Hello!
I am quite new at baking, I have made a couple of loaves. Thus far I’ve been just baking them either on a standard baking tray or in a tin cake form. Couple days ago I managed to grab a clay baker (not glazed) with a lid and today baked my first bread in it.
I used it as it said on the package: soaked it in water for 10 minutes, then put it in a cold over and turned on the heat. Once it has heated to the baking temperature i put a piece of baking parchment on bottom, popped my loaf in and covered it.
Baked for 20 mins, uncovered and continued for 25 more mins.
The first problem is the sides stuck completely to the clay. I read on it and will try to season it for the future.
But the real problem is that the bottom of the bread turned out soft, weird and soggy, there is no crust whatsoever:( the bottom looks kind of steamed, i hate it.
Did I use it wrong? How do I fix it in the future? I love thick, crunchy crust all over the loaf…
Thanks in advance
Hi @Ninamice. Sorry to hear your bake didn’t work out. That’s always a disappointing experience.
It’s easier to troubleshoot issues with baked products if we have photos of the bread and more knowledge of your recipe, technique, and the clay baker itself, but this sounds as if there was too much moisture in the bake, specifically in the bottom of the baker. Even if all the water evaporated out of the clay before the bake was finished, it may have happened too late in the process to properly cook the bread. It’s true that many breads benefit from steam in the first part of the bake, but they need to finish in a dry oven. I would not advise you to use your clay baker in a way not recommended by the manufacturer; however, if it is permissible to use the baker wet or dry, I’d suggest you try using it dry. Water evaporating from the dough itself will get trapped inside the baker and that should be enough to do the job without wetting the clay. If you do feel you need more steam, try wetting only the lid or brushing the top of the dough with water before placing the lid on the baker. You’ll soon hit on the best way to get the results you want.
I hope this helps, but if you don’t feel this is the cause of the problem, please provide more information and I’m sure others will weigh in. Good luck!
–AG
Echoing what @anothergirl said; I have three different types of clay bakers that I’ve used over the past eight years of baking bread (romertopfs, sassafras, and breadtopia brand) and I have never once soaked any of them in water for any reason at any time.
Hi Ninamice -
I’m new to this as well. I bought a Breadtopia clay baker and in the care instructions it says…
(Hopefully that image came through. My 1st post so mistakes are likely.)
It says that some manufacturers recommend soaking but they (Breadtopia) do not.
So, I have not soaked my baker. No parchment paper either. Just plop the dough into the pre-heated clay baker.
I do flour the dough very liberally - my very 1st loaf stuck to the bottom of the baker.
I use the new(ish) banneton from Breadtopia that’s made from maple wood fiber.
I spray it with olive oil and then use a duster (tea infuser or tea ball) to dust the banneton with rice flour.
Works well for me and cleans up nicely.
I was also using a liner before but spraying with olive oil and dusting is a lot easier for me.
Oh, and I use the Kevlar gloves since you’ll drop your dough into a very hot baker. ( I use the 500 degrees that Eric does in his No Kneed recipe and video.)
Mike
Hey, thanks so much for your replies. I think you’re right in that there was too much moisture in the baker. Makes sense with how it looked.
It was a cheap clay baker i grabbed in a local supermarket (EU). Manufacturer info is very laconic and it does tell you to soak it before baking but I think I’m just going to go ahead and try using it dry. If it breaks it breaks… and I will know better to buy a better one in the future.
But hopefully it turns out nicely:)
Oh and thanks for the suggestion about dusting the bottom of the loaf generously with flour. Somehow I didn’t think about it lol
Ninamice -
I should clarify my current approach on dusting the flour.
After I have the dough in the banneton it sits there for the 70 minutes that Eric suggests (seems that this can vary). About 40 minutes into this final proof I put the clay baker in the oven and turn on the oven.
When the oven is at temp I do a final dust of the top of the dough in the banneton. This will become the bottom of the loaf and therefore needs a good dusting. I’ve had my bread stick three times - always on the bottom. The 1st time was pretty bad. The 2nd and 3rd times I was able to recover for the most part. I did a bake this morning - liberal dusting of the top of the dough in the banneton - and no sticking at all. Yay!
So, I might be dusting the bottom of the banneton too much. I plan to back off on that a bit, since that becomes the top in the clay baker. So, no need for dusting on it - just enough to have it fall out of the banneton. I’m thinking that won’t take much dusting, if any, since I’m spraying with olive oil.
Mike
Hello. I have an unglazed clay cloche baker that has not been used in, gulp, 30 years.
I was wondering if I should soak it before using again. Based on your experience, and how long since mine has been used, would you say the same? Thank you.
Like I wrote back in ‘22, I’ve never soaked any of my clay bakers ever. I don’t even understand the theory behind soaking them - what do people who soak their bakers think that is accomplishing? I’m honestly curious. Is the idea that if you soak it that will release some steam while the bread is baking? If so, my guess is that the amount of steam from whatever minuscule amount of water that soaks into the clay isn’t enough to make any useful difference at all. But that’s just a guess since I have never tried it.
Not all clay bakeware is the same. Some unglazed ceramics require soaking before use in an oven, it has nothing to do with creating steam for bread. I believe Breadtopia’s clay baker product does not require soaking.
I believe it is an issue with the porosity of the clay used to make the baker.
Erring on the side of caution. Like Paul @homebreadbaker i’m not entirely sure why one would need to nor the reasons behind it, however might be prudent to play it safe. The worst that could happen was that you didn’t need to do it. No harm, no foul. And you did ask if you needed to soak it “again” so i’m assuming your clay baker needed it in the first place.
Thank you. I did not explain clearly-my error.
I was asking regarding the clay itself. The original instructions called for it to be soaked well and then dried/heated thoroughly, starting with a cold oven.
And your point that it wouldn’t hurt is a good one.
I am sure once I am baking bread in it ill have more questions. 