Our Cob Oven

Welcome to the Meadow Orchards community oven, built by hand in 2012, using clay from this site. Please read these instructions carefully before firing.

1. Only use dry, unseasoned wood. Never burn wood that’s painted or glued, or any composites (MDF), that may contain plastic. 
2. The drier the wood the hotter the fire! An oven cooling down can be used to dry wood for the next firing. 
3. Very high temperatures will crack the oven. Use thin, fingers-sized pieces of wood, rather than big logs. Build up temperatures gradually. 
4. Never use charcoal or coal. Charcoal burns around 7-8 times higher than wood, and coal around 4-6 times hotter
5. To reduce the amount of smoke produced, leave plenty of space for wood and air to mix. Don’t overload the oven, too much wood creates smoke (un-burnt fuel), and can cause oven cracks
6. To start your fire lay wood so that it burns from top down. We suggest using thin bits of wood stacked like a tower, with thicker pieces at the bottom to maximise airflow. Start with two longer pieces at the mouth of the oven, pointing front to back, and then add two pieces from side to side, then front to back & side to side again, until you form a tower. Think of the game ‘Jenga’. Place kindling inside the tower & ignite. Longer & thicker base sticks help you push the burning stack away from the oven mouth & draw & move air to the back of the oven.
7. After approx. 20 mins add sticks every 15 mins. After 2-3 loads, you should have captured enough heat (900⁰F/ 500⁰C) to start cooking. At this temp, any soot inside the oven is burnt off.  Look for soot free walls.
8. Never burn wood at the mouth of the oven except when starting a fire, as this cracks the mouth. Only cook inside the dome 
9. To increase/reduce oven temperature: add or remove wood or move dishes towards or away from the fire, or wait for temperatures to drop.
10.  Bake pizzas & bread directly on the oven floor. Work with the fire and use pots to boil, tins to roast and a griddle pan or rack, to grill food.  Enjoy!