The crepulja

The crepulja is the shallow round earthenware dish the food is placed in. The sac is the lid that comes down over it. The two are a pair: the crepulja holds the food, the sac covers it, and the embers go on top of the sac.

Role

The lower dish, holds the food

Its pair

The sac, as the lid above it

Shape

Shallow and round

Traditionally for

Bread and pogaca on the hearth

How it differs from the sac

They are made of the same material and are often confused, but they are not the same thing and do not do the same job. The sac is a lid shaped like a shallow bell and goes on top. The crepulja is a dish and goes underneath. As a rule the crepulja is smaller than the sac that covers it: the sac has to overhang it.

How baking works in it

Traditionally the crepulja with the food in it is set in the middle of the hearth, the sac is lowered over it, and the whole thing is buried in embers. The food then bakes from two sides: from below by the heated crepulja, from above by the embers heaped on the sac. That is why "under the sac" does not only mean covered — it means heated from both sides.

What is made in it

Traditionally bread and pogaca above all: the crepulja was made for baking bread on the hearth. Today meat and vegetables are cooked in it too, because the method is the same — food in the crepulja, sac over it, embers on top.