Hearth Bread=Hearth Aroma?

[texassourdough]

Re: Hearth Bread=Hearth Aroma?

Hi Timo!

The hearth should get plenty hot to burn off any organic. But it is possible ash is insulating the hearth on you... (I don't really believe it but...) If you get stuff on the new brick faces you migh want to remove any excess ash and spread coals over the surface and repeat a few times. That will get the hearth hot for sure and should burn anything off.

Good Luck!
Jay

[timo]

Re: Hearth Bread=Hearth Aroma?

Thanks for the replies. Since I have fresh brick faces, I am going to try and reverse soak the faces with a solution of baking soda and lemon juice. I 'll mist the brick face down and put some lemon/baking soda paste on and let it draw out any smell, then after it dries I can scrap it out and vacuum it away.

Timo

[timo]

Re: Hearth Bread=Hearth Aroma?

Just a quick update for anyone following this thread. After flipping the bricks and sanding down the odd edge bricks and cleaning with baking soda and lemon juice, it all is good. I made a bunch of different hard rolls, challah, fougasse, and even some scones, and they all came out tasting great. No more hearthy smell, just nice clean flavor. Here's a picture of the spread.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Hearth Bread=Hearth Aroma?

Nice work Timo...

Glad you finally got that smell out of your oven... Bread looks delicious

Cheers
Mark