How To Recycle- And Bake In- A Wood-Burning Cookstove

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On the left (or perhaps, in your case, on the side of the stove) is a knob that regulates the entry of air to the firebox by opening and shutting a small grille on the back of the range. Note that this grate has nothing to do with the others (which let ashes drop through) at the bottom of the same compart ment.

The right-hand knob on my range directs the flow of heat for baking. When it's turned to "open", hot air moves under the stove's top surface, over the oven and directly out the chimney. Closing the draft forces heat above the oven and down its far side next to the hot water reservoir, where it ever tually escapes below and behind the baking area. This flu should be shut only when you want to turn out a batch a bread or whatever, or to warm the room in winter.

When you start a fire in your cookstove, all the grates, flue and dampers should be open to allow a free flow of air and t prevent smoking. If black clouds billow out anyhow, check the ash box. That may be your problem if it's more than three quarters full (in which case you'll also find it difficult to build a good hot fire).

Everything's clear and the stove persists in smoking? The cause may be the wind striking the chimney at exactly the wrong angle. Just grin and bear it. Of course, if the problem occurs constantly at certain seasons or whenever the breez, comes from a particular direction, you may want to ad another elbow to the stovepipe to minimize the downdraft This may make it difficult to start a fire when the stove t cold, but it sure beats being smoked out of the kitchen.

OK. You've set up your stove, you have a theoretical under standing of how the drafts work and you've finally got the hang of building a fire. Now you want to bake something. Start with an easy item like biscuits . . . an angel food cake difficult enough in a gas range.

First of all, remember that a wood-burning range will take somewhat longer to heat up than you're accustomed to. Start the fire, in other words, before you start the biscuits. Open all drafts, get the kindling blazing and add some larger pieces of wood. You may want to keep the air vent to the firebox open for a while until the fire is really roaring. Then shut that draft and listen to your cookstove heat up. Yes, listen! The iron expands and contracts as it heats and cools, with occasional creaking sounds that are very pleasant company early in the morning.

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