Maine Wood Heat Company LE PANYOL 66, Construction Manual

Page: 5 / 55

Preface
5
Just south of Lyon, on the banks of the
Rhone River, lies a storied deposit of “Terre
Blanche”—the “White Earth” of Larnage.
This special clay, exceptional in its purity and
composition, bears two of France’s greatest
treasures: the renown Hermitage wines and
the revered wood fired ovens of the French
baking tradition.
“Terre Blanche” consists of just two
all natural, 100% organic ingredients:
feldspar and kaolin. It is the result of rare
geologic conditions in which a prehistoric
Mediterranean flood slowly degraded an
ancient deposit of granite over a period of
thousands of years.
The pure “White Earth”—available from a
single quarry in the entire world—yields both
the distinctive earthy tones of the Hermitage
wines and the unique thermal properties that
make Le Panyol wood fired ovens so special.
Le Panyol harvests the material with care
and consistency, removing it from the earth’s
surface without the use of explosives or
invasive mining techniques. Traditional
production methods endure today, passed
down from generation to generation
throughout the company’s 150-year history.
The final product today, as it was in 1840,
is always a beautiful, highly efficient, 100%
organic wood fired oven core. No additives,
chemicals or catalysts are involved in the
creation of any of the individual all-natural
earthenware oven elements. For as the French
say, “Du feu sort le four, Du four sort le
pain”—From the oven born of fire comes the
bread born of fire.
When one travels in France, it is possible to
see and enjoy the products of many, many
traditional wood fired ovens. From the
smallest villages to the largest cities, in private
homes, communal ovens and commercial
bakeries, the name etched just inside the
oven door will almost inevitably indicate
that it is composed entirely of the famous
“Terre Blanche de Larnage”—Now available
exclusively from Le Panyol.
Terre Blanche is:
• Pure- You can bake the best breads, crispy,
chewy pizza crusts, and delectable roasted
meats right on the hearth tiles.
• Efficient- By balancing the stored and
radiant energy of a fire, a Le Panyol comes
online quickly (less than 45 minutes) and
holds heat longer, consuming 1/2 to 1/4 of the
fuel required by other ovens.
• Durable- With no mortar joints and a
superior resistance to thermal shock, each
oven is built for the enjoyment of generations
to come. Many100-year-old ovens are still
in production today in traditional French
bakeries.
• Versatile- It has been said that a bread oven
is a pizza oven, but a pizza oven is not a bread
oven. We say, “Why stop at pizza and bread?”
The “White Earth” hearth is ideal for roasting
meats and vegetables, too.
• Tested and True- “Terre Blanche” has been
quarried for the production of earthenware
cooking vessels since the days of the Roman
Empire—over 1000 years!
As the exclusive North American Le Panyol
importer, the Maine Wood Heat Company is
proud to bring an authentic, artisan crafted,
100% organic wood fired oven core to the
United States and Canada.