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Sandy
Member
228 Posts |
 Posted - 09/08/2008 : 23:45:28
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I have a friend that is a missionary in Honduras, and she had asked me to find some way to cook and bake outside.
I came across these ovens and thought perhaps some on the forum might be interested.
So here are the links I found. 
http://heatkit.com/html/bakeov02.htm
http://bensart1.homestead.com/breadovens.html
http://www.traditionaloven.com/ovens.html
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/garden/article/0,20633,690891,00.html
Project: Sunset's classic adobe oven
Your step-by-step guide to building and using your own backyard adobe oven
Norman A. Plate
Project: Sunset's classic adobe oven
Your step-by-step guide to building and using your own backyard adobe oven
Cooking phases
Roasting vegetables
Roasting meats
Recipes
In response to reader requests, we decided to bring back one of our most popular projects: the adobe oven, first featured in our August 1971 issue. It's modeled after mud-brick ovens used around the world, from the Southwest to Mexico, Italy, and France.
Building it takes about two days of grubby work; it speeds up building to have two or three people making the thick-walled adobe shell, the mass of which stores the heat of the fire.
The reward: wonderfully rustic pizzas, roasts, vegetables, and crusty loaves of bread from your own backyard.
Materials and tools
Norman A. Plate
You'll find most of the materials you need at a home center or building supply yard, except for the cardboard barrel, often used by movers. (You cut it in half lengthwise and use it to form the oven's curving top.) Look in the yellow pages under Barrels & Drums for a local source.
14 concrete building blocks (8 by 8 by 16)
14 concrete cap blocks (8 by 2 by 16)
68 firebricks (2 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 9)
One 28- to 30-gallon cardboard barrel
One empty 1-quart can
6-foot square of 6-inch wire mesh
(used to reinforce concrete driveways)
10 feet of 30-inch-wide chicken wire
Norman A. Plate
4 feet of rough-sawed redwood 2-by-4
2 feet of redwood 1-by-3
16 1 1/2-inch deck screws
3 feet of 6-inch-wide aluminum flashing
Eight large wheelbarrow loads of adobe soil
(heavy clay garden soil)
Three bags Portland cement
1-foot square of 1/4-inch galvanized wire mesh
Exterior latex paint
Optional: 24 precast 1- by 2-foot concrete steppingstones
You'll also need a tape measure, hacksaw, pencil, circular saw with masonry bit, wire cutters, saber saw, drill, screwdriver, large wheelbarrow, hoe, shovel, sturdy rubber gloves, sponge, small piece of scrap lumber or plywood, old towels, and plastic tarp.
Directions
Norman A. Plate
Find a safe, level location in your garden for the oven. Building code requires oven to be a minimum of 10 horizontal feet from any combustible surface, such as fences or walls. Also, check with local officials on property line setback requirements.
We built our oven on a 6- by 8-foot base of red concrete steppingstones--an optional layer. The rest of the base is stacked but mortarless, which allows for easy disassembly at some point in the future.
1. Arrange the 8 by 8 by 16 blocks on the ground to make a 32- by 54-inch base.
2. Cover with an identical layout of cap blocks.
3. Add layer of firebricks.
4. Cut the barrel in half lengthwise with a hacksaw (see materials and tools). Center empty quart can on closed end of a half-barrel; trace and cut out circular shape. This hole will be the vent.
5. Score and cut two firebricks in half with a circular saw (halves measure 4 1/2 inches square).
Norman A. Plate
6. Starting at back end of base, make three U-shaped layers of firebricks to support the half-barrel. Each layer is three bricks long and 2 1/2 bricks wide at back end. Position barrel on bricks.
7. Cut a 3- by 4-foot piece of the 6-inch wire mesh and shape it so it arcs over the barrel by about 1 inch. Bend and tuck excess under bricks at side. Repeat with at least one layer of chicken wire, bending and folding edges over the rear and open end of barrel.
8. Make door: Cut three 14-inch-long pieces from redwood 2-by-4. Join them together with screws running through two parallel lengths of redwood 1-by-3 across the front. Cut top into an arch that measures 14 inches tall at the peak and conforms to the basic shape of the open end of the barrel. Shape handle from excess 2-by-4, and screw to 1-by-3s. Center and tack flashing around door perimeter. Insert the can in the hole cut in rear of barrel.
Norman A. Plate
9. Mix 3 parts adobe soil to 1 part Portland cement, add water, and mix with a hoe and shovel to the consistency of thick oatmeal. Be warned: its tiring and muddy work. Test that the mix holds together by squeezing it.
10. Working from the base up, pack the adobe-cement mixture firmly over and through the layers of mesh, leaving no air pockets. Pack mixture around the can, wiggling and rotating it to keep it from being trapped in place. Form arch for door by squeezing mixture into the chicken wire, and periodically inserting the door (with flashing attached) to check fit. Continue adding mixture until the coat is 4 to 5 inches thick overall. Let it dry slightly, then smooth the surface with a damp sponge and a wood "float" made with scrap lumber. (Photo at above is front view; photo at left shows the back.)
11. Wiggle the door and can, then cover the oven with damp towels and plastic tarp. Keep towels damp and oven covered for at least a week while adobe hardens and cures (check daily). Remove flashing from door.
12. Paint adobe shell after building first fire.
OVEN HEATING GUIDE l Top
The first time you build a fire in the oven is exciting. Remove the can from the rear vent, and cut and fit a piece of the 1/4-inch wire mesh over vent to act as a spark arrester. Build a small fire and keep it burning steadily so the adobe warms slowly and bakes out any remaining moisture. Hairline cracks will likely develop when the oven is heated, but they can be sealed with coats of exterior latex paint later.
The next time, build a fire as directed for cooking to test how the oven holds heat. The oven's surface will become hot to the touch. Let the fire die down, use a hoe or shovel to pull out the coals into a metal bucket partially filled with water, sweep off the brick surface with a damp broom, and check the temperature with an oven thermometer. Initial temperatures will often be about 700° too hot for cooking.
Block the vent hole with the can or a damp rag, and remove and soak the door in water. Replace the door and periodically monitor the temperature for several hours to get an idea of how your oven performs. Leave oven door open for cooling.
COOKING PHASES l Top
The first three hours, heat oven
0 to 10 minutes: Screen vent and open door. In center of oven, mound 6 to 8 sheets of crumpled newspaper. Lean 2 or 3 handfuls of kindling wood, including some 1-inch-thick pieces, tepee-style against the paper. Ignite paper, and when kindling is burning well, lay 2 or 3 more handfuls of kindling on the fire and top with 3 or 4 logs (3 to 4 in. thick and about 1 1/2 ft.).
20 to 40 minutes: When logs begin to burn, add 6 more logs (4 to 5 in. thick), but be careful of heat from oven door it can singe hair. Toss about half a 10-pound bag of charcoal briquets between logs. Let fire burn about 1 hour, then add remaining briquets. Burn until most wood is gone, about 3 hours total. Occasionally poke fire to keep air circulating.
At about 2 hours and 50 minutes: With a shovel, scoop hot ashes into a fireproof metal container partially filled with water. Quickly clean oven floor with a wet mop or wet towel tied to a pole.
2 hours and 50 minutes to 3 hours: Set oven thermometer on floor just inside door. Close door; block vent. Check after 10 minutes. Temperature should be between 700° and 650°; then it drops quickly to 600°.
The next four hours, bake
About 4 hours: During the brief period of high heat, bake pizzas.
About 5 hours: In the next phase, put meats and vegetables in to roast. Bake bread when oven heat is most constant. Meats brown best when oven starting temperature is 500° to 450° and heat is regulated by the oven door. But for roasting that requires less attention, wait until temperature drops to about 400° to allow more time for meats to cook.
About 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours: Bake bread when oven heat is most constant.
Sandy
admin.
Oregon |
Edited by - on |
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Texanx5
Moderator
USA
2062 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 05:02:42
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Thanks, That could be interesting to build and use. I am not needing a new project at this time but will put it in the files.
ddg (Texanx5)
Old Smokey
WSM a.k.a. Weber Smokey Mountain
Stumps Smokers gf222CM
Stumps Smokers SW42x6 off-set
Currently in N.East ALABAMA soon to be in Baton Rouge area of La
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scsmoker
Member
1355 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 08:54:49
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Got one. Call it a gas grill.. Not good for much else
scsmoker
Lang 84
Ol Bandera/recycled
Traeger Tex |
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Sandy
Member
228 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 15:55:47
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Smarty pants sc!
Sandy
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Oregon |
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