What now for this part-built oven area?

[Frances]

I put 8 loaves of bread in my (round) oven on a regular basis, works like a dream. Baking two loads of 8 loaves would certainly also work. Three loads of bread... I think it should work.

Has anyone here tried that with the pompeii oven? What is the maximum bread output from one firing?

[james]

There are some case studies in the back of the Bread Builders book that describe how commercial bakeries get the most from each firing -- many batches per firing. We're talking hundreds of loaves from a single firing -- hey, you've got to put all that retained heat (and the cost of fuel) to good use.
James

[gjbingham]

If you try for three Frances, I'd recommend doing a longer than normal initial firing, perhaps an hour more once the dome clears. The more heat you apply with fire while burning, the longer the oven should stay hot on the cooling curve.

[SpringJim]

I too like the look of the brick, very nice!

....an alternative look would be to face the oven base with the same stone you used on the ground....would be a nice contrast but tie in the two nicely.

just thinking....

[Frances]

Originally Posted by gjbingham

If you try for three Frances, I'd recommend doing a longer than normal initial firing, perhaps an hour more once the dome clears. The more heat you apply with fire while burning, the longer the oven should stay hot on the cooling curve.

Purely hypothetical in my case, I really wouldn't know what to do with all that bread... but I think with some practice it should be possible to bake three loads of bread - probably with a longer firing as you said.

[biondoli]

If you need to do so much baking you may want to consider increasing the mass of your dome to retain more heat and last longer. I would solicit input from the forum for such experience....

[Puy de Dome]

Just in case you didn't see the pics I posted elsewhere:

[Frances]

Nice! I recognised the oven at once and think the whole set up looks great!

Are you pleased with the look of the bricks there? The oven blends in really well.

[Puy de Dome]

Thanks Frances. Yes, I am happy with it - looking ofrward now to gettign some insulation on and then a final layer of render.

[PeterW]

Just a little Off Topic...

Please tell me that isn't standard twin and earth coming out of the ground into a round 20amp junction box...?? As a minimum it should be armoured, and into an IP65 connection box before it goes anywhere else.... Also, any connections or switches outdoors should be IP56, they're not expensive and could save you getting a serious shock.

Cheers

Peter