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Bread Oven Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
Bread Oven: Part 5 First light.
7 June 2018
The observant will have noticed that we have dropped back a few days from the last post but of course I just had to try it even though it wasn't quite finished.
Lit a small fire to start with and then increased it as nothing seemed to blow up. Temperature rose very nicely and kept on going, soon beyond the range of my digital thermometer but around 400C registered on the oven door. Decided it was bread I wanted to bake and not a pottery so let it cool down a bit.
Meanwhile the dough I had made earlier was rising rapidly in the warm kitchen and the loaf heading towards being over proof. Punched down the pizza dough and put it into the refrigerator to wait for later but decided to put the loaf in the oven even though in my heart I knew it should follow the pizza in a cooling oven.
Just a small fire to get us going.
Go on then add a bit more fuel.
Meanwhile the loaf in the kitchen was heading towards being over proof.
Pizza bases.
Into the oven.
Hot in there.
20 minutes later. Charcoal but the pizzas turned out very well when it came their turn.
Next day made quiche Lorraine
La vraie quiche Lorraine
Just a small fire to get us going.
Go on then add a bit more fuel.
Meanwhile the loaf in the kitchen was heading towards being over proof.
Pizza bases.
Into the oven.
Hot in there.
20 minutes later. Charcoal but the pizzas turned out very well when it came their turn.
Next day made quiche Lorraine
I had always hoped to be able to combine the bread oven with a bar-b-que, the attraction of the chimney removing the smoke, drawing up the fire and keeping the meat dry when it rains was too much to pass over. Trips to South Africa made me think that our bbq arrangements and methods were in need of an update and watching the experts running the briaa at the tTs wedding convinced me. So I bought a folding grill rack [available over here from most garden centres and DIY stores]. This worked well at the Smith party the previous weekend over a conventional grill and to use it in the oven, all that was needed was a couple of old bricks to support it.
I'm very pleased with this arrangement which has the further advantage that it actually keeps the side of the meat not facing the fire warm. An important consideration at less balmy times of the year than at the summer solstice where we are now.
