Clay Pot Bread

Clay Pot Bread

　　Clay Pot Bread

　　Clay Pot Bread is one of the staple dry foods commonly eaten by rural households in the Yongdeng area. Due to its unique flavor, it is highly popular among locals.

　　Clay Pot Bread is typically made from premium wheat flour. The process begins with proofing the dough. Once the dough has risen, a small amount of dry flour is added, along with an appropriate amount of bog ash (or alkaline) water, which is then kneaded evenly to neutralize the acidity. The dough is then cut into appropriately sized pieces, kneaded into shape, and placed inside a clay pot. Diamond-shaped knife cuts are made on the surface, and the top is covered with a lid before the pot is buried in a hot fire. The fuel used for the fire is often mule or horse dung. After about 20 minutes, the bread is ready. The result is a golden, crispy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside Clay Pot Bread. For special occasions—such as visiting relatives, congratulating new mothers, or checking on the sick—the preparation becomes even more elaborate. The dough is mixed with Sichuan peppercorn and fennel water, rolled thin, brushed with vegetable oil, and sprinkled with bitter bean or Sichuan peppercorn leaf powder. It is then rolled into a cylinder about the thickness of a small cup, cut into three-inch segments, and six of these segments are stacked upright and joined together before being baked inside the clay pot. If the bread is made for a new mother (“moon period”), safflower water is added to the dough, and safflower threads are rolled into it. When the new mother eats this aromatic Clay Pot Bread, it not only helps nourish her body but also aids in dispersing blood stasis, improving circulation, and regulating menstruation. This is why a nursery rhyme in Yongdeng goes: “Knead white flour, pick safflowers, make a Clay Pot Bread to take to sister’s house. What’s sister doing at home? She’s just had a baby nephew…”