Okay, the other day I was browsing a magazine at the Dr.'s office and there was a recipe in there for making bread in a clay pot.  Does anyone know if you just go to the home and garden area and buy a plain old pot or does it have to be specialy treated or anything?  Also, has anyone actually tried this and have any recipes?  I think it was a breakfast bread with apples and spices and stuff but I forgot to have the receptionist photo copy it for me.

Okay, found my own answer for part of it!  LOL  (note to self - try google 1st!) So I guess I'm looking for tried & true recipes.  :O)

From here: http://web.ndak.net/rayleend/x_flower_pot_bread.htm

Any regular bread, either white or whole wheat, can be baked in clay flower pots for interesting shapes and special brown crusts. Here is  how  to prepare pots for Flower Pot

Bread: 

1. Buy unpainted clay pots  (be sure they are the good old-fashioned red clay kind, not some kind of plastic). You can choose from diameters  of 3 inches (for individual loaves), 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches and 7 inches. If you want to buy just one size, the 5-inch pots make nice medium-sized loaves. Five this size should be enough for most bread recipes.

2. Scrub pots thoroughly in hot soapy water. I used a vegetable brush to scrub mine to be
sure any powdery clay was washed away. Rinse very well under hot running water. Dry, then let stand several hours to be sure the water they have absorbed is completely dried out. (if you are in a hurry they can be dried in a slow oven.)

3. Oil pots very well on the inside, including the rim. Use vegetable oil and keep oiling until the pot will not absorb any more. You'll be surprised how  much oil this will take. 

4. Set the pots on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil in a cold oven. Turn thermostat to 400 degrees. When the temperature gets to 400 degrees, turn off the heat and leave the pots in the oven to cool. When completely cooled oil them again, return them to a cold oven and heat a second time, allowing them to cool in the oven. Now the pots are ready to use. Be sure to grease them well before each use, especially around the rim. Don't worry about the hole in the bottom of the pot. The bread dough will quickly seal the hole closed. Try one of your favorite recipes baked this way. Whatever recipe you use, let the dough rise as usual to the shaping stage. Then shape into balls just large enough to half-fill chosen pots. Put dough into prepared pots and let rise in a warm place until dough is level with tops of pots. Baking time will vary with kind of bread and size of pots used. Bake until loaves sound hollow when tapped lightly on top. Use same temperature your recipe requires for these specially shaped loaves. Let loaves stand in pots about 5 minutes
after baking before loosening carefully and turning out on racks to finish cooling.

that's too much work for me!

I did buy acl ay type pot off QVC about 17 yrs ago..it had a steam thingie in the center and you put it on top of a pan with boiling water and covered it and let it cook..only tried one thing in it and it didnt' taste good and was hard to clean :-( me and non-nonstick don't work well together...

I was interested because I love my stoneware from Pampered Chef and how well it cooks.  I think your clay pot may have been like the stoneware... it gains non-stick'ness as you use it over and over.  My pizza stone is black as night.

I did find one interesting clay pot recipe but still no sweet breads (well banana but yech!)

FLOWER POT HERB LOAVES 

• 1 pound all-purpose flour
• 1 ounce fresh yeast
• 2/3 cup lukewarm milk
• Pinch of granulated sugar
• 2 onions, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 ounces butter
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon ground rosemary
• 2 new (4-inch) clay flower pots*

Note: Purchase only clay pots made in the United States. If made outside the United States, lead is mixed in with the clay.

Grease the flower pots.

Sift the flour into a bowl and form a well in the center. Combine yeast, milk and sugar in a bowl and leave for a few minutes, then pour into well. Sprinkle a little flour over, cover and leave in a warm place for 15 to 20 minutes.

Melt butter and mix with eggs, salt, nutmeg, dill and rosemary. Add onion. Mix everything with the flour and yeast liquid and knead well, until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to stand until doubled in size.

Knead again lightly and put half the dough in each flower pot. Let rise for 20 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush surface of dough with water and sprinkle lightly with aniseed or fennel, if desired. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

I had some bread at this herb place once when I was on vacation where they had it in a flower pot...the salad was alle dible..rose petals and stuff like that...it was actually pretty  good but nowhere near filling for a hearty eater! the bread had a daisy or something..don't think that part was edible..cant' remmber but it was a really neat presentation.