Shital's-Kitchen: Claypot Bread

Just 3 more days of summer break and I will be back to work. Although I miss my students and fellow teachers, I do enjoy my time at home, relaxed and laid back. Next few days I am trying to cook dishes that I had planned for since long. I do want to upload those and share it with you all soon. My to-do list is really long and I know I won't be able to accomplish all, but will be happy to do whatever I can. Friday is another long and busy day. We will have Ikea deliver and install wardrobes in our new house. We got that done in our old home and we just love it, so now it is time to get it done in our new place :) Yes... that's right, we have another home where will be moving soon and will rent out the old one. So Shital's kitchen will soon be moving :)

Our current home is technically a brand new townhouse with a huge living space and a big kitchen :) Everyone knows I need lot of 'My Space' and that is in 'My Kitchen'. Our new house is a remodeled old home which has a smaller living space and a small kitchen but a huge backyard...yes it is huge for where we live :) And I just love my new backyard. There are already few beautiful trees there and we did plant some more. I am planning to get a green house done to protect my tropical plants from California winter. So we will be enjoying the big backyard space till we plan to extend and remodel it. You will eventually see lot of my backyard pictures with my food :)

I was never a baker. Yeast was never my friend. I hated the process of waiting while the food would be in the oven. Basically I had no patience. I love making appetizers and snacks. If you look at the list of 'Recipes By Category', you will notice that I have majority of appetizers listed there. I enjoy making them. Since that is the first course of any meal, I spend most of my time and effort making it delicious and appetizing. I can start and end my meal with the appetizers...yes, I so love them! But, lately I am enjoying every bit of baking. With the success and popularity of my Mumbai Pav Bread recipe, I have understood that baking is all about understanding your ingredients. It is about understanding your climatic conditions, and most important understanding the little microorganism, Yeast. I might have baked more that 50 batches of pav bread and every atempt brings the same smile on my face like the first one.

Today's recipe is a variation on my Pav Bread. My husband once went for a dinner meeting to an Italian restaurant where they served warm bread in a clay pot. This was the most interesting part of his meeting and the only thing he remembers from that evening :) So on my husband's demand I created this rustic bread baked in clay pots. Served with crisp fried garlic bits and olive oil, this was the star of the dinner!!

Most clay/terracotta pots can easily be used in an oven. I have traditional Indian clay pots or Kulhads that I love to use in baking. I soak the pots in water for 2-3 hours to get rid of loose dirt and dust. Once that is done, I let the pots dry and then use for baking.

Ingredients to make Rustic Claypot Bread
1+1/4 cup water
2 tbsp. sugar
1 packet (2+1/4 tsp.) yeast
1+1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 cups all purpose flour or maida
1/4 cup flour for kneading the dough
Oil spray to grease clay pot
Finely chopped or fried garlic bits (optional)
Mixed herbs (optional)

Microwave water for 30 seconds to warm it.
In a large bowl or a mixer add sugar, yeast, and water. Mix well and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. Below is the video of yeast mixture that turns frothy in just a few minutes. The frothiness ensures that yeast is alive and will help make your bread dough rise. Also it is very important to add sugar. Yeast feeds on sugar to produce carbondioxide gas that make the bread soft and porous. Warm temperature is favorable for yeast. Yeast would not be active under cold temperature and would die at very high temperature. So please give some TLC to this little organism!
Add flour, salt, and butter to the wet ingredients. Mix well and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand using some dry flour for dusting. If using an electric mixer, 3-4 minutes of kneading the dough is enough. Do not over knead the dough. Below is the video of making the dough.
Cover and let the dough rest for an hour.
After an hour add any flavorings or spices to the dough and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-4 minutes in a mixer. Below is the video of kneading the risen dough.
Divide the dough into equal parts depending on the size and the number of clay pots you have. Remember claypot should be half filled with the dough so that it has space for the dough to rise.
Grease the pots well with butter or PAM spray.
Make small balls of the dough and place it in each of the clay pots. Garnish with chopped garlic or jalapeno or cheddar cheese or herbs of your choice. Cover all the pots with a large cooking utensil to not let the utensil touch the brim of the clay pot. Let it rest for an hour or hour and a half.
Preheat the oven to 420F temperature.
Place each pot on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or till done. Baking time depends on the size of the pot.
Remove from the oven and apply some butter for taste and flavor.
Serve warm with fried garlic bits, dried herbs, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
This is a very rustic bread. Just use your hand to tear it and enjoy!!

Here is step-by-step recipe to make Rustic Claypot Bread.

Microwave water for 30 seconds to warm it.

In a large bowl or a mixer add sugar, yeast, and water. Mix well and let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. Below is the video of yeast mixture that turns frothy in just a few minutes. the frothiness ensures that yeast is alive and will help make your bread dough rise. Also it is very important to add sugar. Yeast feeds on sugar to produce carbondioxide gas that make the bread soft and porous. Warm temperature is favorable for yeast. Yeast would not be active under cold temperature and would die at very high temperature. So please give some TLC to this little organism!

Add flour, salt, and butter to the wet ingredients. Mix well and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand using some dry flour for dusting. If using an electric mixer, 3-4 minutes of kneading the dough is enough. Do not over knead the dough. Below is the video of making the dough.

After an hour add flavorings of your choice or spices to the dough and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand or 3-4 minutes in a mixer. Below is the video of kneading the risen dough.

Divide the dough into equal parts depending on the size and the number of clay pots you have. Remember claypot should be half filled with the dough so that it has space for the dough to rise.

Make small balls of the dough and place it in each of the clay pots. Garnish with chopped garlic or jalapeno or herbs of your choice. Cover all the pots with a large cooking utensil to not let the utensil touch the brim of the clay pot. Let it rest of an hour or hour and a half.

Grease the pots well with butter or PAM spray.

Preheat the oven to 420F temperature.

Place each pot on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes or till done. Baking time depends on the size of the pot.