SC - RE: Ansteorra turned 20, Bear turned 21 again, and has cheese bread
Lady Elisabeth of Pendarvis
pndarvis at execpc.com
Tue Jul 13 14:12:46 PDT 1999
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This was forwarded to me by a dear man, and is reposted here with permission
of the original author. At Lillies War, someone made and used a beehive
type bread oven, here's the story.
Bonne
From: Potters at onelist.com
Reply-To: Potters at onelist.com
To: Potters at onelist.com
Subject: [Potters] Digest Number 13
Date: 13 Jul 1999 10:32:03 -0000
______________________________________________________________________
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:10:10 CDT
From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
Subject: Bread Ovens Essay
Okay, people have asked for this so here it is. My essay on bread ovens and
Lilies "mud".
The original research that Master Mikhail and I found on bread ovens is that
they were typically single chamber ovens. Double chamber ovens were used,
but mostly for industrial pursuits rather than for food preparation. With
this in mind, we looked at a lot of pictures from illuminations and from
re-creationist groups that had already worked with ovens previously. The
general concensus is that the most efficient shape is a round dome with a
small door in the side at the bottom of the dome and a hole in the "back" of
the oven towards the top for the flue.
Since Mikhail wasn't comfortable with relying on his skills as a brick
layer, he constructed a metal "skeleton" for the oven. This was
transported to Lilies with a load of bricks. (Talk about not traveling
light!) At the site, we cut away the sod where the oven would set. Patio
bricks were placed for the floor of the oven and then the skeleton was
placed. A trench was dug in front of the door and across the front of the
oven for embers.
Next, a skin of chicken wire was put on the metal skeleton (another
example of Mikhail's need to over engineer....). We then laid small patio
type bricks against the outside of the structure, using mud/clay from the
lake shore. (This particular batch of mud/clay came from the Period
Encampment area. It had a lot of debris and sand in it, but had a good
amount of tackiness to it). We mortared the bricks in with the mud/clay,
leaving a hole in the top near the back. This hole would be plugged with a
brick during the baking phase, but left open during the firing phase. To
finish the oven, we covered the entirety in mud (except for flue hole and
door). We let it dry for several hours.
Unfortunately, we couldn't let it dry all the way through before firing it
as rain threatened to fall and wash away our efforts. So we put a small
fire in the oven to try to quicken the drying process. The fire was
probably too big too soon and the mud/clay mixture cracked a lot. We filled
in cracks as it fired and though it didn't look pretty, it became quite
functional for thermal mass. It took about 2 hours to get the oven looking
dry. We went ahead and pulled out the fire and embers (fire into the
cooking pit nearby and embers into the trench in front of the oven door),
and decided to try baking some bread. The bread was put in on the floor (we
used some freezer bread dough that had been thawed) and plugged the flue
and the door (used pieces of limestone for the door). It took about 20
minutes for the bread to bake through.
The bread, of course, had soot and such on the bottom crust, which would be
perfectly okay for period, but modern sensibilities made our dinner guests a
little concerned about it. We determined that putting a piece of aluminum
foil down after pulling out the fire was a good way to maintain a clean
baking surface. {note, I recommended to her a brushy damp broom, such as the
one of cornhusks I've seen at Old Salem, NC, for cleaning out the soot. -
Bonne)
Over the course of the week, we found the mud/clay mortar cracking
periodically from the heating and cooling of the oven (we fired it once or
twice every day). We kept a bucket of mud/clay available nearby to patch it
periodically. This seemed to work fine. We did put a tarp over the oven
during rainy weather to reduce the chances of the mud/clay loosening itself
from the bricks.
We determined that it took about an hour to get the oven up to
temperature (about 500 degrees Fahrenheit). Then by the time you pulled out
the fire/embers, loaded in the bread (this oven held about 8 loaves of bread
comfortably), and blocked the door and flue, the oven was about 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. It took about 20 minutes to bake the bread. We used the
freezer dough instead of making our own since this was an experiment this
year. We tried loaves, half loaves and buns. There didn't seem to be much
variation in timing between the different sizes of dough. We also had
cinnamon rolls one morning!
Changes for next year include a smaller, multiple ovens. We're also
planning on making clay ovens to transport to the site, rather than
making a brick form while there. This will make the technology much more
portable. We're discussing the pros and cons of the double chamber versus
the single chamber ovens. Also, I will be making my own dough on site to
add to the variety of available bread choices.
The tools that seemed to be the best for the firing and baking were a
long-handled scoopy type "spoon" for scraping out the embers, bbq tongs, and
a pair of heavy gloves (for removing the stones in front of the door when
it's time to take the bread out.
- -Vasilla
Vasilla Anastasiia Krasnaia
Barony of Mag Mor
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Subject: [Potters] Digest Number 13
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Here there be dragons...
(because they fuel the kilns)
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There are 7 messages in this issue.
Topics in today's digest:
1. Re: Arrrrgh
From: Timothy a Whitcomb <freyja1 at juno.com>
2. Re: Fw: [Potters] Hello..
From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
3. Re: Fw: [Potters] Hello..
From: DianaFiona at aol.com
4. Bread Ovens Essay
From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
5. Commentary on article
From: Timothy a Whitcomb <freyja1 at juno.com>
6. Re: Bread Ovens Essay
From: "Kris Griffith" <geneviev at southwind.net>
7. Re: Bread Ovens Essay
From: "Kris Griffith" <geneviev at southwind.net>
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 09:48:07 EDT
From: Timothy a Whitcomb <freyja1 at juno.com>
Subject: Re: Arrrrgh
>
>I hate comission work! I just unloaded a kiln, and the colors didn't
>=
>come out like I expected! Hate it when that happens....
>
>Gwen
>
That bites!
Okay, if I remember, you are firing electric?
What type of glaze and claybodies did you use? What did you anticipate as
the results?
Do you know what happened?
Hroar
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 08:36:54 CDT
From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Fw: [Potters] Hello..
Gen wrote:
Vasilla,
See the things I miss out on when I can't stay for the Whole week at
Lillies. We were talking about making that Bread oven last year. I ran the
ceramics area, did raku on site, and built a wheel too. Next year I hope to
have the ceramic demo area up and going again. Interested in teaching????
or a demo time???? I would love to make another bread oven and hear what you
learned from the experience about the clay. Last year I threw with the lake
clay, it was a bit sandy, but was able to pull forms. Unfortunately when
they dried in the sun they cracked, likewise, those that didn't crack,
cracked in the trash can firing we did on site. Trash can is a bit easier
to control and I believe safer than on open pit firing for the work and
people.
Gen
Gen,
I would LOVE to help out in any way I can with next year's Lilies demos and
classes; just say the word! I've been teaching people one-on-one in my
"copious free time". ;-) I really enjoyed watching the raku firing at
Lilies last year. It really made me want to do raku again!
I would also love to show you what I've learned about the bread ovens so
far. If anyone is interested, I can write a short essay on it for the List.
For the pit-firing, I've decided to use a cast-iron bbq/smoker thing that
Mikhail has offered to let me use and I'll be doing a firing similar to your
trash can firing. I haven't actually looked at it yet, but I'll have to
make sure it has proper air flow I imagine. I'll be using lots of sawdust.
Also, does anyone know what I could use to get some flashing on the surface
of the pots during the firing? I'll probably bisque fire them in my
electric kiln first. Should the flashing glazes go on before or after the
bisque fire? And should flashing glazes be used in conjunction with
sawdust?
- -Vasilla
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 11:22:58 EDT
From: DianaFiona at aol.com
Subject: Re: Fw: [Potters] Hello..
In a message dated 7/12/99 9:51:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
badhare at hotmail.com writes:
<<
I would also love to show you what I've learned about the bread ovens so
far. If anyone is interested, I can write a short essay on it for the List.
>>
Such a *silly* question....... ;-) I, at least, would love it---I've
been wanting to play with bread ovens for years!
Ldy Diana
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:10:10 CDT
From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
Subject: Bread Ovens Essay
Okay, people have asked for this so here it is. My essay on bread ovens and
Lilies "mud".
The original research that Master Mikhail and I found on bread ovens is that
they were typically single chamber ovens. Double chamber ovens were used,
but mostly for industrial pursuits rather than for food preparation. With
this in mind, we looked at a lot of pictures from illuminations and from
re-creationist groups that had already worked with ovens previously. The
general concensus is that the most efficient shape is a round dome with a
small door in the side at the bottom of the dome and a hole in the "back" of
the oven towards the top for the flue.
Since Mikhail wasn't comfortable with relying on his skills as a brick
layer, he constructed a metal "skeleton" for the oven. This was transported
to Lilies with a load of bricks. (Talk about not traveling light!) At the
site, we cut away the sod where the oven would set. Patio bricks were
placed for the floor of the oven and then the skeleton was placed. A trench
was dug in front of the door and across the front of the oven for embers.
Next, a skin of chicken wire was put on the metal skeleton (another example
of Mikhail's need to over engineer....). We then laid small patio type
bricks against the outside of the structure, using mud/clay from the lake
shore. (This particular batch of mud/clay came from the Period Encampment
area. It had a lot of debris and sand in it, but had a good amount of
tackiness to it). We mortared the bricks in with the mud/clay, leaving a
hole in the top near the back. This hole would be plugged with a brick
during the baking phase, but left open during the firing phase. To finish
the oven, we covered the entirety in mud (except for flue hole and door).
We let it dry for several hours.
Unfortunately, we couldn't let it dry all the way through before firing it
as rain threatened to fall and wash away our efforts. So we put a small
fire in the oven to try to quicken the drying process. The fire was
probably too big too soon and the mud/clay mixture cracked a lot. We filled
in cracks as it fired and though it didn't look pretty, it became quite
functional for thermal mass. It took about 2 hours to get the oven looking
dry. We went ahead and pulled out the fire and embers (fire into the
cooking pit nearby and embers into the trench in front of the oven door),
and decided to try baking some bread. The bread was put in on the floor (we
used some freezer bread dough that had been thawed) and plugged the flue
and the door (used pieces of limestone for the door). It took about 20
minutes for the bread to bake through.
The bread, of course, had soot and such on the bottom crust, which would be
perfectly okay for period, but modern sensibilities made our dinner guests a
little concerned about it. We determined that putting a piece of aluminum
foil down after pulling out the fire was a good way to maintain a clean
baking surface.
Over the course of the week, we found the mud/clay mortar cracking
periodically from the heating and cooling of the oven (we fired it once or
twice every day). We kept a bucket of mud/clay available nearby to patch it
periodically. This seemed to work fine. We did put a tarp over the oven
during rainy weather to reduce the chances of the mud/clay loosening itself
>from the bricks.
We determined that it took about an hour to get the oven up to temperature
(about 500 degrees Fahrenheit). Then by the time you pulled out the
fire/embers, loaded in the bread (this oven held about 8 loaves of bread
comfortably), and blocked the door and flue, the oven was about 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. It took about 20 minutes to bake the bread. We used the
freezer dough instead of making our own since this was an experiment this
year. We tried loaves, half loaves and buns. There didn't seem to be much
variation in timing between the different sizes of dough. We also had
cinnamon rolls one morning!
Changes for next year include a smaller, multiple ovens. We're also
planning on making clay ovens to transport to the site, rather than making a
brick form while there. This will make the technology much more portable.
We're discussing the pros and cons of the double chamber versus the single
chamber ovens. Also, I will be making my own dough on site to add to the
variety of available bread choices.
The tools that seemed to be the best for the firing and baking were a
long-handled scoopy type "spoon" for scraping out the embers, bbq tongs, and
a pair of heavy gloves (for removing the stones in front of the door when
it's time to take the bread out.
- -Vasilla
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 5
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 15:54:17 EDT
From: Timothy a Whitcomb <freyja1 at juno.com>
Subject: Commentary on article
Fellow Potters;
This was written by a Laurel friend of mine, and I thought you all
might find it interesting, possibly inspiring..
Hroar
I just wrote this for the local newsletter. Anyone got any comments?
Audelinde
Why are you just sitting there?
Audelindis de Rheims, OL, OW, OPF, OE, OGSFF
I get real tired of one phrase I constantly hear in the SCA "Oh,
I could never do that" usually followed by a self- deprecatory
chuckle.
What you really mean is either, "I don't want to do that",
"I don't think I have time to do that," or "I won't be
instantaneously a master of the craft so I'm not worthy to try."
I freely admit that there are things in the SCA I don't have any
interest in participating in: fighting--heavy or light, armoring, and
hound coursing are the ones that come to mind. I'll admire
work well done in these activities, though I may have to be told why
it's work well-done, but skill is skill after all.
Time is a problem. A lot of activities are dying for lack
of time--crafts and reading fiction are two that seem to be
falling by the wayside. (I must have talked to five people in
the last six months who never read fiction any more they don't
have time to read anything but computer manuals because they're
learning to use their computer better to save time....) I know I seem
to have more time than most people. That's an illusion. Actually, I
spend a lot of time doing research for the next book, making notes on
what I want to do, writing occasionally, and most of that time spent
playing games or staring at the TV is happening when I'm trying to
overcome an obstacle in the story development process. (Writing isn't
a full-time job, it's an all-the-time job.) But I do get a lot of
embroidery done, not to mention weaving, and occasionally sewing.
I'll tell you my secret--I work in front of the TV. Let's be honest
does all your attention have to be on Zena? (I know, stupid question,
but there are parts of the show where she's not on screen.) Computers
eat up a lot of our time--do you really need to play solitaire for 3
hours? Kids are a time sink, and an important one, but if I remember
correctly one of the reasons I wanted to be a grownup was because they
didn't have to go to bed early. (Explains a lot doesn't it?) Besides
a kid who sees his/her mom doing neat stuff is probably going to grow
up to do neat stuff, too.
But it's the last reason, "I'd never be able to do that,"
that is the one I hear most often, and that annoys me the most.
If someone can become an expert painter with his left foot, or do
needlework with the needle held in her mouth, you can probably manage
to learn to tablet weave.
In the SCA I've played with the following arts and crafts:
dance--near eastern and renaissance, calligraphy, illumination,
cooking, sewing, lace making--needle, tatted, bobbin and woven,
embroidery--free form and thread count, beading--embroidery and
jewelry making, poetry, story-telling, felting, weaving--inkle,
tablet and floor loom, costuming, spinning, research, singing and I
know I'm forgetting something. I could also show you a list about as
long of things I'd like to try. (Can anyone around here teach me
enameling?)
But I wasn't born doing any of that. When I got in the SCA
the only thing I did was sew and free-form embroider. And I was
certainly not a master of either. I learned all the rest later. And
when I learn something new I am invariably awful at it. I take
weaving workshops. While everyone else in the class is talking about
how they are going to hang their piece in the vestibule with a
spotlight on it, I'm trying to decide which plastic bin is at the
bottom of the heap so I can hide it. (If you're very good someday
I'll drag out my first piece of floor loom weaving--the scarf with the
very obvious threading error down one side.) I gave up spinning
because I never could get the hang of joining the next rolag to the
thread. My singing could be a major weapon for the Middle at Pennsic,
but I think there's something in the treaties about it.
But I had fun singing, I had fun spinning and I fell in love with
weaving. Learning new things is fun. Who cares if you blow it?
A lot of you have seen my crosstich. I didn't start out
doing jousting scenes over one at 28 threads per inch with 40
colors. One of my first pieces was on aida, 11 to the inch and
got tossed because I left only half-inch margin around the edge
and it unraveled. It took a while to get better. In fact I
probably never would have gotten so far into count thread work if I
hadn't found an embroidery of a Navajo weaver I fell in love with, and
then there was other stuff in the book that I wanted to do. Then
there was another book, and suddenly I'm doing Teresa Wentzler with
blended threads in 92 colors. Over one.
Excuses: "I don't have much fine muscle control." Fine
muscle control is something you develop with practice, just like
any other physical activity. Also, if you are engraving the
Lord's Prayer on the head of a pin it's unforgiving. But if you
stick the needle in the wrong hole on the aida cloth you can take it
out again. (Yes, you can even survive ripping out a major section of
embroidery and redoing it. It will improve your vocabulary, too.)
Then some crafts don't really require much in the way of fine muscle
control. The most delicate thing I have to do on my floor loom is
stick a piece of thread through a hole the size of a dime.
"I can't sit still that long." My mother and sister
regarded me as the most hopelessly hyper kid they knew up until I went
to college. I constantly had to be moving. (Oddly, it didn't do a
thing for my metabolism.) Sometimes I still can't settle for more than
about 15 minutes. So I do things for 15 minutes, stop, do something
else, or just pace the floor. There aren't many projects that are
going to die on you if you if you dump them for a while. (OK,
cooking, but that's not really something you have to sit still to do.)
I've gotten better over the years though. Part of it is that I've
discovered rhythms. Embroidery and weaving are great for that. Music
helps, too. I put on a CD I love--Steeleye Span's Time, is good, but
whatever floats your boat--and start work. The music takes over one
side of the brain, the work the other and all of a sudden it's 6:30
and I haven't started dinner. Once again, I didn't start out this
way. It's a talent I developed.
"I don't have the head for that." That can be a fair
problem, except that how do you know until you've tried? I never
would have thought I could find the head for weaving--it's a right and
left brain craft. But I fell in love with it once I tried. I don't
have the head for dance or for playing a musical instrument. I know
this from repeated attempts. I can dance by rote, but I never felt
particularly in synch with what I was doing. I can understand music
theory, but I can't get it out the end of the recorder. At least I
gave it a try--that was the important part.
"I can't see well enough to do that." OK, that's a
legitimate concern. My eyes are giving me hell at the moment in
fact. So I went out and spent $50 at Staples for a magnifying
light. And some of the stuff I do, again, doesn't require you to peer
at fine fabric for hours. Spinning didn't. Tatting is mostly feel.
How well do you have to see to make chainmail? Felting you can do if
you can find your way to the sink. And in Nordskogen there is a
Laurel--Blind Master John of Calador. His name isn't just a
whimsey--he is blind. He is a Laurel for weaving--he also has no
hands. (I've judged weaving with him, BTW. It was a trip. Stuff got
by me that he was able to figure out by running the cloth across his
upper lip.) If he can weave, you can get around the eyesight problem
for most anything else.
The point is--why are you here? If you wanted to be a couch
potato worrying over whether Ally McBeal has been pre-empted for a
political speech you wouldn't be reading this. The SCA spoke to
something in you. So don't be a tourney potato and sit on the grass
at staring at the fighting, or touring the A&S exhibits and telling
yourself what you aren't. Try something new. Get dirty, fail, learn
to love something unexpected.
You may be frustrated, angry, sleep deprived and have a
house full of unwashed fleece in the end--but you won't be sorry.
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Message: 6
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 20:21:56 -0500
From: "Kris Griffith" <geneviev at southwind.net>
Subject: Re: Bread Ovens Essay
What about a class on Oven making. Malichi and I had a similar idea last
year, however our plan was to make a bundle of hardwood covered in straw .
Use that to form the inside void and layer clay from the lake like
castable. The inside would be like an arch support. We could even mix
some castable with the clay, anyway then fire it, the void would be left and
the clay would be hardened. We would have placed this on a layer of brick,
or we could have a slab of clay that the arch would sit on. The flu would
be formed much the same way on the back side of the roof. Though with this
design, I am not sure where you would have the fire. I am using the design
of trading post, voyager bread ovens that were so popular at the trading
posts. I have to admit, I have not recently looked at the reference
material.
Gen
- -----Original Message-----
>From: Eagle Claw <badhare at hotmail.com>
To: potters at onelist.com <potters at onelist.com>
Date: Monday, July 12, 1999 12:10 PM
Subject: [Potters] Bread Ovens Essay
>From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
>
>Okay, people have asked for this so here it is. My essay on bread ovens
and
>Lilies "mud".
>
>The original research that Master Mikhail and I found on bread ovens is
that
>they were typically single chamber ovens. Double chamber ovens were used,
>but mostly for industrial pursuits rather than for food preparation. With
>this in mind, we looked at a lot of pictures from illuminations and from
>re-creationist groups that had already worked with ovens previously. The
>general concensus is that the most efficient shape is a round dome with a
>small door in the side at the bottom of the dome and a hole in the "back"
of
>the oven towards the top for the flue.
>
>Since Mikhail wasn't comfortable with relying on his skills as a brick
>layer, he constructed a metal "skeleton" for the oven. This was
transported
>to Lilies with a load of bricks. (Talk about not traveling light!) At the
>site, we cut away the sod where the oven would set. Patio bricks were
>placed for the floor of the oven and then the skeleton was placed. A
trench
>was dug in front of the door and across the front of the oven for embers.
>Next, a skin of chicken wire was put on the metal skeleton (another example
>of Mikhail's need to over engineer....). We then laid small patio type
>bricks against the outside of the structure, using mud/clay from the lake
>shore. (This particular batch of mud/clay came from the Period Encampment
>area. It had a lot of debris and sand in it, but had a good amount of
>tackiness to it). We mortared the bricks in with the mud/clay, leaving a
>hole in the top near the back. This hole would be plugged with a brick
>during the baking phase, but left open during the firing phase. To finish
>the oven, we covered the entirety in mud (except for flue hole and door).
>We let it dry for several hours.
>
>Unfortunately, we couldn't let it dry all the way through before firing it
>as rain threatened to fall and wash away our efforts. So we put a small
>fire in the oven to try to quicken the drying process. The fire was
>probably too big too soon and the mud/clay mixture cracked a lot. We
filled
>in cracks as it fired and though it didn't look pretty, it became quite
>functional for thermal mass. It took about 2 hours to get the oven looking
>dry. We went ahead and pulled out the fire and embers (fire into the
>cooking pit nearby and embers into the trench in front of the oven door),
>and decided to try baking some bread. The bread was put in on the floor
(we
>used some freezer bread dough that had been thawed) and plugged the flue
>and the door (used pieces of limestone for the door). It took about 20
>minutes for the bread to bake through.
>
>The bread, of course, had soot and such on the bottom crust, which would be
>perfectly okay for period, but modern sensibilities made our dinner guests
a
>little concerned about it. We determined that putting a piece of aluminum
>foil down after pulling out the fire was a good way to maintain a clean
>baking surface.
>
>Over the course of the week, we found the mud/clay mortar cracking
>periodically from the heating and cooling of the oven (we fired it once or
>twice every day). We kept a bucket of mud/clay available nearby to patch
it
>periodically. This seemed to work fine. We did put a tarp over the oven
>during rainy weather to reduce the chances of the mud/clay loosening itself
>from the bricks.
>
>We determined that it took about an hour to get the oven up to temperature
>(about 500 degrees Fahrenheit). Then by the time you pulled out the
>fire/embers, loaded in the bread (this oven held about 8 loaves of bread
>comfortably), and blocked the door and flue, the oven was about 350 degrees
>Fahrenheit. It took about 20 minutes to bake the bread. We used the
>freezer dough instead of making our own since this was an experiment this
>year. We tried loaves, half loaves and buns. There didn't seem to be much
>variation in timing between the different sizes of dough. We also had
>cinnamon rolls one morning!
>
>Changes for next year include a smaller, multiple ovens. We're also
>planning on making clay ovens to transport to the site, rather than making
a
>brick form while there. This will make the technology much more portable.
>We're discussing the pros and cons of the double chamber versus the single
>chamber ovens. Also, I will be making my own dough on site to add to the
>variety of available bread choices.
>
>The tools that seemed to be the best for the firing and baking were a
>long-handled scoopy type "spoon" for scraping out the embers, bbq tongs,
and
>a pair of heavy gloves (for removing the stones in front of the door when
>it's time to take the bread out.
>
>-Vasilla
>
>
>--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
>
>ONElist: your connection to people who share your interests.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Here there be dragons...
>(because they fuel the kilns)
>
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Message: 7
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 20:14:35 -0500
From: "Kris Griffith" <geneviev at southwind.net>
Subject: Re: Bread Ovens Essay
Well, If Duchess Susannah gets the bid for Lillies 14 I will be in charge of
the Arts and Sciences and so you bet I will accept all the help and cool a &
s activities we can cram in one week. If you have any ideas, please let me
know.
Gen
- -----Original Message-----
>From: Eagle Claw <badhare at hotmail.com>
To: potters at onelist.com <potters at onelist.com>
Date: Monday, July 12, 1999 12:10 PM
Subject: [Potters] Bread Ovens Essay
>From: "Eagle Claw" <badhare at hotmail.com>
>
>Okay, people have asked for this so here it is. My essay on bread ovens
and
>Lilies "mud".
>
>The original research that Master Mikhail and I found on bread ovens is
that
>they were typically single chamber ovens. Double chamber ovens were used,
>but mostly for industrial pursuits rather than for food preparation. With
>this in mind, we looked at a lot of pictures from illuminations and from
>re-creationist groups that had already worked with ovens previously. The
>general concensus is that the most efficient shape is a round dome with a
>small door in the side at the bottom of the dome and a hole in the "back"
of
>the oven towards the top for the flue.
>
>Since Mikhail wasn't comfortable with relying on his skills as a brick
>layer, he constructed a metal "skeleton" for the oven. This was
transported
>to Lilies with a load of bricks. (Talk about not traveling light!) At the
>site, we cut away the sod where the oven would set. Patio bricks were
>placed for the floor of the oven and then the skeleton was placed. A
trench
>was dug in front of the door and across the front of the oven for embers.
>Next, a skin of chicken wire was put on the metal skeleton (another example
>of Mikhail's need to over engineer....). We then laid small patio type
>bricks against the outside of the structure, using mud/clay from the lake
>shore. (This particular batch of mud/clay came from the Period Encampment
>area. It had a lot of debris and sand in it, but had a good amount of
>tackiness to it). We mortared the bricks in with the mud/clay, leaving a
>hole in the top near the back. This hole would be plugged with a brick
>during the baking phase, but left open during the firing phase. To finish
>the oven, we covered the entirety in mud (except for flue hole and door).
>We let it dry for several hours.
>
>Unfortunately, we couldn't let it dry all the way through before firing it
>as rain threatened to fall and wash away our efforts. So we put a small
>fire in the oven to try to quicken the drying process. The fire was
>probably too big too soon and the mud/clay mixture cracked a lot. We
filled
>in cracks as it fired and though it didn't look pretty, it became quite
>functional for thermal mass. It took about 2 hours to get the oven looking
>dry. We went ahead and pulled out the fire and embers (fire into the
>cooking pit nearby and embers into the trench in front of the oven door),
>and decided to try baking some bread. The bread was put in on the floor
(we
>used some freezer bread dough that had been thawed) and plugged the flue
>and the door (used pieces of limestone for the door). It took about 20
>minutes for the bread to bake through.
>
>The bread, of course, had soot and such on the bottom crust, which would be
>perfectly okay for period, but modern sensibilities made our dinner guests
a
>little concerned about it. We determined that putting a piece of aluminum
>foil down after pulling out the fire was a good way to maintain a clean
>baking surface.
>
>Over the course of the week, we found the mud/clay mortar cracking
>periodically from the heating and cooling of the oven (we fired it once or
>twice every day). We kept a bucket of mud/clay available nearby to patch
it
>periodically. This seemed to work fine. We did put a tarp over the oven
>during rainy weather to reduce the chances of the mud/clay loosening itself
>from the bricks.
>
>We determined that it took about an hour to get the oven up to temperature
>(about 500 degrees Fahrenheit). Then by the time you pulled out the
>fire/embers, loaded in the bread (this oven held about 8 loaves of bread
>comfortably), and blocked the door and flue, the oven was about 350 degrees
>Fahrenheit. It took about 20 minutes to bake the bread. We used the
>freezer dough instead of making our own since this was an experiment this
>year. We tried loaves, half loaves and buns. There didn't seem to be much
>variation in timing between the different sizes of dough. We also had
>cinnamon rolls one morning!
>
>Changes for next year include a smaller, multiple ovens. We're also
>planning on making clay ovens to transport to the site, rather than making
a
>brick form while there. This will make the technology much more portable.
>We're discussing the pros and cons of the double chamber versus the single
>chamber ovens. Also, I will be making my own dough on site to add to the
>variety of available bread choices.
>
>The tools that seemed to be the best for the firing and baking were a
>long-handled scoopy type "spoon" for scraping out the embers, bbq tongs,
and
>a pair of heavy gloves (for removing the stones in front of the door when
>it's time to take the bread out.
>
>-Vasilla
>
>
>--------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ----------------------------
>
>ONElist: your connection to people who share your interests.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Here there be dragons...
>(because they fuel the kilns)
>
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
- ------=_NextPart_000_1efa7942_b7dc706$7cd55077--
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