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

[Bethany Public Library]

Bal,

try my oven page at http://members.tripod.com/~AoifeFinn/oven.html

So many poeple have visited it that the counter reset! I'm amazed! last time
I looked it was over 14,000, but that was probably a year ago or more. At
any rate, this is a perfectly legit thermal mass oven, and while it would be
more likely that you'd find one looking like a large mound of dirt, this one
with turf insulation happens to be appropriate as well, I know to Ireland
but maybe to other areas as well. The pix and a description of how to use it
are all there.

I read that the Viking village found in York Englnad had evifdence that
there may have been small birds roasted in the communal oven, but it's
primary purpose was for bread. Most other early sites where thermal mass
community ovens are found also describe the purpose as solely for  baking
bread. Later in period, however, commercial ovens were used to bake all
sorts of things such a smeat pies, roasts, etc. I'ver ead directions to heat
an oven until you cannot hold your arm in for a count of three, or where a
cube of bread browns at a certain rate. It's a question of personal
judgement and familiarity with your recipes. If you've ever had an oven
fail, you'll know you got to a point where just by popening the door you
knew it wasn't hot enough, or was too hot. The signs are subtle, but once
learned are as reliable as a thermometer.

Cheers

Aoife

balthazar wrote:
1) Is the oven in  question a standard "hearth oven"?  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?  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.

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.  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