SC - What kind of recipes would you experiment with....

[Decker, Terry D.]

 1) Is the oven in 
> question a standard "hearth oven"?  I have experience using 
> these for baking, 
> but what throws me is the statement that the fire is swept 
> out after the 
> walls reach a certain temperature.  I have used hearth ovens 
> in the past, but 
> have never heard of sweeping out the embers.  

>From the statement, the type of oven is similar to the southwestern horno, a
declining heat, thermal mass oven.  The hearth ovens I think you are talking
about are part of a fireplace which provides the heat or have a separate
firebox, which is a fairly new innovation.  Medieval ovens were fired by
building a fire inside the oven, heating the thermal mass, then withdrawing
the fire and baking in the firing chamber with the heat radiating from the
thermal mass.

2) How long 
> will this oven 
> maintain a decent temperature?  Does the heat dissipate 
> quickly, or over a 
> period of hours?  Is this similar to a Tandoor?  That's what 
> I'm thinking. 

The heat dissipates slowly, primarily into the firing chamber.  The time
this takes depends on the mass of the oven, the temperature the mass
reached, and how well insulated the outside of the oven is.

Tandoors are primarly a verticle opening, continuous heat (constantly fired)
clay oven.  The oven being discussed is almost certainly a horizontal
opening, roughly hemispherical baking chamber with the base of the
hemisphere being the floor of the chamber.   

 
> 3)  How hot does the baker allow the walls to get before 
> killing the flame?  
> This would make a difference, certainly, in the order in 
> which you stacked 
> the oven, as the author of the original post suggests.

According to one baker who took over a communal oven, the soot on the top of
the chamber changes color as the oven is fired, from black through the reds
to white.  I suspect each oven has its heat curves depending on a number of
variables.

Highest temperature baking is done first, followed by medium temperature
baking, followed by the stuff you just want to warm up without using direct
heat.

> 
> As for the tenderness of pastry in an oven which cooks at a 
> low temperature, 
> I would hazard a guess that the pastry would possibly dry out 
> excessively 
> before the crust was browned and cooked through.  Again, this 
> all depends on 
> the heat of the oven, which is an unknown at this point.

According to some people, the declining heat works in favor of low temp
pastries, especially later in the cycle.  There is apparently less of a
tendency to dry out compared to a constant temperature oven.
  
> Breads, also, may 
> not rise enough when cooked at lower temperatures (i.e. not 
> enough "oven 
> spring"), or possibly even too much (not enough heat to kill 
> the yeast before 
> it rises past the point where the gluten can no longer 
> support the crust, 
> causing it to collapse).  Rapid changes in temperature can cause 
> unpredictable results in baking (of course, if the change is 
> steady and slow, 
> then there may not be a problem).  Just a few of my thoughts 
> on the matter.  
> I would love to have more information on this oven.
> 
> Balthazar of Blackmoor

The oven floor is commonly swabbed with a wet sponge to help remove the ash.
This makes for a moist oven.

A layer of meal may be scattered on the bottom of the oven to help keep the
bottom of the bread from burning.

Depending on the fuel used and the thermal mass of the oven, the oven
temperature should be between 400-600F.  This is not a problem because the
first temperature drop should be very steep and most breads can stand it.
There are a some French breads which call for a 550F starting oven which is
dropped to 400-450F shortly after the bread is loaded.

After the initial drop, the thermal exchange is a slow, steady decline.
Oven times are usually longer with declining heat ovens, and temperature of
the oven chamber is often more even than that of continuous heat ovens.  The
declining heat oven is more difficult to use, because you have to understand
the heating characteristics of your oven and how it matches the bake goods
you prepare.

I've been trying to find the time and money to build a horno for over a
year.

Bear