Baking Day in the Winter

Preparing for a much need bake day. I started the fire late, around 10 am. I figured that since I didn't have a lot of loaves to bake I wouldn't worry about getting the oven too hot.

Hanging out at the oven chatting with my mom as she snapped pictures - she was determined to document every moment of The Bake Day.

The beginning of the Pizza rush.

 There's been a fire in the oven about 6 hours. Bryon pushes the coals back into a corner and mops the floor. Every time I do this I hope that it will get easier or more relaxed but we are still working on smooth sailing. How do you get 15 personal sized pizzas completely assembled down to the oven and tossed in with out a mishap or two. All the kids keep running back and forth delivering baked and grabbing newly assembled pizzas. There is all this confusion and hollering: who's is whose and so-in-so's got burnt, stuck on the peel, or dumped halfway down...BUT we are getting better!

Sometime after the fire got going that morning I started mixing up the bread dough. I am really excited about these wooden scotch block forms Bryon put together for me. They set right inside a cookie sheet and fit 4 nice sized loaves. Artisan Sandwich Bread on the rise.

Once all the pizzas were done and eaten. Bryon rakes all the coals back over the floor to even out the floor heat. After a while, maybe half an hour the coals get scooped out and dumped into a retired wheel barrow awaiting near by. The oven floor then gets a thorough mopping and the door shuts for a good soaking. After an hour we check the temperature with an laser thermo. If it is too hot - still above 600 degrees we can mop again and this cools the oven down to around 450 to 500 and it's ready to bake our nearly overproofed loaves!

I can fit 3 pans comfortably in the oven. But for granola I use a few racks to add another level in order to get 6 pans in to toast.

Bryon shuts the door and sets the timer for 20 minutes.

I like my bread well baked. Ideally anywhere from 190 to 200. These look very brown already on top but not quite done in the center- that is the risk when the oven is so hot initially. This bread was ready in just under 30 min.

All Done!

These turned out so nice. The quick heat maybe over-browns a crust sometimes (especially if the dough is sweetened) but seals in the moisture and guarantees amazing oven spring.

After the bread was done I put in a winter squash and roasting pan in filled with a sieten roast and vegetables for dinner the next day. I wasn't sure how quickly this would bake, but just before I went to bed The squash was tender and soft.

The next morning around 6am the oven read 325 degrees. I popped in a few trays of granola. It was hot and toasted by 9am. I then returned the "roast" and veggies to warm while we went to church.

I want to learn how to get the most out of each firing. And it is going to take alot of practice and planning ahead to really make this oven part of our lifestyle.

This week I have planned to bake several pizza crusts and muffins after the bread and then finishing with the granola. Maybe after the granola I could dry more dates for date sugar and see how a batch of yoghurt sets!

 I really love my oven.