Oven

“ The girls now commenced to bake and roast, the two eldest kneaded the dough, the youngest making the fire in the oven, which was as big as hell, and when it got red hot, the cunning young girl called the giant, and having placed a pot full of lard into the oven, asked him to taste it with his tongue to see whether the lard was hot enough, and if the oven had reached its proper heat. ”

“ In an electrically fitted kitchen what do we see? A clean, bright-looking oven and a hot plate for boiling and simmering, and probably a grill, completed by a plate heater, all standing on a table placed in a good light and conveniently near the sink. The cook may sit at ease peeling apples and put out a hand to alter the heat of the oven or hot plate, or to move a saucepan. If she is a forgetful [180] person, a red lamp reminds her of the fact that she has not switched off the current from any portion of the cooking apparatus no longer needed. ”

“ Why, they used to have little bake-ovens to cook their meats and so on, standing some way out from the house, did you never see one of them? raised on four little heaps of stone; the bottom of the oven is one large flat stone, and the arch built over it; they look like a great beehive. Well we used to watch till we saw the good woman of the house get her oven cleverly heated, and put in her batch of bread, or her meat-pie, or her pumpkin and apple pies! ”

“ It must not be forgotten that ovens are like children they need understanding. The temperature of the kitchen and the oven's nearness to a window or door will often make a difference of five or ten minutes in the time needed for baking. One gas oven that I knew never baked well in winter unless a screen was put before it to keep away draughts!
ROLLS.--If you desire to get your bread more quickly it is only a question of making smaller loaves. Little rolls may be cut out with a large egg-cup or small pastry cutter, and these take any time from twenty minutes to half an hour. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ An oven so located is of advantage in that it saves stooping or bending over. The door of this oven contains a glass, which makes it possible to observe the food baking inside without opening the door and thereby losing heat. The broiler b, which may also be used as a toaster, is located directly beneath the oven, and to the right are the burners c for cooking. The gas for these parts is contained in the pipe d, which is connected to a pipe joined to the gas main in the street. To get heat for cooking it is simply necessary to turn on the stop-cocks and light the gas. ”

“ Let the oven be quite hot, then put a little ball of paste in, and if it browns palely in seven to ten minutes it is about right; if it burns, it is too hot; open the damper ten minutes. Your bread, after it is in the tins, will rise much more quickly than the first time. Let it get light, but not too light—twice its bulk is a good rule; but if it is light before your oven is ready, and thus in danger of getting too porous, work it down with your hand, it will not harm it, although it is better so to manage that the oven waits for the bread rather than the bread for the oven. ”

“ In roasting or rather in baking, as is the general practice of small households (either in gas stove or coal) , attention should be paid that the oven is not too fierce as it reduces the joint greatly and of course spoils the taste and appearance. ”

“ Both stoves are kept burning and the open door lets in the cool air. Everything goes beautifully; the wood burns as it should, the oven heats, the kettle boils, the beans stew, the bread browns in the oven just right, and the new pudding sauce foams up as rich and delicious as if instead of the first it were the hundredth time I’d made it. ”

“ Use fresh eggs, good butter, and good pulverized sugar.
The most important of all is the oven, for, supposing that you have used good materials, have mixed them well, if not properly baked, every thing is lost, materials and labor. Supposing that you have a good oven, there is still a difficulty—and if the last, not the least—the degree of heat. Some require a quick oven, as puff-paste, choux, etc.; others a warm one, and others a slow oven, as meringues biscuits, etc. ”

“ Then the coal and ashes were removed, the chimney draught and damper were closed, and the food to be cooked was placed in the heated oven. Great pans of brown bread, pots of pork and beans, an Indian pudding, a dozen pies, all went into the fiery furnace together.
On Thanksgiving week the great oven was heated night and morning for several days. To place edibles at the rear of the glowing oven, it is plain some kind of a shovel must be used; and an abnormally long-handled [Pg 288] one was universally found by the oven-side. It was called a slice or peel, or fire-peel or bread-peel. ”

“ The oven, which lies directly back of the firebox and is really an enclosed chamber in which food may be cooked, receives its heat from the hot air that passes around it. The dampers are devices that control the flow of air in and out of the stove. Those shown at f and g serve to admit fresh air into the stove or to keep it out, and those shown at h and i serve to keep heated air in the stove or to permit it to pass out through the flue. ”

“ A few pieces of wood are put in, and, when well lighted, the oven is half-filled with charcoal-dust—this again is covered by pieces of tin or lime, and, on top of all, the saucepans are put containing food for the Sabbath meals: also bottles or jars of water are thus kept hot for tea or coffee. Neighbours who are not lucky enough to have such an oven bring in their food, and we let them put it in our ovens. In this way we have enough for every one to drink who may come in. ”

“ For baking bread, the oven-wood must be heavier than for pies. A heap of wood should be placed in the centre of the oven on the brick floor, and then set on fire. While the wood is burning, the door of the oven must be left open. When the wood is all burnt down, and reduced to a mass of small red coals, the oven will be very hot. Then shovel out all the coals and sweep the oven floor with a broom, till it is perfectly clean, and entirely free from ashes. Try the heat within. For baking bread, the floor of the oven should look red; and a little flour thrown in should burn brown immediately. ”

“ To economise the heat of the iron plate, a small oven is sometimes placed at the extremity of the flue of the fire-place, which heats the plate. It is convenient for a variety of culinary purposes requiring a very gentle heat, or if it be wanted for baking meat, or bread, a small fire-grate fixed underneath it, will render it extremely fit for those purposes. ”

“ Braising, in cookery, means to cook any thing with fire under and upon the pan, kettle, or other utensil.
A good oven is by far more easy, and answers perfectly the purpose. An oven not only warms the under and upper parts of the utensil, but all around it also.
BUNCH OF SEASONINGS.
It is composed of parsley, thyme, bay-leaf, and cloves, and sometimes a clove of garlic is added. Place the sprigs of parsley in the left hand, rather spread, lay the others on and in the middle of the parsley, and envelop them in it as well as possible, then tie the whole with twine. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Before the invention of the oven, bread was exclusively baked in the embers, or ashes, or before the fire. These methods, with sometimes a little variation, are still practised, more or less, in all parts of the world. In England, the poor class of people place the loaf on the heated hearth, and invert over it an iron pot or kettle, which they surround with embers or coals.
5. The invention of the oven must have added much to the conveniences and comforts of the ancients ”

“ The sudden change from heat to cold sometimes indeed makes the iron contract so rapidly as to burst the boiler. It is useful to have an oven on one side of the grate, not, indeed, for baking any thing, for food seldom has its proper flavour when cooked in such ovens, but to keep plates [Pg 44] and dishes warm. The floor of a kitchen is generally laid with stone, but it is a great comfort to the cook to have a part boarded near a table under one of the windows, for the convenience of standing upon the boards when in the act of cooking. ”

“ Why, by heating the oven once, you could bake victuals enough to last a week; and then, any thing baked in a brick oven is as good again as when it is baked in iron. These beans wouldn't have been half so good if they'd been baked in an iron pan set into the Dutch oven or a kettle, because that place in the hearth is what you may call an oven."
"What kind of moulds do the potters in the settlements have to make their things of?" asked Sammy; "or do they make 'em in holes in the ground or on a basket?"
"No, indeed! they make 'em on a wheel."
"Oh, do tell me about it, Uncle Seth! ”

“ His apparatus, which he terms "the Aladdin oven," is simplicity itself. It consists of a box made of non-conducting material, such as paper or wood, in the upper part of which is placed an oven of thin sheet metal. The oven is smaller than the box, so that there is a space all around it for the circulation of the hot products of combustion from the lamp, which sets in the oven portion of the box. The oven is provided with trays upon which different articles may be placed. ”

“ In ten minutes, however, we will push the slide out again, and that will admit the fresh air, slightly cool the oven, and allow the fumes to escape. Always recollect, however, that the oven must be hot. We need a good hot oven for roasting meat. ”

“ To keep the heat from being too great, when drying in the oven leave the oven door partly open. For oven use, a simple tray may be made of galvanized-wire screen of convenient size, with the edges bent up for an inch or two on each side. ”

“ The outer edges of the oven are also similarly protected from loss of heat by tin casings and air-spaces, and the oven-doors opening at the front of the store are provided with the same economical savers of heat. ”

“ As a general rule, the oven for baking bread should be rather quick, and the heat so regulated as to penetrate the dough without hardening the outside. The oven door should not be opened after the bread is put in until the dough is set, or has become firm, as the cool air admitted, will have an unfavourable effect on it. ”

“ My room has an oven in the floor, neatly lined with clay, and as I write the women are making bread by a very simple process. The oven is well heated by the live embers of animal fuel. They work the flour and water dough, to which a piece of leaven from the last baking has been added, into a flat round cake, about eighteen inches in diameter and half an inch thick, place 160 it quickly on a very dirty cushion, and clap it against the concave interior of the oven, withdrawing the cushion. ”

“ Economical people heat ovens with pine wood, fagots, brush, and such light stuff. If you have none but {79} hard wood, you must remember that it makes very hot coals, and therefore less of it will answer. A smart fire for an hour and a half is a general rule for common sized family ovens, provided brown bread and beans are to be baked. An hour is long enough to heat an oven for flour bread. Pies bear about as much heat as flour bread: pumpkin pies will bear more. If you are afraid your oven is too hot, throw in a little flour, and shut it up for a minute. ”

“ A pudding in a basin can be raised out of water by a meat stand placed at the bottom of an ordinary sauce-pan—and vegetables cooked in a perforated steam pan above.
Where possible arrange a meal to be cooked all on the top of the stove, or all in the oven.
Avoid heating the oven to cook a single dish.
Utilise all space when the oven is heated—food may be partly or wholly cooked for following day.
In a gas oven three or four small tins are better than one large tin which fills the shelf. By the former method free circulation of heat is not prevented, and cooking is more efficient. ”

“ There is also a good oven for baking bread, pastry, and biscuits, and a hot closet above; a kitchen table, with drawers and sliding shelves, under which is a cupboard for preserves, a pestle and mortar, vegetable and washing boxes; under the stove and hot plate are two recesses for fuel ”

“ Much, of course, depends on the state of the fire, and on the size of the things to be baked, and something on the thickness of the pans or dishes.
If you bake in a stove, put some bricks in the oven part to set the pans or plates on, and to temper the heat at the bottom. ”

“ The ordinary kitchen oven, constructed of iron, and being also very thick, in some cases becomes red-hot, and thus not only scorches and burns the bread, but dries up the steam as fast as it is given off from the dough, with the result, as before stated, that a very dry crust and not a very well baked crumb is produced. ”