Build Your Own Earth Oven : A Low Cost Wood-Fired Mud Oven, Simple Sourdough Bread Book

Preface 2
Introduction Why a wood-fired, earthen oven?
Earthen Building, or what is "cob," anyway? 5
Chapter One: build a basic mud oven
How big an oven should I make?
Getting organized Materials and tools Beauty and sculpture On "waterproofing"
A roof for your oven Eight steps to a simple oven 11
Chapter Two: firing and baking in your oven
Building and managing a fire Assembling a set of traditional baking tools 43
Chapter Three: simple sourdough bread!
Introduction and a note on ingredients A quick outline of a ten-step sourdough process On yeast, flour, and bread How it works--the ten step process in detail 51
Chapter Four: materials and making do
Floor materials Straw and other fibers Gravel and Sand Subsoil, clay, and what to do if you can't find it Clay facts Refractory Cement 68
Chapter Five: other mixtures, other ovens
Single layer, all-clay, "rammed earth" ovens Simpler foundations Sculpting and finishing Lime plasters and other water resistant, breathable plasters, and a warning Brick or metal doorways Chimneys and doors Firing doors Cob doors Insulating a mud oven Experiments and things to try 73
Chapter Six: pyro-dynamics, or, playing with fire
Mechanics of fire Some related principles Metaphysics of fire 93
Chapter Seven: troubleshooting
My sand form won't hold its shape I have no sand--how else can I make a form?
I can't find straw My fire won't burn The bottoms of my loaves always burn My oven is cracking Can I quick dry my oven?
Can I keep an all-clay oven from shrinking?
The doorway is crumbling and falling apart I can't find clay subsoil anywhere What about fuels other than wood? 99
Afterword Art, earth, ovens 105
Appendix: Questions, Answers, and Resources About efficiency, design, etc
Using the oven Materials and construction Resources: Books on bread and building 112
Index 121