smell of clay. So you may be better off cooking something fatty in it a few times (fatty foods won't absorb foreign smells as much as bread would) before you use it for bread.

BTW these pots fetch very decent prices on eBay/Amazon, even used ones, I got mine on eBay but it took me aaaaages before I got lucky to get it cheap.

That's how I've been baking Jim Lahey's no knead bread  and Artisian Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for the past year. I put the 2 pieces of my Romertopf on the rack of a cold oven and heat the clay baker while I preheat the oven (25 minutes at 450 degrees). I line a oval wicker basket (purchased for $1.00 at Goodwill) with parchment paper. I lift the parchment paper into the clay baker, put the lid on and bake for 40 minutes and remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes.

I've read not to put a cold clay baker into a hot oven. I have 2 clay bakers so I can bake 2 loaves at a time. I bought one at Goodwill and the other at a local thrift shop.