Clay Bakers

[justplainbill]

For baking rye bread I've found it helpful to paint the lower half's glazed portion with melted lard. The lard acts as a release agent thereby facilitating removal of the par baked loaf for final baking. I do the final proofing of the bread in a sink of hot water with the topf's cover on and bake with the cover on for 1/2 hour from the point where the oven reaches 375F, remove the cover and continue baking for 15 minutes, and then remove the loaf from the topf, paint with water or constarch or eggwash and complete baking / browning / crisping on a stone.

[Robo410]

I have one, haven't used it in years. Used to toss in baby carrots and small onions, put a chicken on top, season well, add a little white white and bake. the results were tasty enough and better than a roasting bag. The bird got a little brown on top. Lots of pan juices to reduce or use as it was. A pretty fool proof system and set of recipes. But I've moved beyond them in terms of method and taste. I should probably pass it on to a friend. It was the start of my serious cooking.