SC - Re: Canning
L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt
liontamr at ptd.net
Thu Jul 31 04:45:55 PDT 1997
Erin Kenny wrote:
>
> His Grace Cariadoc mentioned:
>
> > We've never built an oven, although I know other people who
> > have. Other people in the encampment have done spit roasting.
>
> Is there anyone out there who has built an oven at something like
> Pennsic? My husband and our friends would like to build one in the
> first week so that we can experiment with some baking.
>
>
> Claricia Nyetgale
> Canton of Caldrithig
> Barony of Skraeling Althing
> Ealdormere (still mostly in the Middle Kingdom)
Greetings to the Esteemed Cooks of the SCA,
I have thought about this, but not yet tested the design. My
thoughts go as follows.
1. Size: What is the size of the largest item to be cooked? Round
up to the next larger 4" in both the side to side and front to
back dimensions.
2. Materials:
A. 2 pieces of flagstone whose dimensions are at least 1 foot
larger than both of the dimensions determined by step 1
B. Fire brick -- this is a refractory material used to line
boilers and fireplaces. In order to determine the number to
buy, you need, first get the sum of the sides of the
rectangle needed by step 1. Divide that length by 8" and
round up to the next integer. That is the number of bricks
per course (1 layer of bricks). Multiply that number by the
height of the oven and divide by 2. You will also need
enough bricks to cover the base of the oven; to get that
count, use the outside dimensions of the oven to compute
the area (side to side width times front to back depth)
divide by 32 and round up to the next integer.
C. Heavy insulated gloves
D. Fireplace shovel
3. Construction:
A. Clear and level and area larger than the larger piece of
flagstone. The outside of the oven should get very hot.
Think of fire safety and children when planning your
campsite, cooking area and oven.
B. Lay out one layer of bricks with the 4" by 8" face showing
(not on edge) in an ashlar pattern on one of the pieces of
flagstone. (An ashlar pattern is what you usually see on
the face of a brickwork wall. Do not leave any gaps.
C. Build up the three of the sides in another ashlar pattern to
the height needed. Arrange the pattern so that at the corners,
the overlap changes at each course. This improves stability.
The open side is to provide access to the cooking area. It
is possible to create a place to hang a cooking grille by
laying some bricks at right angles to the wall. A more
detailed explanation will have to wait until I can test this
and draw some diagrams. This might also increase the interior
size and, correspondingly, the brick count. Aside from the
open face, do not leave any gaps.
4. Heating: Load the cooking area with firewood or charcoal. Light
fuel and stack the remaining bricks to close the opening. In
order to allow air to enter, you must omit one brick from the
first course. Finally, cover the top with the second piece of
flagstone, but leave an opening to vent the smoke. Allow enough
time for the fire to burn down.
5. Cooking:
A. While the oven is heating, prepare the food to be cooked
B. Use the gloves to remove the last wall you built.
C. Clear the ashes. The fire pit is a good place for them and
could be used for other cooking.
D. Food into oven
E. Close up the open face and cap so that there is no airflow.
F. Cooking time. That's a tough question -- experiment is my
advice.
Some additional thoughts:
1. making it larger will allow more fuel and therefore longer
cooking time
2. at first, use it items that are not time critical -- bread
for example
3. it could also be used as a barbecue pit if the grille and
oven dimensions are compatible
4. try it some weekend before an event
5. the materials are heavy
6. you might be able to close the top with bricks by
cantilevering or creating an arch, but it's less stable and
beyond the scope of this note.
7. you might want to use double thick walls to retain additional
heat and lengthen cooking time
8. structural stability is a concern
9. meats like pork should not be used until you are sure that
it retains enough heat to finish the cooking.
10. could use common (red clay) brick in place of fire brick
11. common brick are 2" by 4" by 8"; firebrick are slightly larger:
2.5" by 4" by 9" -- this difference might affect the size of
the pieces of flagstone
12. remember that the ability to effectively cook depends on how
hot the oven is and how long it stays hot -- using it in
winter or a rainstorm will give different results from using
it in summer
13. once you start to use it, you cannot "add" heat except by
starting another fire in it
As I said, I've been thinking about this. I'm going to have to
follow my own advice and build a test oven. But not until after
PENNSIC XXVI.
Please let me know what you think.
I am,
Vinchenzio Martinus di Mazza,
In Service to the Dream
- --
Martin G. Diehl
Sig under construction
Home page not even started, PENNSIC comes^H^H^H^H^Hcame first!
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