From: Bill Derrick
Alternate Energy Systems, Peru, NY
May 12, 1997
Some thoughts on bake ovens and heaters sans bake oven.
The aesthetics of our masonry heater in a new timber frame home precluded
enough height to include a bake oven. That required omission has been a
source of regret ever since. Therefore it is a policy to urge bakeovens
to all masonry heater customers. The feedback of appreciation from heater
users with a bake oven is so strong and varied that it seems a disservice
not to urge new customers to include this important feature. Added cost
be damned.
So what is to be done when aesthetics overpower the practical? At first
we tried various procedures to use the heater firebox for cooking but with
varying successes and disasters - most often having to do with overcookin/burning.
Discussion with a local craftsperson resulted in his suggestion of a trivet
for the firebox. Sounded like a good plan and one was developed to fit
right in the firebox after the fire had burned down to a shallow bed of
coals. Still we have a tendency for overcooking which was solved by using
an 1.25 inch piece of soapstone on the trivet. Problem solved by the special
characteristics of the soapstone.
Use of a thermometer allows pretty accurate assurance of a desired baking
environment. One can alter the conditions in the firebox by closing the
damper to retain the needed heat level. Likewise, the termperature can
be lowered by various settings on the damper and altering the incoming
air. We don't yet make claims to mastering bread and pastry baking, but
for slow cooking and meat roasting we have it quite under control. It has
also served nicely as a grill by simply heating the soapstone and placing
meats directly on the stone. The success of using the firebox for cooking
didn't sink in till late spring as we were beginning to have once a day
firings and skipping a day now and then. Suddenly one afternoon on non-burn
day, my wife Ginny exlaimed, "Where will I cook and bake during the
summer when the masonry heater isn't fired?"
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