heaterman said:
Kemer said:
Actually My brother and I started a company where we make precast ovens.I don't want to break any rules here but thy are quite clever.
Tell me more Scott. Reason I ask is that we are currently in the process of installing a Garn for a lady who is putting up a scratch bakery/organic farm/greenhouse near Big Rapids Mich. She has a huge wood fired bread oven much like the one in the pictures. We fired up the greenhouse last week and are waiting for insulation to get completed in the bakery before piping the manifold up in there. She was describing the bread making process to us and it sounds really interesting.
Now I have to ask...........where does one get 200+ year old starter from?
Heaterman, I think you probably meant Kemer, it his brother and him that have the kits. If not please let me know what I can help with, I do have some plans and all the data from my "disaster" and final install..Btw if you PM me an address I will FED EX a 2lb loaf of rye for field testing!! It lasts 10 days easy and actually tastes better and sweeter on day 3 or 4. Seriously.
Regarding the 200+ old starter,...for starters, King Arthur sells a very old starter(I think around 250 years old....but mainly one gets it from other bakers that have the same "disease" for funk(the good stuff). My basic and first starter for one, I got from a friend who got it from a friend from France over 25 years ago and has kept it going. I have kept some of the original mother, but I have improvised(failed some along the way), but I came up with a very good rye variation which I have had good success with.
Bottom line, IMHO, the age is not as relevant as the quality of the process of making it and feeding it, but generally older is "funkier"(some bakers would abuse me for that statement though). I personally prefer less sour starters and more of the levain, "milder, nuttier flavor type.
One thing about fire baking bread(pizzas are easy)...timing and planning and ability to improvise is key. Practice is essential and one must endure failure(I know). Knowing your oven, weather and dough is paramount, sort of like knowing your boiler, system and fuel.
The oven has to be ready at the same time the dough has reached optimum proofing/rise...That window is missed and God help the fool....
I have made some
magnificent doorstops....but when it works.....Dear Lord...the smell alone will have every bear in the woods at my oven. My kids love nothing better than that fresh rye bread with butter and jam, or the rustic ciabattta style dipped in olive oil. They may leave some for the baker...and the delivery to the neighbors.
Gasifier PM me with any data you may need.
Scott
ps, pix attached of innards/kit/base and first veneer, which looked great, but the sides cracked after a few fires and weather changes, so I stripped them down to insulation(saved the facade..not easily!!, packed another 6 inches of vermiculite, covered with bluestone and then build a roof over it. The mason helping me is the 78 year old(at the time) French Canadian mason that did my house stone work & Rumford fireplace originally. He helped by yelling at me, showing me what I did wrong and by tearing it down and re doing 10X better in a ridiculous fraction of the time...I would spend 5 hours and then he would redo it in 1....useless I felt, but in the end I started getting it....still lame though.
One major consideration when building an oven outside,insulate massively and cover, cover, cover.