Cook for a Night and Eat for a Week with a Wood-Fired Oven

Reader Contribution by Carrie Williams Howe
Published on September 9, 2016
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About 3 years ago, my husband took a continuing education class on how to build a clay wood-fired oven. He was immediately hooked – and so was I! Within about a month, he had designed and started building an oven in our backyard.

About 18 months later, we found the homestead of our dreams and I had to promise him that we would hire someone to help build an oven at the new house. It was the first project we completed and has been one of the most rewarding accomplishments of our homestead in the 15 months we have been here.

One of our favorite things to do with the oven is a long baking and cooking session that makes the most of the various cooking environments of which the oven is capable. It takes a bit of practice, but once you master the art of raising and lowering the temperature in your wood-fired oven you can plan a sequence of delicious recipes that will not only feed you that night, but leave you with the building blocks for a week-long menu of easy-to-prepare meals.

A bonus is that spending time at our outdoor oven with a glass of wine on a lovely late summer evening is one of the best ways I know of to remind us why we work so hard on our homestead in the first place.

Here’s a glimpse into what you can do with an outdoor oven – a sample menu from a recent marathon session at the oven (during the height of tomato and zucchini season).  We highly suggest planning your menu and prep all of the ingredients ahead of time so that you are ready to go when the oven is lit.

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