Diary of a Dishie

This quality pottery is handmade in Zanesville, Ohio, by “the original” Hartstone.

This company has roots back to the 1970s. It went through a period of corporate ownership, and was closed.

But in a town of 25,000, the loss of 400 jobs was painful, not to mention the loss of a piece of history. Southeastern Ohio has a long history of pottery making, and most of it is gone. Roseville, McCoy, Crooksville, Shawnee and Weller are just a few of the Ohio potteries that are familiar to collectors of vintage American pottery and dinnerware.

So in 2005, a group of local business people got together and Hartstone Pottery was reborn.

We made a visit to the factory recently, and enjoyed seeing this charming pottery being made.

The patterns are hand painted on the bisque. Then the piece is fired, coated in clear glazed, and fired again.

Also, we’re quite fond of the unglazed baking stones line, which includes pieces for bread, pie, pizza, cakes, brownies, muffins and lasagna. These pieces are dishwasher safe, and you can cut right in the dish!

I made a Pineapple Nut Bread recipe according to directions. This recipe called 3 cups flour and that is about the right amount for the capacity of this generous sized pan. The nut bread was similar to muffin batter, in that it was leavened with baking powder. This is the kind of batter that you want to stir until just mixed.

The loaf was nicely browned and evenly baked. We love this dish! Based on the crustiness of the bread, I think this dish will really shine when used for a kneaded loaf. Can't wait till cooler "bread baking" weather...

by