I am having problems with a new oven we build here at The American school of Kinshasa here in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is my third mud oven ( a la Kiko Denzer's book) and the other two work great! (both in Colombia) Fifth firing yesterday and it looses heat rapidly. I can see that the materials have all dried from the oven floor up, but there is still a clear line of not fully dried material below the oven floor (insulating mud with wine bottles) Seems like the bottom is taking an inordinate amount of time to dry. My guess is that the still damp materials below the oven floor are robbing the heat from the bricks and oven as soon as I pull the fire out. Does anyone have any hints or tips on drying this out? My plan is to fire the oven a couple of times a week. My wife says that I am not being patient enough.

I made a half-serious resolution to bake in the outdoor oven at least once a month, and after a few weeks with subzero temperatures, and a weekend out of town, this was my last chance for February. We had a warm up all week, but it was only about 20 degrees at 8 am when I started the fire. We have a pretty good view of the oven from the house, so I was able to load it up with fuel and keep an eye on it from inside, so it's not too bad!