Yeah, I don't really know what to expect but we are going to try one in a baking pan alongside one like these just to see. I was thinking just the opposite of what you said, I thought the extended metal sides would conduct more heat INTO the loaf cooking quicker and not ending up as moist.... It would receive radiant heat plus conductive (???). One thing I noted, no matter what the inner dome temp is, the cook surface (because of the humongous capability of trapping heat) is approximately 100 degrees higher. Side note: this time I kept an old porcelain coffee pot filled with water inside the oven to keep a steady flow of boiling water for anyone wanting hot tea. It was my brothers idea. Worked great. Another thing, after 5 or 6 hours of continual baking, the oven temp still remains around 400 degrees. Next time, we're putting a huge pot of ham and beans in late in the evening and let it cook all night long. We may have to elevate it on a cast iron trivit if the cookstone temp is still too high by nightfall. Nothing to lose......
Ok, like I tell Jon........you suck. Man oh man, I'm droolin' over here. I love bread, pizza, bread, calzones, bread.............
Yeah man, me too. Nothing like the bursting aroma coming out of a fresh, hot loaf of bread !!! We decided to go ahead and try a whole tray of the buns. The only obvious difference was....well, there really wasn't any difference. The sides just weren't rounded and lightly crusted like the individualy baked ones. No discernable difference in their bottoms due to the metal tray at all. The back row was slightly more crusty because we had the cooksurface pretty covered with different items and this tray was a little too close to the rear wall. I think we've found that the dome heats much more evenly towards the center as compared to the outside walls. The closer to the wall, the higher the temp. Here is a home made peach crisp nearing completion. It gets to be a challenge juggling bread loaves, pizzas, buns and things like these all at the same time. But that's another thing thats cool about having such a large cooking surface. A great plus is not having any smoke to contend with. I've found out that the old time ladies that used these ovens daily would poke their arms in the oven and count. They could tell by how high they could count (by seconds I'd guess) what temp the oven was and knew then just what of their fare would cook best at that temp. That was back in pre-pizza times..... I cheat... see the little hole poked in the front loaf?? I sometimes poke a digital thermometer probe in to check internal temp when nobodys looking. These are done now. The bad thing about being on the peel or doing oven door duty for the peel man, is that we are kept so darn busy baking the stuff that sometimes the really, really good stuff disappears before we get a shot at even a taste....like the peach crisp. Luckliy I fought back about six little kids and a couple grandmas and snagged a tiny corner before it disappeared. Actually, I'd carried this apple crisp over just minutes after the peach crisp was delivered to the horde of hungry mouths or I'd have been out of luck yet again !! Yeah, I snagged the first helping of the apple to get back at 'em....
The life of the cook : you eat last and sometimes miss out! As a teen/ very early 20s I worked as a cook - started out at Bertucci's so I cut my teeth on some very hot wood ovens. This is one project I'd love to tackle, perhaps when life permits. It might come with a hefty price tag as I'd expect my wardrobe need refreshing as my waist line grows.
It all looks just awesome. Family gatherings are fun when they center around good food and so much history coming alive again. Definitely the event of every year to look forward to.
It would be an awesome oven to hold a FHC GTG around. Members of the Smokehouse forum would have a great time.
cnice_37, You got that right, every time I bake, I say 'today, I ain't gonna over eat' well, guess what....its always a lie !! But then so far, everyone else has suffered the same affliction. yooperdave, papadave I'm afraid you'll just hafta suffer. We just ain't a gonna quit !!!! Oh, and I checked papadave, you can't get here from there...ya have to go someplace else to start other wise I'd give ya directions......but you're welcome to stop by anytime !! Woodwidow, you hit the nail right on the head about the family get togethers. We've had so many extended family members interested in this project that as a result many didn't have to wait for a funeral to visit. Most have brought home made items of all description for us to bake and enjoy and everyone so far has had a great time. Or at least they said they did...... As far as a FHC GTG... I think it would be a grand idea, however my brother and SIL would probably have a heart attact !! However, don't count it out quite yet because later in the year I'm planning on beginning another oven out of the remnants of the original material at my own place. There is enough left over material to build a duplicate, but there are a few different ideas I'm planning on incorporating. I've been scrounging firebricks anywhere they can be found in preparation. I'm just hoping to dig up a bucket or two of ambition before its started.....
I'm kinda loosing track of the sequence of pictures as we are past the original firing and first baking. So somewhere in between one of the girls made this blueberry crisp...you can tell we all have a sweet tooth. Aside from the pizzas, it seems the crisps of any flavor are near the top of the list of favorites. There's several pies of various types plus a couple additonal crisps stuffed in this time. I remembered taking this picture just to illustrate the inside of the dome. The tuckpointing was done with the same 2,000 degree refractory cement, but we found it in caulking tubes. So a thin bead was ran then smooshed in with an index finger... ('smooshed' is a technical term). It literally took three hours to do it too. Utilizing a ridiculously small fire that is not really allowed to breathe (due to the brick size restrictive flu) causes a lot of carbon/soot/nastiness to build up on the inside surface of the oven. It has to have the temp elevated slowly to keep from cracking the mortar and stone... As the oven reaches baking temperature, you can see a clear spot develop at some random place on one of the walls. Slowly the clear spot widens as the black deposits burn off with the increasing temperature and when it is totally clear, it is hot enough to start the baking !!! We then continue heating the dome temp up over 900 degrees then the coals are scooped out and tossed into a drum and covered. It serves as a warmer on occasion. Then we use a downspout 90 degree elbow and 2' section of pipe screwed into 4" aluminum bathroom vent that's then duct taped to the suction port on a large vacuum to totally clean the remnant ash from the cook surface. I wear long welders gloves as the tubing gets real HOT real QUICK !! That adaption was out of necessity on the very first bake day.... We melted the original plastic hose literally in minutes and had to scurry to come up with this solution. This usually occurs a couple hours before bake time so we can sloooooowwwwwwwly lower the oven temp to the desired start temp. Usually between 550 and 650 is where we start with pizzas. Anyone bored yet...??
Well, if I can't get there from here, I guess I'll just have to live vicariously through your pics. I'll need a new bib though.......this one's a mess.
I'm glad you will continue posting all those tempting pics! Ever consider putting a bath scale nearby for before and after readings????
I'll put in for a whole case of FHC bibs in your honor sir. Look for FedEx in your driveway soon..... I'll even request a 'papadave' personalization !!!! Oh my gosh.... I'd better go for a cotton bale scale at the local farm store. And for sure, I will give consideration to installing a direct injection system for cholesterol meds..... Kinda like the old two-stroke oil injection systems.
So, now that we all know you’re still alive, have any of the above referenced plans come to fruition?
Aw Man...BUSTED !! Dang it Eric, I'm full of well intended intentions, but there seems to have been a few slight (major) interuptions to my plans.... Like a total rebuild of a 2100 sq ft split level for my daughter, including plumbing, electrical, cabinets, hvac including new ductwork, insulation, drywall, roofing, gutters, two car garage, septic system, excavation, landscaping...and that is just at my daughters house. Between my son and son in law there's been close to a hundred yards of concrete we've poured, over 80 trees removed, stumps and all, and tons of excavation and 60' of retaining wall built. In the meantime we built me a new 1200 sqft shed w/ 13' interior height, in floor radiant heat and my spare time has been filled in cutting wood, sawmilling, butchering and other stuff to fill a lazy man's time !! THEN...there's the wife's list..... Oh yeah, 27 dump truck loads of debris hauled from my daughters new property before we could ever start the project. (I still ain't finished inside the shed yet either.) Sooooo... Unfortunately my limestone oven has been relegated to the rear of the priority list. But it is still going to happen. Just not quite yet. I know the above list sounds a litte like malarky, but you know its true because I ain't smart enough to make that stuff up....besides, I've got pictures and videos of most all of it. And the only thing we hired out was the flat work in my shed and taping in the daughters house. I ain't gonna do that EVER again. Now I tell ya all, if the last 2 1/2 years ain't killed me I'll probably live to a hundred !!! We just put down around 1100 sq ft of hardwood for my son two weekends ago.....and put two 1200 pound beef in the cooler this past monday and butchered three 280 pound hogs the week before the floor job...LOL. It always a fun time here! Now I ask you Eric...are you wondering yet if you should've asked...... lololol. I apologize for the braggarty list, but I tried kicking the fingers into neutral but they just wouldn't stop.... This still is no excuse for my extended absense from FHC darn it.... lazy I say...just being lazy.
That’s a whole lotta work, no laziness there A few pics would be great... if you have the time. Shoot I’m tired and wore out just from reading everything you’ve done!
