Slide Shows
APRIL 15, 2017 Photos by Nancy Peterson
BAKE DAY Photos
|
BAKE DAYS
What happens on a Community Bake Day? It starts the day before, when a volunteer builds a fire in the baking chamber. This fire burns all night, behind locked oven doors. It's monitored to assure that the wood is burning cleanly--it's even checked in the middle of the night! (it sounds like a hassle, but it's really special to visit the oven at midnight and see it's warm heart glowing.) The fire is kept burning until about one hour before the bread is baked. By this time, ideally, only a few coals remain in the chamber, and they are swept out into a fireproof trashcan. Then the oven is swept our thoroughly, the door is closed and the oven is left to "equilibrate," to develop an even temperature throughout. The goal is to have a fire of about 450-500 degrees for bread-baking. |
Bakers begin to arrive shortly before the appointed time (announced on our Facebook page.) They bring ready-to-bake dough that they've prepared at home. In warm weather, they set it out on long tables; when it's cold, they leave it to continue rising in a warm car. When the oven is ready, the door is opened and loaves are loaded into it using long-handled peels (like those used in pizza ovens) and the oven is sealed off to hold in its heat.
Now we wait...but only for about 45 minutes. It's a good time to set up more tables while catching up with friends and fellow bread bakers. There are always newcomers who want to hear about the oven and how it works...and there are plenty of community oven folks to answer their questions. Some of them have brought their own bread to bake. Beginners are welcome. Bakers in the Carbondale Community Oven have ranged in age from seven to eighty-five years old.
When the bread is done, it's removed to the waiting tables where it sits for ten of fifteen minutes and continues to cook. By now, its aroma has floated all over the neighborhood and the nearby bike path, and more visitors appear like magic.
Yeast breads, corn breads, breads made with various flours, seeds, cheeses and fruits. There's always a big variety, and bakers usually make at least one loaf to share with everyone. As the bread is cut, tasters try it with butter, jam, honey, oil and other toppings.
Many loads of bread can be baked in one day, as the oven holds heat for hours. Sometimes, oatmeal is cooked overnight, and it's still warm the next morning.
Now we wait...but only for about 45 minutes. It's a good time to set up more tables while catching up with friends and fellow bread bakers. There are always newcomers who want to hear about the oven and how it works...and there are plenty of community oven folks to answer their questions. Some of them have brought their own bread to bake. Beginners are welcome. Bakers in the Carbondale Community Oven have ranged in age from seven to eighty-five years old.
When the bread is done, it's removed to the waiting tables where it sits for ten of fifteen minutes and continues to cook. By now, its aroma has floated all over the neighborhood and the nearby bike path, and more visitors appear like magic.
Yeast breads, corn breads, breads made with various flours, seeds, cheeses and fruits. There's always a big variety, and bakers usually make at least one loaf to share with everyone. As the bread is cut, tasters try it with butter, jam, honey, oil and other toppings.
Many loads of bread can be baked in one day, as the oven holds heat for hours. Sometimes, oatmeal is cooked overnight, and it's still warm the next morning.