Since the beginning of the pandemic, sourdough has been found in almost every household – so why not bake a scary bread for Halloween? With these instructions you can make a bread pan that looks like your own face.

Material Alginate, approx . 500 g plaster of paris, 5kg plaster of paris bandages to support the alginate mold Red clay, 2.5-5kg Baking ingredients: flour, yeast, salt, water (for your favorite bread recipe) Tool Bucket (clean) for mixing alginate or plaster of paris Color brewer for mixing alginate or plaster of paris Plastic poncho / film to protect clothing when making the facial print Hair gel or Vaseline to protect the eyebrows Access to a kiln (for baking the bread pan) Time required: a few days

Costs: 60 – 70 € plus 10 – 30 € for the use of a kiln

Take a facial impression with alginate First, you take an impression of your own face. To do this, alginate is used for facial impressions, which is also often used for special effects. You also need someone to help. The eyebrows and any facial hair should be covered with hair gel or petroleum jelly; the clothing is protected with a plastic poncho or something similar.

First the alginate is in one touched a clean bucket. The helping person now covers the other person’s face with the alginate, which then slowly hardens.

Cover the face well, but leave the nostrils free.

It is important that the nostrils remain clear; if you use a straw you can also breathe through your mouth. It is best to think about beforehand which facial expression you want to cast – and whether you can hold it until the mold is finished (approximately 30 minutes).

The result with a relaxed facial expression.

After about 10 minutes, the shape is reinforced with plaster bandages. Soaking the sanitary napkins in salt water before attaching them will dry the form faster. The process can be accelerated with a hair dryer.

If you help with a hair dryer, the plaster layer dries faster.

When the plaster bandages have hardened, you can carefully remove the form from your face. Alginate decomposes after about 10 to 18 hours; it is advisable to make the next mold within four hours.

Plaster positive make The alginate form reinforced with plaster should be quite stiff, but you can additionally support it with clay so that it does not deform . The whole thing is best packed in a cardboard box, which gives additional strength and also catches any falling plaster residue.

When the mold is ready, you mix the plaster (follow the manufacturer’s instructions), which you put in Pour the mold to make a positive impression. The plaster of paris should be of high quality, it is advisable to use plaster of paris as fine as possible so that all details are well represented – stucco plaster, for example, is rather unsuitable.

Alginate mold filled with plaster of paris.

The plaster of paris takes about an hour to harden, then you can take it out of the alginate mold. By the way, plaster of paris is easy to work with (by scraping / scraping, sawing and sanding), so there is an opportunity here to adjust the shape again, if necessary. The alginate mold can also be reused – however, it can be deformed by the heat generated during the hardening of the plaster of paris.

The new positive form after hardening.

The plaster cast must dry out. This takes 1 to 2 weeks in the air. It is faster, for example, in the oven. The hardened plaster must not be heated above 65 ° C, Otherwise the mold can break.

Form a baking pan out of clay As soon as the plaster positive is dry, you can start making the baking mold. Classic red soft clay can be used for this.

Warning: Air-drying clay or polymer clay (such as Fimo) must not be used in the oven for baking bread, so they are not suitable here!

You also need access to a kiln. In the relevant workshops (e.g. for pottery courses), payment is typically made according to volume.

To make the baking pan, about 2.5 kg of clay are formed into a 2 cm thick plate and pressed them on the plaster positive. It is best to cover the entire shape with a single piece of clay. This way, there are no wrinkles that have to be touched up afterwards. Smooth out the clay and press it well into the mold so that all the details in the plaster can be reproduced. The mass should be applied evenly and thickly everywhere. Finally, put a few feet underneath so that the baking pan is level in the oven. When the clay is already a bit dry and can support itself, you can remove it from the plaster of paris.

The clay form on little feet.

Then dry the baking pan completely and then place it in a kiln at approx. 1000 ° C burn. Clay shrinks during firing, so the finished baking pan will be about 6 percent smaller.

The result: The bread shape with a face.

Baking bread Place the baking pan in the oven and place on 230 – 230 Preheat ° C. As soon as the mold is up to temperature, add about 750 to 1000 g batter in and let it bake. The dough must be soft enough to take on the shape of the nose and lips, so a baking recipe with a higher water content is recommended.

Preheating the baking pan is crucial so that the bread is heated evenly on all sides . The bread is ready when it is golden brown on top (after about 40 minutes).