Kendra Michaud and I just finished leading a very successful earth oven workshop in Skowhegan, Maine. We never could have done this without our assistant, Ollie Hartman.
Many of the participants built their own micro-earth ovens and hauled them home. Although difficult to fire and not much room inside for baking, these are great practice ovens, but they really do work. Anyone who can fire the "little guy" and bake in it would probably never have a problem firing and baking in a full size oven.
Many of the participants built their own micro-earth ovens and hauled them home. Although difficult to fire and not much room inside for baking, these are great practice ovens, but they really do work. Anyone who can fire the "little guy" and bake in it would probably never have a problem firing and baking in a full size oven.
Firing up
Blowpipe technique
Note the flat bread cooking on top of oven, and there's also a bread baking inside. It is definitely possible to cook on the top of a thin walled, uninsulated oven. The hole in the back of the oven makes it a lot easier to get the fire started, but the hole is easily plugged with a hunk of mud to increase oven efficiency after you're certain the fire won't go out.
Hauling oven to car
I'd say the oven weighs about 75 pounds
Going home to Saratoga Springs, New York
