Bread in a Flower Pot

By ldelmas

To make this recipe, you'll need to first season your flower pots. Start with clean, unused, unglazed terra cotta flower pots. Brush the interiors of the pots lightly with vegetable oil, and bake them at 370°F for 3 hours. Let cool completely, and then brush again with vegetable oil. Your pots only need to be seasoned once, but will need to be oiled each time you bake bread in them.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 –3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional garnish)
• 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional garnish)
• 2 Tbsp poppy seeds (optional garnish)

Preparation

Step 1

Combine the warm water and the packet of yeast in a small bowl, stirring until the yeast is dissolved. Wait 2 minutes, and then add the honey, olive oil, salt.
Place 2 cups of the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour, and mix until combined, adding additional small amounts of flour as needed.
Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead, until dough is soft and smooth, about 2–3 minutes. Place the dough in clean bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for 1 hour.
Punch down the dough, place it back onto a floured surface and knead again for 1 minute. Form the dough into a loaf and slice off 2"–3" pieces, according to the size of your pots. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place them into the oiled flower pots.
Let the bread dough rise until doubled in height, approximately 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Brush the tops with milk and sprinkle with the seeds, if desired. Bake for 20–30 minutes, depending on the size of your pots, until the bread is golden brown and firm to the touch.