Brick oven

“ If the oven is intended for baking, it is advisable to line it with firebrick, and the masonry should be at least 8 inches thick. A greater heat-storing capacity is secured by using thick walls. An ash drop of standard cast-iron unit type is provided for modern ovens and may lead either to the side of the fireplace or to an ash-pit in the chimney base. The throat or dome should be carefully formed with brick molded or ground to an arch and preferably should be fitted with a damper. If the top of the oven is flat, several lintel irons will be needed to support the brick. ”

“ THE OVEN. A brick oven, heated with wood, is far superior to any other for baking bread, as well as for most other purposes. The iron ovens, now commonly attached to kitchen-ranges—the construction of which has within these few years been wonderfully improved—though exceedingly convenient, from the facility which they afford for baking at all hours of the day, do not in general answer well for bread, unless it be made into very small loaves or rolls, as the surface becomes hardened and browned long before the heat has sufficiently penetrated 596to the centre of the dough. ”

“ The peculiar efficacy of the common coal fire in this respect proceeds from the essential principle of action of a brick oven, which is found simply in the fact that the work is done entirely by heat previously imparted to the tile bottom, roof, and sides of the oven, and thence radiated to the bread. ”

“ Many a good thing, however, is spoiled in the oven. We cannot but regret, for the sake of bread, that our old steady brick ovens have been almost universally superseded by those of ranges and cooking-stoves, which are infinite in their caprices, and forbid all general rules. ”

“ The pots and kettles are swung from a long iron bar placed well up in the chimney. (The crane with which we are all familiar is simply a later development of this primitive bar.) There is a brick oven built into the fireplace, also a Dutch oven, which is a pot with a rim around the cover to hold the hot coals; and, the last step in evolution before the cook-stove, we find the tin kitchen standing in its place before the andirons.
The most precious of all the furnishings of the fireplace is an old-fashioned toaster from which Hawthorne has had many a slice of toast. ”

“ The mantel shelf is narrow and extends around the whole fireplace; the old chimney has been partly built in for modern use, while the andirons are very unique reproductions. The old crane has been retained, as have the pothooks and iron kettle, while the old brick oven, now never used, is a memento of the days when our grandmothers cooked with great logs of wood, heating the oven once a week in order to do the family baking. The furniture is of the Colonial type, while the rugs are modern but blend with the scheme color of the room. ”

“ The great brick oven, one side of which makes also one side of the fireplace, is filled with the brush and light wood, which is soon burning briskly. For an hour the fire is kept up, new wood being thrown in when necessary ”

“ There is one metal—the expensive platinum—which is not corroded by the electric spark. We drilled small holes in the end of the screw C and in the brass strip and pounded into these holes little pieces of platinum wire. Harold said he felt like a dentist filling a tooth. This furnished good, clean contact at all times.
It takes a long time to heat up the brick oven, but it holds its heat a long time and makes an excellent fireless cooker after the lamps are turned out. It does not allow heat to escape into the kitchen, which makes it a comfort in our summer cottage. ”

“ This range is double cased and jacketed on the sides, back, and door with a non-conducting material to prevent loss of heat. The top of the oven is formed of fire-brick, over which the waste heat passes, heating it to a high temperature, and adding to the efficiency. The oven interior can be had either galvanised or enamelled by a new process which the makers highly recommend, and the oven fittings are so made that they can be removed wholly for cleaning purposes and leave no ledges inside where grease could accumulate. ”

“ Should the water which is used in the house be hard, and any washing done at home, they should be place in a coarse cloth over a tub, and water poured over them several times to make lye, which softens the water, and saves soap much more than soda, and is likewise better for the linen.
The brick oven will often prove a source of great convenience, independent of bread-making. It is just the size to bake hams or roasting pigs, and will, when dinner-parties are given, frequently prove much more useful to the cook than an extra fire. ”

“ Unless you have a brick oven do not attempt this dish, as it requires a long and even baking, which no stove oven can give. Make a good pie crust and line a large pan, one holding about 6 quarts; in the bottom put a layer of thin slices of onions, then a layer of lean salt pork, which has been previously browned in the frying pan, next place a layer of peeled apples, which sprinkle with a little brown sugar, using 1⁄2 lb. sugar to 3 lbs. apples; then begin with onions, which sprinkle with pepper, pork and apples again, and so on until the dish is full. ”

“ The baker's oven, of fire-brick, in which the fire is made inside the oven, and the whole heat retained in and reflected back from the sides and top and bottom, is a very economical instrument when in continual use. With iron ovens, attached to a kitchen range, the case is different. An oven which roasts requires a temperature of from 400° to 450° at least. Therefore, to maintain this temperature, the gases must pass off into the flue at a temperature even higher ”

“ When brick ovens are employed they must be lined with sheet-iron, and in these very rare circumstances where gas is not available, the stove can be heated with coal or wood, which will, of course, involve a total alteration in the structural arrangements. ”

“ These iron contrivances being heavy to lift up and down, and a woman's skirts being exposed to much danger from fire when moving them, are used only in default of brick or clay ovens, which most people possess, and which are generally placed outside the house at a little distance. In one of these large brick ovens, belonging to a neighbour of ours, a native woman was found one morning snugly coiled up and fast asleep, having evidently passed the night there. ”

“ The unsuitability of the modern oven is principally due to thinness of the sides and the fact that it is not airtight; consequently all the steam escapes, rendering the bread dry and the crust hard and chippy, and not moist and crisp like baker's bread or bread baked in a large brick-built oven. For it should be remembered that it is absolutely necessary to keep all the steam in the oven when baking bread, for the vapour assists the crust to assume the brightness and gloss seen on new bread, known as "bloom." ”

“ Cover the top with a crust rolled out of light bread dough, make a hole in the lid, and set the pan in a brick oven. After it has cooked, lift the crust and add molasses, or brown sugar, a little powdered cinnamon and nutmeg to taste, also 1 tablespoonful butter. Stir it well, cut the crust into square bits, mix all together, cover it with a large plate, return it to the oven for 3-4 hours. Serve hot. A pan dowdy may be baked in a stove oven, in which case the apples had better be stewed, and the crust baked separately, then mix all together and bake 2 hours. ”

“ Now, a kitchen can be so constructed that even with the largest size family-stove or range in use, it will be as comfortable as any other room in the house, and at an expense not to exceed the cost of the stove or range used. To do this, build of brick a large open fire-place, say from three to twelve inches broader than the length of the stove or range to be used, and from front to rear deep enough to receive the same. It is best to set an ordinary cook-stove with the side to the front, so that the oven door can be convenient. ”

“ Could I have a brick range 2×3 feet, built on a platform about 1 foot from floor, with two compartments, to be heated with petroleum, the lower one to be used as an oven, the upper one to have a stove top to set cooking utensils on, and have a ventilating pipe run from each compartment of the oil receptacles into the place in the chimney where the stove pipe usually goes, to carry away any gas or smoke? ”

“ V. Ivleescliulte. The works are planned on the most modern scientific system, and cover a large area. Among the many buildings, the Hoffman brick oven is, perhaps, the first to attract the attention of a visitor. It is a huge pile of red bricks several feet thick, and consists of two parallel ovens, 170 feet long, in the shape of concave vaults. Six- teen doors give access to as niaii- compart- ments, and each compartment is separated from the next by an iron partition which is
[See page 742.] E. MARZOLI'S BRICK FACTORY.
dropped from overhead. ”

“ Most ovens require heating an hour and a half for bread. A brisk fire should be kept up, and the doors of the room should be kept shut, if the weather is cold. Pine and ash, mixed together, or birch-wood, is the best for heating an oven. To ascertain if your oven is of the right temperature, when cleaned, throw in a little flour; if it browns in the course of a minute, it is sufficiently hot; if it turns black directly, wait several minutes, before putting in the things that are to be baked. If the oven does not bake well, set in a furnace of live coals. ”

“ The ovens are highly insulated with a thick packing of best grade mineral wool, which reduces air leakage to a minimum and retains the heat generated for a long period. Many cooking operations which are performed in ordinary ovens with the burners on, can be prepared in this particular style of oven by using stored heat for the last half of the operation. The range is simplicity itself in operation. Each burner is operated by an indicating snap switch which has three separate heats, full, medium and low; medium being one-half of full and low one-half of medium. ”

“ In case a cooker-pail is to be utilized for baking it will be well to surround it, on top, bottom, and sides, with the heavy sheet asbestos described for insulating the oven. A wire rack will be needed for separating the food from too direct contact with the hot stones, and some device, such, perhaps, as an inverted wire frying-basket for supporting the upper stone. ”

“ Well-constructed stoves made of malleable iron, wrought-iron or steel are usually air-tight, give more evenly-regulated heat, and are altogether better in many respects. Good stoves do not allow the gases and fumes of the coal, or the soot to invade the oven; and the fire-box and oven are protected from undue draughts which would affect the consumption of fuel or the temperature of the oven. No oven can satisfactorily roast and bake unless provided with a reversing damper by which the heat may be directed to the top or bottom of the oven as required. ”

“ These ovens may be easily made by any tin-man. They are not now manufactured for sale, which is to be regretted, on account of their obvious utility. When suspended in front of any ordinary fire by means of a bottle-jack or a common worsted string, the Revolving Oven will bake bread, cakes, pies, &c., in a much more equal and perfect manner than either a side oven or an American oven, without depriving the room of the heat and comfort of the fire. Before an ordinary fire, in any room in the house, it will bake a four-pound loaf in an hour and twenty minutes. ”

“ The figure on the title page exhibits a convenient culinary oven for families who bake their own bread. It is usually erected on one side of the kitchen fire-place, and heated by a flue that passes from the fire-grate under the bottom of the oven. Although this is in many respects a convenient and neat way of heating the oven, yet the manner of managing the fire renders it only economical in families where a large fire is always kept up in the kitchen-grate. In small families it is far more economical to heat the oven by means of a separate fire-place built underneath it. ”

“ Outside, all you need to do is baste the skin with fat to prevent it from burning, and if you are using an open fire, regularly turn the bird so that it is heated evenly. An oven solves the latter problem, and although Englishmen had bake ovens in 1621, the Pilgrims didn’t. But a decade or so later they built them into their Plymouth fireplaces and used them regularly for roasts as well as breads. So if you don’t have an outdoor grill with a spit or a fireplace that could be converted into an open hearth, an oven will do fine. ”

“ Some, too, have glass ovens which further add to the gaiety of rations.
In buying, buy of the best firms, get guarantees, see that your wiring is adequate and that everything is well insulated with asbestos or something of equal value.
See to it that your oven doors close without slamming; that when they are open they won’t bend if a weight is put on them. We have seen one stove stand the weight of a man jumping on the stove oven door when it was lowered. Many a good cake has been ruined by banging oven doors. ”

“ Insulated oven with stones and pan in place.
The advantages of an insulated oven lie in the even brown and thorough baking which it gives; the development and retention of flavours, which is greater than with ordinary baking; the economy in fuel where food requires long cooking; the absence of heat in the kitchen; and the possibility of baking where only a camp-fire is obtainable.
The principle is the same whether a portable oven is insulated or a cooker-pail is utilized. ”