February 11, 2014 - 11:50am
Wood-fired versus kitchen oven
Some home-built ovens are domed rather than boxy. Is that just a design choice, are there practical reason for this shape?—Strength, ease of construction, conservation of building materials, or efficiency?
Suppose the ceiling of the baking chamber is parabolic, so the heat is focused. Is that a good thing (saves fuel), or is it better to diffuse the heat for more even cooking (to avoid burning a hole through the middle of the loaf)?
Janet
For bread the main thing seems to be a lower ceiling be it domed or arched. Lower ceiling holds the steam closer to the bread. As far as round vs square to rectangular goes, It comes down to preference or in my case, what I thought I could build cheaply. The cob oven was much cheaper than a brick oven would have been.