Bisque is a fired piece (bisquette) of unglazed clay used to make pottery, figurines, dolls, knickknacks, ornaments etc. This porous, vitreous ceramic can be created using heat, which causes a chemical reaction (dehydroxylation) in clay (e.g. kaolinite) to irreversibly change:
1. Unearth or procure clay and mold, form, turn, wedge, cast or sculpt into the desired shape. Avoid air pockets.
2. Wrap the piece in plastic wrap and set in a moist environment for several days. Once air-dried, the clay piece is called greenware.
3. Apply no glaze. Place the greenware into a kiln similar furnace and fire for about three days, a) dry the piece at a low temperature for about 12 hours, b)then fire the piece to approximately 1800 to 2260F (1000 to 1238C) for another day, c) and allow the bisquette to cool to a safe handling temperature of 150F (65C).
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Bisque is also a thick, creamy soup of French origin. It can be made from meat, fish or shellfish. It is thought the name is derived from Biscay, as in Bay of Biscay.