Big stone outdoor bread oven - Bradford

[jaqeboy]

A local organic farmer is firing up his new huge stone outdoor bread oven Saturday morning (25April09) in Bradford and is going to try baking his first loaves in it. Charles just passed this open invitation along to me.

The fire-up will start at 7AM and it takes a while to heat up to baking temp., so not sure when the first loaves will go in. It'll be a learning experience and could be good for a home-schooling experience for kids, but it'll be a great lesson on stone-masonry to everyone else and maybe a place to buy fresh bread! Besides, Tom's a great guy on self-sufficiency and building things from scratch - and a good, friendly guy all around.

[Pat McCotter]

I know this isn't self-sufficiency but it is stone masonry and heat combined:

Franconia, NH, Iron Furnace Interpretive Center

The Only Blast Furnace Still Standing in New Hampshire

Viewable anytime.

The octagonal stone stack that is visible on the far bank of the Gale River is all that remains of a 200-year-old iron smelter shown on an 1805 map of Franconia. The New Hampshire Iron Factory Company rebuilt the original furnace several times, adding hot blast after 1840 and extending the height to its present 32 feet.

Chiseled into one of the heavy stones in the west arch opening is "S. Pettee, Jr. 1859". Pettee was a well-known iron master who was associated with several blast furnaces in New England. He was the last known foreman to operate this furnace.

The furnace was built of local granite. Its interior is lined with firebrick, laid in a cylindrical shape. The space between the firebrick and stone exterior is filled with clay.

Farmers burned trees to make charcoal to fire the furnace. Iron production declined by 1865 as the ore and trees diminished and as iron production in Pennsyvania progressed at less cost. The furnace was abandoned with a belly full of once-molten iron. The furnace had been inactive for twenty years when, in 1884, the shed that surrounded it burned to the ground.

Visitors can see a scale model of the furnace and the shed that enclosed it.

Also on display at the Interpretive Center are an ore cart, stove, kettles and tools, as well as panels explaining the process. The Franconia Heritage Museum offers additional displays of iron and books on the subject.

NOTE: The stone stack is on private property. The site is hazardous due to falling stones. Trespassing is both dangerous and prohibited.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Pat. There is an old iron furnace on Rt.7 in Kent, CT. It is behind the Sloane-Stanley Tool and Art Museum and near the Connecticut Antique Machinery association.  All are interesting.

http://www.hogriver.org/issues/v04n04/furnace.htm

http://www.ericsloane.com/museum.htm

http://www.ctamachinery.com/

[Pat McCotter]

Thanks, Lloyd! Also, I see CAMA is having their power-up this weekend! Hmm...

[Lloyd Danforth]

I doubt I will make it.  The 'Big' show is in the Fall.  Here's my 'Economy'  2 HP.  It's close to 100 years old.  It was a block of rust when I got it.  Now it's a running block of rust!

[Free libertarian]

 So did any bread get baked in the big stone oven this weekend and if so how how'd it come out?   

[jaqeboy]

I didn't get over there because I was sick as a dog, but Charles brought some by the house. They were excellent: a plain white, a garlic and a cheese loaf. Yummy! I was wrong about one thing though, they were baked in an older outdoor oven, not in the new one, which is still under construction. It took about 3 hours to heat it up, so they made up the doughs while the oven was coming up to temp. I didn't get to see the whole thing, but I will soon.

[KBCraig]

I doubt I will make it.  The 'Big' show is in the Fall.  Here's my 'Economy'  2 HP.  It's close to 100 years old.  It was a block of rust when I got it.  Now it's a running block of rust!

I love watching those old hit-or-miss engines. "sssslllluurrrpp-POW-whoosha-whoosha-whoosha-whoosha"