Saturated oven

[Tscarborough]

Re: Saturated oven

Saturated means no temperature gradient between the face and the back side of the oven mass. It doesn't matter what that temp is, as long as it is equal through the mass, it is saturated. You can burn to have it saturated at 500 degrees, and that won't take 5 hours. To saturate it to 800+ will.

[Faith In Virginia]

Re: Saturated oven

Now that we understand saturated... dimitrisbizakis, as you now see bread baking is very different from pizza baking. So how you heat your oven is also different. Once you get past the basic stuff such as having a fully cured oven with proper insulation and want to get to the brass tacks of heating here is the deal. The oven bricks will transfer heat from the oven side of the bricks to the outer oven side at a very specific rate. So time is the big factor here.

I tend to preheat my oven the day before. I give it a medium firing and shut the insulated door, on bake day I fire the oven again. Now I use thermocouples to know when to pull out my coals (Quite handy for bread bakers). Being that you don't have thermocouples if you can figure a way to get a temperature reading on the outside oven bricks and inside oven bricks ...then average the two temperatures. This will give you your target saturation temperature for baking bread.

After the second firing pull your coals and shut the door and let it rest for at least two hours...Then swab the floor shut the door and give it 30 minutes to recover temperature before you bake.

Hope that helps Faith

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Saturated oven

I don't get the differences that my oven has from a pompei.
Isn't pompei a style structure for wood ovens?
It's not a barrel oven but a round with the front arch holding the chimney.

I was referring to this and whether the cold spots or heat transfer and therefore saturation was any different between the 2 types
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/2/ba...html#post10704

[brickie in oz]

Re: Saturated oven

A brick is a brick is a brick.

Bricks of the same density will heat in the same manner no matter what style of oven you build....

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

Thank you all for your helpful and fast responses!

So IR thermometers that test's only surface temps are any good at baking.
Is there a way to get an actual reading of baking temp with my IR thermometer, after i close the door and wait for equalization?
Does the oven get's the same temp at the floor and the top of the dome after a 2 hours with the door on?


One thing is for sure...the mother of all knowledge is repeating...and re-firing!

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

I tend to preheat my oven the day before. I give it a medium firing and shut the insulated door, on bake day I fire the oven again. Now I use thermocouples to know when to pull out my coals (Quite handy for bread bakers). Being that you don't have thermocouples if you can figure a way to get a temperature reading on the outside oven bricks and inside oven bricks ...then average the two temperatures. This will give you your target saturation temperature for baking bread.

After the second firing pull your coals and shut the door and let it rest for at least two hours...Then swab the floor shut the door and give it 30 minutes to recover temperature before you bake.

Hope that helps Faith

The problem is that I am not planning my baking, usually I deside the same day, due to work and kids.

Where did you placed you thermocouples?

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

Hi everyone, I have one question.
After two hours with closed door isn't true that all surfaces must have the same temp?
I have my floor about 20 c lower, messurements was made with infrared thermometer.

[david s]

Re: Saturated oven

20C is not much difference. I wouldn't be worried about that. Your under floor insulation may still be damp. Keep firing and cooking.

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

20C is not much difference. I wouldn't be worried about that. Your under floor insulation may still be damp. Keep firing and cooking.

If i want to cook the bread at 250 C and the floor is actually 260 C it is a problem.
Any way, as many others said, testing and trying is the road.

[boerwarrior]

Re: Saturated oven

My (small) oven takes more than 2 hours to stabilize the temperature all the way round. The next morning (about 10 hours later) after firing the oven and closing the door all my interior surfaces (floor, walls, ceiling) were within about 10 degrees Fahrenheit of each other.

[david s]

Re: Saturated oven

If i want to cook the bread at 250 C and the floor is actually 260 C it is a problem.
Any way, as many others said, testing and trying is the road.

You did say your floor temp was 20 C lower not hotter.
If the floor is consistently too hot cooking on trays fixes this problem.

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

You did say your floor temp was 20 C lower not hotter.
If the floor is consistently too hot cooking on trays fixes this problem.

I know...i want to...i need to cook on the firebricks!
I'll find eventually my way around

[david s]

Re: Saturated oven

Yes, keep at it and you'll get it. Post some pics of your successes.

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

Yes, keep at it and you'll get it. Post some pics of your successes.

Thank you David, next time i'll fire at midnight and cook at morning...it is easier i think!

[dimitrisbizakis]

Re: Saturated oven

Hi everyone, yesterday i bough some really cheap spruce wood, its very dry and very light.
I was really concerned by the tough that this wood would not give me enough heat as the olive wood i had before, as i searched the net i find out that white spruce has almost the half btu.

Anyway, 300 kg was already bought so i went for a test drive.

Day 1

18:25 i started the fire up-down with about 5 kg of wood.

19:10 the wood was all coals and spread it to the floor.Closed the door.

19:30 The doors thermometer 200 C(392 F).

00:00 The doors thermometer is now 125 C (257 F) (this is the saturated temp).

Day 2

10:00 The door is still closed with the coals in, with no burning of course, at 95 C (203 F).

Day 3

10:00 The door is still on and the temp is 70 C (158 F).

I was wondering if i was burning twice the wood and twice the time, would i have twice the saturated temperature?
Take as a notice that nothing was cooked!