417943 Wed Jul 04 21:43:36 -0700 2007 5 31 Home Cooking 0 2720286 Been playing with the new oven. Problems seem to be: We fill the oven with good wood.. red gum.. burns long and gives great coals (internal measurements of the oven are 1.7meters in diameter). We get a really REALLY good fire going, and push the coals to the sides. Pizza done last weekend was good.. but it was almost too hot... the bottoms and edges burnt before the middle cheese was melted.. Turned out better after about 1/2 hour (after we;d moved the coals) After pizza I put a large slab on lamb in.. on a base of sugo, with potatoes, pumpkin, kumara and onions. I put the door of the oven on, thinking it would slow the heat down, but all it did was extinguish the coals... Which meant we had to light the bloody thing again... And when we put the meat back in, it was too hot, and burnt the edges of the meat. We can't seem to get it to hold its heat. I thought the idea was you could get a couple of different meals off one firing.. pizza at its hottest and then a slow roast, and then still be able to bake bread in it the next day. We probably used 1/2 tonne of firewood and the thing was too cold to cook in.. or even prove dough in, the next day. What are we doing wrong?? Wed Jul 04 21:43:36 -0700 2007 86137 purple goddess 1 2720307 Sensitve control of the air intakes and opening the doors as infrequently as possible are the the key to steady temperature control on my smokers. Tiny changes in the air dampers, and great patience allowing the fire to reach equilibrium after each change is how you learn control of the temperature. Usually the exhaust is fully open and the intakes are open fractionally. If you killed your fire, then you know that setting was too extreme. Subtle, fractional changes in damper settings are called for. Incompletely dry wood or damp charcoal will make the fire unstable also. To achieve the best results, you need the best ingredients. This goes for wood or lump charcoal, as well as foodstuffs. Wed Jul 04 22:06:18 -0700 2007 2720286 11931 Phood 2 2720322 the only means to control ventilation/temp are the chimney and the oven opening. We subbed some old pallets with the red gum, because the rg was $25 a bag.. might use all red gum this weekend, and let the coals settle before we do anything... Wed Jul 04 22:24:52 -0700 2007 2720307 86137 purple goddess 3 2721181 are you talking about a wood burning brick oven? Not sure what you meant by "oven". Can you provide a few more details on what your set up is like? Thu Jul 05 09:53:57 -0700 2007 2720322 11120 adamclyde 4 2722324 yes... an outdoor wood burning oven. Internal diameter is 1.7meters, domed, with front set flu/chimney and a 1/2 circle door/opening. We have a cast iron door we use to close this opening with. Thu Jul 05 15:23:24 -0700 2007 2721181 86137 purple goddess 5 2722585 I'm no expert at this sort of oven except that I know them from archaeology, oddly enough. I'm wondering if you're actually using too much wood at the outset, and might need to add some between jobs, so you can get an additional burst of heat. You do need a door with a vent or one that doesn't close entirely, because combustion's just not going to happen with no airflow. The door can help hold heat, after cooking is done, but I don't know about next day cookery. It might be warm enough to provide a nice environment for raising bread, and then require another heating from the banked coals, more wood, allowed time to stabilize the temp, then begin cooking---I'd go high-tech enough to get a good thermometer to help you out, so you don't have to guess. Thu Jul 05 16:57:47 -0700 2007 2722324 109581 dragonfare