I think most people on the bread list understand that my oven is heated by burning wood, and bakes just with the heat retained in the masonry after all the coals and ashes have been cleaned out. This system is an ancient one. It has many favorable aspects such as providing a steam chamber while the loaves are baking, which in turn permits the loaves to "bloom" as they bake.

The system also has inherent limitations and one of the chief ones is that from load to load of bread, the heat in the masonry declines. I load the oven according to which types of bread bake at higher or lower temperatures, but at some point, there simply isn't enough heat remaining in the masonry to bake loaves as thoroughly as I would like.

The past few weeks have been thrilling for me because the orders have been large and I have pushed my beloved oven right to its limit--and a bit beyond. In order to make certain I have enough heat for all the loaves, I must either limit the orders I accept or bake the bread over two days. I am going to try the latter approach first.

On the "Next Baking Dates" page of the blog, I have listed the next two baking dates--Thursday June 2nd and Friday June 3rd. I will bake "brown" breads plus baguettes on Thursday; "white" breads including baguettes on Friday.

I regret making the bakery system even more cantankerous than it has been. By baking baguettes on both dates, I hope to permit (most) people to place their entire order on just one day. Interestingly, people seem to have a predilection for brown or white bread.

Why we have front porches in the Northside

Last Friday was such a wonderful release from the cold and wet of late winter/early spring, Linda and I put out bread and wine and pate and visited with people as they came to pick up bread. We enjoyed it and weather permitting, will repeat it. Feel free to stop and visit if we are enjoying the porch next time you pick up bread.

Next Baking Dates

I will bake bread the first two Fridays of May: May 6th and May 13th.

For May 6th I will bake : multigrain, semolina, rye and baguettes.

For May 13th I will bake: multigrain, olive, pain au levain boules and baguettes.

Some steps along the way

Once the dough is mixed, it ferments overnight in the fridge in a large tub. The next day, this fully fermented dough is turned out onto the table and scaled--cut into loaf-sized pieces.

In the meantime, my Associate for Logistics, Operations and Moral Support, Linda McGuire, has helped me preheat the oven. This requires a late night firing on Thursday and another early a.m. firing Friday, on bakeday. Most times of the year, these firings are nighttime events.

When the loaves have proofed and are ready to bake, we wheel them outside and load them into the oven.

A load of multigrain, nearly ready to come out of the oven. The oven walls are free of soot: in the firing process, the oven temperature is more than 700 degrees and all soot burns off, leaving white walls and dome.

Semolina loaves just out of the oven.

Part of a days bake, cooling on the table.

Got Bread!

76 loaves today--a big bake.

Fuel for the oven

Much of the wood for the bread oven comes from our land in Davis County. It seems that nearly every year our woodlot gives up a fair size oak or hickory tree. We cut the largest limbs and the trunk into manageable pieces and pick a weekend to split it all. In the process we find the most interesting bugs. This year, for the first time, we found a pseudoscorpion hiding in the bark. It was less than 1/4 inch in size and looked just like a tiny tick with scorpion claws--which is pretty much what a pseudoscorpion is.


Here is a look at part of the wood we cut, split, and stacked, and the crew who lent their hands. And backs.

Final Bread Bake for March and April

This coming Friday, March 11th, will be the final bread baking day for several weeks. Since I will be away from the oven for a while, I will bake some of just about everything: multigrain, golden multigrain, semolina, olive, and baguettes.

While I am away, I will be wearing my farmer hat--working at our place in southern Iowa to get ready for spring prairie burns. Just cannot seem to keep away from fire.