Hearth loaves, live-fire cooking, flatbreads, and overnight baked bean pots are just a few of the many potential uses of the wood-fired masonry oven made popular by Alan Scott. This workshop will explore the history and construction of masonry ovens and the mixing and baking of wood-fired bread. Over the six days of the course, students will collectively build one 27"x36" (interior dimensions) rectangular barrel-arch style oven. We will start with hearth insulation and construction, followed by the oven walls, arches, doorway, façade, arch, and chimney. The building of the foundation and base will be explained, as well as the insulation and finishing work.
We'll also fire the big North House oven and make a pizza lunch to learn a little more about the workings of these ovens. As time and interest allow throughout the build, we will also discuss the details of baking bread and other food in the wood-fired oven, starting natural leaven from scratch, and other techniques that will help students make great artisan bread at home, with or without a brick oven.
Required Tools
- Work clothes and shoes/boots
- Work gloves
- Carpenter's pencil
- Tape measure
- NHFS has safety glasses, rubber and latex gloves, earplugs, and dust masks for use at your disposal, however feel free to bring your own.
*If you are traveling from a distance and don’t have an easy way to bring the required tools, please contact the instructor to work out an alternative.
