Clay Pot Bread Recipe (No Knead)
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Jump to RecipeThis clay pot bread recipe is a simple, delicious, and easy bread to bake at home! It’s warm, crusty, and great for breakfast or brunch.
This recipe works in a clay baking pot, or any oven-safe clay pot that has a lid. I love slicing up this bread for toast, sandwiches, or to dip in a warm cozy bowl of soup!
It’s no secret, I love baking bread and trying new ways to make it! I recently tried my Cast Iron Skillet Olive Oil Bread (YUM!) and my go-to of 4 Ingredient Dutch Oven No Knead Bread is a weekend staple.
I also love cooking in my Romertopf clay pot! Our Romertopf Clay Pot Chicken & Vegetables recipe is a favorite for sure! I wanted to try out making bread in it, and the results were fantastic!
This Clay Pot Bread Recipe Is
- Crusty on the Outside
- Soft in the Middle
- Aromatic
- Easy to Make
- Vegan
- Dairy Free
Bake Bread in a Clay Pot!
I decided to give my Dutch oven a rest, and test out my Clay Pot as a vessel to bake bread in. And the results? Absolutely delicious, warm and chewy bread with a crunchy crust. The clay pot is the perfect vessel for bread that is crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle
I also love baking chicken in the clay pot… if you are looking for a foolproof recipe, this Clay Pot Chicken & Roasted Vegetables is our favorite! Or if you have sourdough starter, this recipe for clay pot sourdough bread is a winner.
What’s In This Clay Pot Bread?
Be sure to visit the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and recipe instructions!
OK making bread in a clay pot couldn’t be easier! All it takes are just 4 simple ingredients, a clay pot, and a little bit of time.
- Flour: I like to use all-purpose flour which I’ve find gives me the best and most consistent results. Perfect texture, a great flavor, and light & airy bread.
- Yeast: I like a fast rising yeast, which also gives the bread a fantastic flavor!
- Water: normal tap water works just fine!
- Salt: a fine-ground salt works best for this recipe. Don’t use coarse or flaked salt for the bread, it will bake unevenly. This fine grain Celtic sea salt is perfect.
Easy Clay Pot Bread with Pantry Ingredients
This pantry staple bread is a true wonder! It can be made with a few simple ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard. A fresh loaf of artisanal bread can be ready in no time! And you can stock up the ingredients to make this bread again and again, without a trip to the store.
The great thing about this bread is that it is super versatile! You can toast if for breakfast or turn it into Garlic Lover’s Baked Garlic Bread. If you have stale leftovers, it’ll work perfectly in Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup!
This can be cooked in a Romertopf clay pot roaster or a LoafNest Bread Dutch Oven Cooker…. I’ve even seen clay planters being used to bake but haven’t tested that out yet!
How Do I Make Clay Pot Bread?
- The previous night, add the yeast and water to a large mixing bowl. Add in the salt and the flour one cup at a time, stirring frequently. The dough should be shaggy when finished. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rise for 8-18 hours.
- Transfer the dough to a floured proofing bowl or to a glass bowl, and lightly dust with flour. Allow dough to rest for another hour.
- Fill the sink with lukewarm water. Submerge clay pot and lid, and soak for 15 minutes.
- Remove the clay pot from the water and towel dry. Place the clay pot with the lid on in a room-temperature oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the clay pot inside.
- Once oven reaches temperature, remove the clay pot from the oven, add parchment paper to the bottom (optional) and add the dough to the pot, and place back in the oven with the top on for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the clay pot lid, and allow the bread to bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, place the bread on a clean surface to cool, and wait 15 minutes before slicing!
Bake Clay Pot Bread with Herbs and Spices
What’s great is that you can bake this bread with any flavors you want. Add lemon and rosemary, or olive oil and thyme, or garlic and chopped olives, etc. etc. the possibilities are endless.
I love this clay pot bread recipe because of how simple it is to make! I actually use the backing method for sourdough bread too, using my Simple Sourdough Starter Guide and recipe for baking your first loaf!
What Do I Serve With Clay Pot Bread?
This bread is on my list of Top 125 pantry staple ingredients and recipes, and goes great with the following meals:
Clay Pot Sourdough Recipe (Vegan, Vegetarian)
Easy Blackberry Chia Seed Jam (Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free)
Slow Cooker Summer Ratatouille (Vegan, Paleo, Whole30, Gluten Free)
Vegan Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup, Ribolitta (Vegan, Gluten-Free Option)
Creamy Mushroom & Wild Rice Soup (Vegan, Gluten Free)
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Clay Pot Bread (No Knead)
Equipment
- Clay Pot with Lid
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour of choice I usually use a mix of 2 cups bread flour and 2 cups all-purpose
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon herbs for flavor like rosemary, garlic, everything bagel seasoning, etc. Optional
Instructions
- The previous night, add the yeast and water to a large mixing bowl. Add in the salt and the flour one cup at a time, stirring frequently. The dough should be shaggy when finished. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rise for 8-18 hours.
- Transfer the dough to a floured proofing bowl or to a glass bowl, and lightly dust with flour. Allow dough to rest for another hour.
- Fill the sink with lukewarm water. Submerge clay pot and lid, and soak for 15 minutes.
- Remove the clay pot from the water and towel dry. Place the clay pot with the lid on in a room-temperature oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the clay pot inside.
- Once oven reaches temperature, remove the clay pot from the oven, add parchment paper to the bottom (optional) and add the dough to the pot, and place back in the oven with the top on for 30 minutes.
- Carefully remove the clay pot lid, and allow the bread to bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, place the bread on a clean surface to cool, and wait 15 minutes before slicing!
Nutrition
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May I comment that I have always placed the dough in the pot when I put the paper in, place dough and pot into a cold oven; the heating up period allows the dough to prove a bit more. Certainly saves some fiddling around!
Thank you Fran, I haven’t tried that – I’ve only placed bread in a hot pot first. I will have to try that next time, thank you for sharing!
– Kelly
My dough after rising overnight was to soft to make a ball..It was delicious but spread out to form an oval. Should I add more four next time to make a stiffer dough?
Hi. Have you ever made G.F. bread with this pot?
I just made this bread but had no plain flour so used rye flour instead, looked ok not like yours though. I must have done something wrong as it was very dense and heavy I had to toast it and I did enjoy it but what did I do wrong?
Also it was a bit on the wet side going in the pot. I want to make it again can you make any suggestions for me please.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Sue, I think the rye flour is the problem, it’s much denser than all-purpose flour. Even 100% whole wheat bread turns out very dense when I bake it, and looks nothing like the photos where I used all-purpose. I would suspect that is the culprit. I’m glad you enjoyed it toasted! You can also turn it into croutons for salads or soups 🙂
Super soft inside just crusty enough on the outside. Very good
Thank you for this recipe. I tried it as is and it worked great. Wondering about switching to sourdough starter only and skipping the instant yeast. Has anyone tried this? I was lucky to score a new Romertopf at a church thrift sale and love it, I’ve had better results than the Dutch oven so far. (but I’m a beginner!)
I am doing this now with my sourdough starter. Did you make it?
Any adjustments for high altitude? I’m right around 6,000 ft. Thank you!
I make a similar recipe in a Dutch Oven at 5280’ in Denver. (I want to try it in my clay cooker!) I use about 60% of the yeast in the original recipe and add a TBS of flour for each cup of flour. It will rise much faster and I don’t leave it over night. 4-8 hours is plenty depending upon how warm it is and what else is going on that day. If I want a faster rise, I put it in my oven with the light on. That’s just enough heat. I put plastic wrap over the top of the rising bowl to keep in moisture in my dry climate. It’s still the easiest bread I’ve tried and comes out great!
My dough is rising too fast in the countertop. I mixed it 4 hrs ago and it almost looks ready to bake. Should I put it in the refrigerator overnight?
Hi Rachel, you can either put it in the fridge – or ‘punch’ it back down in the bowl by turning it over a few times, then let it rise again on the countertop. I do that when I have super active yeast.
Hi! I made your beautiful bread. However, it’s wasn’t as lovely and airy as yours. Ha. Here’s what I found. I did your recipe exactly (in the beginning), but, had to add to cooking time roughly 15 min covered and maybe another 10-15 uncovered. (Cooked in a clay baker too!) The result was very pretty outside although not as ‘rustic’ in appearance, more shiny and crispy that softened with cooling. All good so far. Then sliced end after about 15 minutes sitting and was good but not as light. More dense and a smidge gummy. I like it but what can I do next time to improve? Your recipe was to the point and easy, which is ?????? In my book. Can you help me?
Hello Claudia, thank you so much for reaching out! If you are letting the bread rise overnight, make sure it’s in a warm(ish) place. I put mine in the oven with the door close, so there’s no cold draft in the winter/spring. If it’s doughy or gummy inside then it likely needs to be cooked for longer. Next time, I’d recommend adding an additional 5 minutes of covered cooking time, and letting the bread rest for longer before cutting. Let me know how it turns out!
I loved your sourdough recipe for a clay pot. Wondering if I can substitute some who,e wheat flour for a healthier loaf?
I made it starting last night and just shared some slices with my husband. Very good and not as sour as I expected. I’d made an infusion with dried rosemary for the water part. I have a crack in the Schlemmertopf lid and wanted to test it. Success with the recipe and the roaster!
Do you submerge the lid in water also…And do you bake it with the lid on.
Hello Mary – yes, submerge the pot and lid and the same time, and make sure to preheat both of them in the oven as it heats up to temperature. And you bake with the lid on for the first 30 minutes, then remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 10-15 (depending on how brown you like your bread to be). Hope that helps!
When I’ve seen this recipe with a cast iron pot/Dutch oven, it always says to preheat the pot in the oven before you put the dough in it? Is it the same with my clay pot?
Hi Linda, yes you have to preheat the clay pot and the lid – if you put the clay pot in a hot oven it could break… let the pot heat up in the oven before adding the bread.
Oh, I have always read that clay pots should be placed in a cold oven.
Hi Bev – yes you are correct! Steps 4 and 5 in this recipe call for the pot to be placed in the oven, then pre-heated with the pot inside to get it hot while the oven heats up. The clay pot could crack if you place it directly in the hot oven.