INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine the yeast, honey and salt with 1 cup lukewarm (not hot) water
and set aside. (Remember: if the water is too hot it will kill the
growing yeast.)  Heat 1 cup water to boiling, and add the oatmeal and
sour cream.  Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat
and cool  to lukewarm. Combine the whole-wheat flour, seeds, and herbs
in a  large mixing bowl. Add the oatmeal and yeast mixtures and beat
until  well blended. Add beaten egg and melted butter and beat several
times  again. Add the pine nuts, then add 3 cups of the all-purpose
flour,  one cup at a time, beating between each addition until a fairly
stiff  dough is developed.  Spread the remaining all-purpose flour on a
board and knead the dough  into it thoroughly, about a dozen times,
then put the dough in a  large, well-greased bowl and cover with a damp
cloth. Set to rise in  a warm place until double its original bulk
(about 1 hour).  Just before the end of the rising time, presoak 2 clay
pots, top and  bottom, in hot water for 15 minutes. (We use 2 pots in
order to bake  each loaf separately.)  Place the risen dough on a
floured board, divide, and shape into 2  loaves. Before putting the
loaves in the presoaked pots, put a small  piece of aluminum foil, just
large enough to cover the bottom of the  loaf, on the bottom of each
pot. (This keeps the bread from sticking  to the pot.) Place the dough
inside the pots, cover, and allow to  rise until almost doubled in bulk
(about 45 minutes). (I wrapped the  pot in a wet towel to keep it from
drying out too soon.)  Cover the pots and put them in a cold oven.  Set
the oven temperature at 480 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes. If
necessary, remove lid for the last 5 minutes of baking to get a  golden
brown crust.  Source: "The Clay-Pot Cookbook" by Georgia MacLeod Sales
and Grover  Sales  NOTE: This is the best bread I've made in a long
time. High loaf,  light, and with a very crisp crust and moist inside.
Pine nuts don't  add much to it and could be left out. Had a problem
with it sticking  to the pot (my clay pot has a semi-glazed bottom
which I greased very  lightly with shortening, and it still stuck in
spots).  Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V3 #273  Date: Sun, 6 Oct 1996
02:50:21 +0000  From: Linda Place <placel@worldnet.att.net>

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