Le Four à Pain
(The oven for bread)
The Four a Pain operated by the Historical Society is a recreation of the type of clay oven that was common throughout the lead mining area of Missouri in the late 1700 and early 1800s. Examples such as our French influenced oven, and similar styles of ovens, are in use by a variety of cultures throughout the world still today. Our oven is constructed of clay reinforced with straw. It sits on a base of native stone resting on hand-hewn timbers. There is no chimney; the door is the only opening. A second oven under construction will rest entirely on a bed of native stone reclaimed during the Casey Cabin move. The roof over the present structure is to provide longevity to the oven.
The bread baked in the oven is a modern yeast recipe. Traditionally, the leavening for the bread would have been a sourdough type starter. The base of the starter most likely would have been potatoes or flour. The amount of starter required for the typical run of several hundred loaves would be logistically impractical for our volunteers to manage. These homemade starters also give inconsistent results in the taste and the rising of the loaves due to the varying quality of the naturally occurring wild yeasts. The introduction of commercially produced yeast in 1876 created consistent quality with excellent leavening power. The use of modern yeast is a concession to time and to ensure quality and great tasting bread. The method of baking remains the same as our ancestors used 200 years ago.
Prior to baking the first loaves, the oven requires preheating. This is accomplished by building a wood fire on the floor inside the oven. This fire is kept going for 48 hours to thoroughly heat and dry the clay walls. Once this is accomplished, the fire is allowed to die slightly and the coals are raked from the oven. The internal oven temperature can reach over 500 degrees at this stage. The oven is allowed to cool, as needed, to a baking temperature of around 375 degrees. The traditional method for testing this temperature is to hold your fist in the door of the oven for ten seconds. This method is still used today (along with a small oven thermometer). About 20 loaves are then quickly loaded into the oven and the door is closed. One traditional practice was to quickly line the oven bottom with fresh grape leaves. The bread was then placed on top of the leaves to bake. We however, prefer to use pie tins. They give the traditional shape and are much easier to manage. The bread will take about 20 minutes to bake from the residual heat stored in the clay walls of the oven. No fire is present during baking. The door is opened near the end of the cycle and the bread is checked. Opening the door to check the progress of the bread lowers the oven temperature and is done quickly and only when absolutely necessary. Once the bread is removed, coals from the previous fire are placed back in the oven and a fire is again kindled to raise the temperature in the oven. This takes about 20 minutes. The fire is then allowed to die slightly and the coals are removed. Once the oven reaches baking temperature another batch is placed in the oven. One complete cycle takes just a little over an hour.
The bread baked in the oven is a modern yeast recipe. Traditionally, the leavening for the bread would have been a sourdough type starter. The base of the starter most likely would have been potatoes or flour. The amount of starter required for the typical run of several hundred loaves would be logistically impractical for our volunteers to manage. These homemade starters also give inconsistent results in the taste and the rising of the loaves due to the varying quality of the naturally occurring wild yeasts. The introduction of commercially produced yeast in 1876 created consistent quality with excellent leavening power. The use of modern yeast is a concession to time and to ensure quality and great tasting bread. The method of baking remains the same as our ancestors used 200 years ago.
Prior to baking the first loaves, the oven requires preheating. This is accomplished by building a wood fire on the floor inside the oven. This fire is kept going for 48 hours to thoroughly heat and dry the clay walls. Once this is accomplished, the fire is allowed to die slightly and the coals are raked from the oven. The internal oven temperature can reach over 500 degrees at this stage. The oven is allowed to cool, as needed, to a baking temperature of around 375 degrees. The traditional method for testing this temperature is to hold your fist in the door of the oven for ten seconds. This method is still used today (along with a small oven thermometer). About 20 loaves are then quickly loaded into the oven and the door is closed. One traditional practice was to quickly line the oven bottom with fresh grape leaves. The bread was then placed on top of the leaves to bake. We however, prefer to use pie tins. They give the traditional shape and are much easier to manage. The bread will take about 20 minutes to bake from the residual heat stored in the clay walls of the oven. No fire is present during baking. The door is opened near the end of the cycle and the bread is checked. Opening the door to check the progress of the bread lowers the oven temperature and is done quickly and only when absolutely necessary. Once the bread is removed, coals from the previous fire are placed back in the oven and a fire is again kindled to raise the temperature in the oven. This takes about 20 minutes. The fire is then allowed to die slightly and the coals are removed. Once the oven reaches baking temperature another batch is placed in the oven. One complete cycle takes just a little over an hour.
