Commercial Bread Ovens

[robfin]

Chris, I wasn't thinking of charcoal for the oven. Just BBQing.
I've got to believe we've got a juniper in those foothills of the Sierra Madres.
That'll be my personal mission, along with the oven building.

I start helping some baker friends build an Overncrafter in Port Hadlock tomorrow. They're just at the base stage, which is great for me. I need to get my feet wet, so to speak.
Plus these guys work for my friend Frank who owns Pane d'Amore in Port Townsend, which puts out the best bread I've ever had in an amazing state of the art production bakery.
It's lining up to be a fun summer.
Rob

[Archena]

Originally Posted by robfin

Fortunately we already have a big dome pizza oven in the area and I've been playing around with it. It's in a hotel some friends own. Long story how it got there. An Italian had it built by a guy who used to build in Italy, then he left town. The owners of the hotel don't do a lot of cooking, but we've definitely gotten that oven well past 800 (infrared therm test) with mesquite which burns real hot, and we've put out some nice pizzas and bread.
I hear ya with the fruit woods. We've got a LOT of forested lands around the area and there are a few scrub woods that I think we could rely on.
I am also a big cob oven fan, building my first one a year or so ago. That's another mission I've got because the local Mexicans seem to have forgotten how to build the dome ovens. I see nasty square ones in the backyards of barrio homes, but rarely if ever a dome shape. There is a kindergarten close by and we're thinking of building one there as a school project, having the kids doing the cob stomp, and maybe showing the locals how to build the domes.
Part of me can't believe the domes aren't around though, so that idea needs some more research.
I heard James talk about how Italy switched to the electric box ovens after the war and it took a while for them to realized what they were missing. Maybe the same in Mexico.
Could be we'll be Juan Appleseeding ovens around Mexico.
Thanks,
Rob

Awesome!

Kindergarteners and mud - a natural combo! You have got to post pics if you do that!

[SCChris]

Rob,
It looks like you have much of the resources in place. Do you have a local Mexico resource for firebrick and mortar?

And Archena is right if you build the cob oven you have to post pictures.

Chris

[robfin]

Hi Chris, Sorry about this ridiculously late response. The answer is no, I don't have a source for quality firebrick and mortar in Mexico. Meanwhile I wouldn't know a quality firebrick if it fell on my toe. I do know that the term "quality" is a moving target in Mexico where so many of the people are of a wonderfully high moral quality, but so much of the production isn't geared to our industrial quality standards.

My guess is that I can scare up pretty good quality materials, but distances come into play. We are only 500 miles south of Tucson, so if it came to that.................
That's where I had to go for a good pressure washer last year when I did a big roof job. Even the Home Depot in Obregon only had homeowner versions.

Is there a field test that will tell me if a firebrick is up to snuff?
Thanks,
Rob

[SCChris]

I don't know that I could figure out a test. There have got to be some seasoned, newer, fireplaces in your area where the bricks are not flaking or breaking up. I'd persue these materials and tradesmen to find what you need.

I guess you could gather together a few candidates and build a loose fire ring or oven or some such thing and build a few raging OMG hot fires over a few days, saturate the bricks and don't spare the firewood, then pull it apart and compare the candidates looking for problems.

Chris