Working the Bread Oven

Some years back, in the time after the bread oven was built, Greg had cause to email Alan Scott, the builder/instructor who taught the class for our oven. Greg was asking about the thermocouples that are embedded in the firebrick and concrete. He told Alan that we still hadn't insulated the oven. Alan was surprised, and said that when we did finally do that, we would be quite pleased with the efficiency of it. Now that it is insulated, I can't agree more.

Through the years of baking and pizza making, it seemed that the ciabatta bread I make would always turn out the best. I guess I had nailed the recipe, and since it was the one that the family asked for most, that is what I continued to make. But last week, I ventured out and tried a different recipe, one that I have made several times in my inside oven. It is a honey wheat bread, with some beer in it, and has always been a good one. In the bread oven, it turned out even better.

My biggest challenge in the past, it seemed, was to get a decent crust on top of the loaf. I was looking for one that had a good "tooth" to it, but didn't make my own teeth hurt when biting into it. I found it in this recipe and the insulated oven. On Friday, we baked off a few loaves, and some cabin guests baked up some whole wheat bread. It all went quite smoothly, with no burnt crust, and the bottoms were a perfect golden color. Hooray for good bread!

It's probably time to start planning another pie-baking day, especially given the tremendous berries out there. If you are interested in joining us, leave me a comment, and I will pick a day that works. If your are staying with us sometime in the next month and want to bake something, let me know, too! This oven is much better when shared with the community.

Our final shot is our two little bread-baking helpers, as we took photos of each other. It was a fun time!