![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kqgey1cl_j6gkbkLB5NlP98JoCvLWSboZ6qucFNRhfa4fc-3m1Q09TsWBT1nUjLfuTWs1DBOZMCuIs2t1vf7FQ0w-gJdku3glCmhLhavVLsIJQixdJAiPuAiVMOORU0gypVk8I3apP29/s280/Allamakee-kiln-shed-1024x768.jpg) |
Kiln shed and wood pile a lot like my old one |
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Almost identical kiln to my old one |
I can trace my interest in building brick ovens back almost 40 years. In the mid-1970's I was making wood-fired stoneware and porcelain pottery. As a ploy to lure customers down the back road and quarter mile path to my pottery, I made a large batch of bread dough. On the morning following the 2100 degree (white hot) firing, the kiln had cooled to 500 degrees and using fireproof gloves, I removed the pots from the top kiln shelf and slid the bread pans of dough into the kiln. Twenty minutes later I and my customers were enjoying the most perfect bread. Whether I sold any pots doesn't stick in my memory as well as the bread.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZUK54WqRLpMZ4zDhC8REj9MfDkdITXWffqAA-AnBZc1vIHztJng8MwTNV7jBaARwCv6k8Uzmcp2vbwhW7AY3YOZJsj3BUKeEA1GRZMTAHGZ3fquYzEppHFH3bGasGx3QvP5-LjcS3k5i/s280/first+firing+%25281+of+1%2529.jpg) |
A recent 48" oven I built |
Fast forward 30 years. I'm still baking bread. I've been a professional landscape designer and stone mason for a dozen years. The bricks from my old kiln have been gathering moss. A few friends
talk about building ovens. I have an old work trailer capable of carrying a ton or more.
My first oven (still in use) was built on the Pompeii model, a style I still advocate. Those old bricks, some of which were witness to bread baking many years ago, now see dozens of meals, bread, roasts, pies, pizzas as well as the people I feed.
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My first brick oven |
As a potter, I burned 12 cords of softwood a year. As a baker I burn an armload of hardwood each firing. If anything, the bread has gotten better.
David, The kiln where you say "Almost identical kiln to my old one" is the kiln I built from recycled kiln bricks and other materials, my construction pics can be seen on my FB page. Peter Stride :-https://www.facebook.com/peter.stride/media_set?set=a.412016894911.187779.607789911&type=3
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