Once upon a time when only rich men could afford an oven and the space to house it, the poor shared an oven between the villagers. It would be lit once aweek and every household would take their bread to be baked in it, much like as still happens in poor countries today. The bread would be followed by casseroles or joints of meat and as the oven heat declined, cakes would follow and finally, in the gentle slow lowering of temperature, meringues and cheesecake would gently bake.
This worked well with economical use of fuel resources.
Penrith Action for Community Transition (PACT) has its very own Outdoor Oven building group who are actively involved in a RSA Fellowship sponsored project building ovens in communities and schools around Cumbria. Ideal for pizza parties and outdoor events and excellent for delicious home made bread whilst being an attractive feature and talking point in its own right, a cob-built clay oven could be just the thing as we face an uncertain and fuel restricted future.
The Ovenistas have been out and about building ovens for community use in places such as Newton Rigg, The Watermill at Little Salkeld where a mark 2 oven is about to be constructed, and at the National Trust property, Acorn Bank. This latest is by the watermill which is being renovated by mill volunteers.
Amobile version of the oven is to be featured at Hunter Hall School, Saturday June 11th and Crosby Ravensworth School Fete, Saturday June 18th.
Anyone interested in commissioning an oven at their home or within their community please contact PACT food group through the website at http://www.penrithact.org.uk/community-ovens and we'll see what can be arranged.
Photos of the oven building in progress at Acorn Bank - click to see larger version:
