Lehm-Backöfen Selbst gebaut

Instructions for building a clay oven

Bread from a wood-fired oven simply tastes much better than bread from an electric oven or bread maker, because the oven generates heat in three different ways: radiant heat comes evenly from all the walls of the oven, the heat from the floor acts directly on the bread, and inside the oven itself the hot air circulates and produces a particularly good crust.

But not only bread: pizza and dishes such as chicken baked in a clay crust can also be prepared in such ovens. What matters when building such an earth oven is shown in the book in more than 200 illustrations and colour pictures. It provides guidance on building ovens of all sizes and a wide variety of designs, right up to artistic designs as sculptures. Unlike brick ovens, a clay oven costs less than €100, and it is remarkably easy to build.

In many places, such ovens are now built as neighbourhood community or municipal projects. The book also covers in detail how to fire the oven correctly and ways of estimating the internal temperature, as well as all questions relating to baking in such ovens. First-hand accounts from various clay oven owners and, of course, a selection of recipes round off the book.

The authors: Kiko Denzer and Hannah Field live in Oregon. Their book is now in its fourth edition in the USA, which has allowed them to take into account the experiences of their readers from all over the world. The American Ian Miller has translated their work into German and adapted it to local conditions.

Like the authors, he also runs workshops on building clay ovens.

In my opinion, currently the best book on the subject of building clay ovens. The many pictures and the building instructions backed up with sketches make the book a good companion for every clay oven.

ISBN 978-3-7020-1354-7 Kiko Denzer / Hannah Field LEHM-BACKÖFEN Selbst gebaut! Translated from American English by Ian Miller 160 pages, numerous colour illustrations, 16.5 x 22 cm, hardcover