Spring demands to be celebrated as soon as it starts, and this year, I celebrated with flowerpot bread. It's a classic recipe in a fun new package.
I Made Flowerpot Bread, and It’s the Perfect Spring Bake
Published on Apr. 16, 2025
Every season brings with it a slew of fun recipes. Holidays offer inspiration for decorating and presentation, as does nature. So for spring, what better way to serve dinner rolls than in flowerpots? That’s right, flowerpot bread is thing, and once I heard about it I couldn’t wait to try it. You can bake pretty much any bread recipe in a flowerpot, so adapt it to the meal you’re eating! Try sesame French bread for sopping up spring soups, or sourdough for light lunch sandwiches.
What is flowerpot bread?
Flowerpot bread isn’t as much a specific recipe as it is a style of baking. As the name suggests, this preparation has us bakers running to the garden shed to borrow a few terra-cotta flowerpots. Seriously, you can bake bread in the pots. The outcome is a loaf with a delicious crust and huge table appeal.
Where did flowerpot bread come from?
Baking in terra cotta is not a new idea by any means. In fact, humans have been baking with clay ovens and pots for thousands of years. But bread in a flowerpot came about more recently—likely sometime in the 1960s. It was popularized in part by baking personalities like Mary Berry, author and former judge on The Great British Bake Off. The trend continued for the next several decades through popular cooking shows, community newspapers and family traditions.
How to Make Flowerpot Bread
The nice thing about making flowerpot bread is that not much changes in terms of the basic bread making—it’s just a different baking vessel. While using terra-cotta flowerpots requires a bit of extra work upfront, it’s certainly worthwhile.
Season the flowerpot
I bought terra-cotta pots at a garden supply store. They’re nothing special, just regular, 6-inch diameter pots. Before I baked with them, I seasoned them to ensure that they were safe to use. First, I bought a neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point (like vegetable or canola). As the oven was preheating to 400°F, I lined a large sheet tray with parchment, then used a paper towel to spread the neutral oil all around the inside of the flowerpot, coating it generously.
Editor’s Tip: The oil will change the color of the terra cotta, so if that bothers you, use caution to ensure you don’t get it on the outside of the pot.
Once the pots are coated with oil on the inside, turn them upside down and space them evenly on the sheet tray. Bake them for 30 minutes, then turn the oven off while they’re still inside and let them cool. You may smell the oil burning, but that’s the goal! From there, you can brush them with additional oil before you add the dough for its second proof. I used two long, thin strips of parchment to line my pots and ensure easy removal of the loaves as well.
Choose your bread recipe
The best thing about this method is that it will work for a variety of doughs, from quick bread recipes to sourdough bread. The dough I used was for a whole wheat and honey loaf, which felt springy and homey. The only thing you have to be careful of is the consistency of the dough you use. Make sure it’s thick enough that it won’t drip out of the drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. With sourdough and enriched doughs, that won’t be a problem.
Some of these breads will bake for less time and at lower temperatures than you might expect when cooked in a terra-cotta pot. The same thing that makes terra cotta good for plants is a superpower for even baking: The porous material allows heat to distribute evenly.
Bake the bread
I had a great time baking up my batch of flowerpot bread. I baked a small batch to see if I liked it, and I already have plans to make it again for a Mother’s Day brunch picnic and for Easter brunch. I loved using a slightly sweetened dough because the crust that the pot formed was extra crunchy. It sliced beautifully and looked so sweet sitting on the windowsill next to my real flowers. These flowerpots will stay in the kitchen from now on!
