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Curing your oven.
Your oven now needs to be cured. By building a series of 4 increasingly larger fires the oven is gradually
brought up to its normal operating temperature. If you begin with large fires right away you will compro-
mise your oven’s longevity and the ability to cook well, and cause thermal stress which on an uncured
refractory can cause cracking.
First let the completed oven sit for a week to dry all the moisture out, then start a series of small fires to the
following schedule. Monitor the oven temperature with the door thermometer or the optional hand held
infrared thermometer. It is tricky to maintain an even temperature but is also a really good way to learn
how the fire works in the oven and mastering the art of feeding the fire to control the heat.
DAY 1 Maintain a oven temperature of 300 deg F throughout the day and as long into the evening as pos-
sible (close up the oven overnight.)
DAY 2 repeat at 350 deg F
DAY 3 repeat at 400 deg F
DAY 4 repeat at 500 deg F
With the door closed the temperature will hold for a long time, so rather than tending the oven all day,
build enough of a fire to get to the desired temp, let the fire die down and close the door and a few hours
later start another fire to raise the temp again.
Firing and operation
For best results with the least smoke, it is really important to use dry wood. Maple or alder or other hard-
woods work best. Do not use resinous wood like fir, as this will give an acrid taste to the food. Small
kindling size pieces work best, burn well and produce the least smoke.
To start the fire, cedar kindling works well and a small hand held propane torch is excellent to ignite
the wood. Once the kindling is well alight, introduce the hardwood sticks approx 1” x 1” to the fire.
The fire should be built in the centre of the oven, then moved to the side for cooking.
The oven floor bricks are intended for direct baking of pizza and breads. All other food products should be
contained within approved cookware. Stainless steel pans and some non stick pans work well, but make
sure they are all metal construction as plastic will melt in the oven! Good quality long sleeve oven gloves
are essential for use with your oven. The oven door is insulated and at low temperatures the handles are
relatively cool , but at high oven temperatures gloves will be needed.
The oven temperature can be monitored with the oven door thermometer or with the optional hand held
digital infrared thermometer.
Only clean the floor with the copper brush from the tool kit, do not use steel wire brushes or natural fibre
brushes.
Do not close the oven door fully while there is fire in the oven. This will cut off oxygen and cause the fire to
erupt when the door is removed..
The oven should be operated only with the door fully open or fully closed. If there are flames in the oven
always have the door open. If there is no fire (flames) in the oven, the door can be fully closed to retain the
heat for baking and roasting etc.
Ashes should be left to fully cool and placed in a metal container with a tight fitting lid. Beware of hot
ashes near combustible materials and sparks and hot embers falling on stored kindling.
Содержание Umbria modular oven
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