Submitted by ivyb on March 9, 2009 - 9:50am
Hi all,
I am seriously considering making a cobb oven this summer. While browsing through all assorted informations on woodstoves of every magnitude, I got to wondering.... since I have a fireplace insert and woodburning stove in two different rooms of my house now, whyever am I not just baking my breads and pizzas right there? Any advice gladly accepted!
Peace,
Ivy, ny
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Maybe
Fireplace insert? As in gas? Probably no good. Woodburning fireplace insert? You could use it for dutch oven bread using the coals. Baking loaves otherwise, probably not, since you couldn't really get the "oven" effect -- just a modest "broiler" effect. I know for sure it wouldn't work for pizza since you can't generate enough heat. (Good thing, or you'd probably wind up burning the house down!) That said, given a proper hearth, there's lots of cooking to be done with a fireplace, and some good books written about that subject.
Wood stove? If it's masonry lined, I don't see why not if it has enough mass. Just get it hot, rake out the coals, and bake your bread with the retained heat. The only potential problem is I'm not sure it would be big enough to stay hot for the 1/2 hour or so it takes to bake a loaf. Also, the relatively small size might put the loaf too close to the walls/roof causing burning. Still, worth a try. Nothing ventured, etc.
I've never built or used one, but it seems a cobb oven is a great and low-cost way to get cooking with wood.
ClimbHi
Pittsburgh, PA
thanks...and about that insert,
It is a wood-burning unit. My house was hand-built of local stone in 1935. The fireplace itself is a nice size, but was not efficient due to loss of heat going up the chiminey. We had a woodburning insert installed this Autumn and it makes such a BIG dif in the heating of the house. We keep the thermosat at 60 all the time and use both the fireplace and the woodburning stove daily to supplement the oil. So, naturally, since we use them consistantly, I couldn't see any reason not to use for baking as well. Yes, both floors are tiled, and, my thought was, that if I turn off the blower, this should, in theory, keep the heat self-contained long enough to bake breads and maybe even a small pizza? Thanks, I am thinking, as you said, nothing ventured...... :-)
As for the cobb, not sure if I want to do this, or a brick oven; I figure I still have a few months till the warm weather comes to decide.
Peace,
ivy, ny - where the weather got COLD again! brrr...
Prolly not . . .
"Yes, both floors are tiled, and, my thought was, that if I turn off the blower, this should, in theory, keep the heat self-contained long enough to bake breads and maybe even a small pizza?"
My bet is that it won't work. It would be like trying to bake bread in a frying pan. You need radiant heat all around, and a lot of it. Much more than a fireplace puts out. An oven is designed to retain the heat inside -- a fireplace is designed to radiate the heat out into the room a bit, but mostly it goes up the chimney pretty fast. My oven gets so hot it's uncomfortable to put your hand into it (or even close to the door) for even a few seconds. My fireplace is nowhere near that hot. I'm still thinking your best bet is to get yourself a dutch oven for bread and other bakables in the fireplace/wood stove.
In the meantime, look here for some thoughts:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=hearth+cooking
ClimbHi
Pittsburgh, PA