Last spring we had the pleasure of building an oven for Dan Greenspan in southern New Hampshire. Dan had been a working professional bass player for some twenty years, but was a little burnt out and ready for something new. So he followed his passion for bread baking and has now completed an addition to his home to include a bakery space and oven (pictured). Dan bakes a flemish style bread called desem. We were contacted by Dan mid winter 2011 and ready to build in mid spring. Antoine Guerlain completed most of the oven build, with Dan helping to get the foundation built and me eventually showing up for a few days. We choose a 4 x 6 interior hearth dimensioned oven, with 6-3/4 mass and plenty of insulation. We left the face of the oven set in rough 4" solid concrete block, ready to receive tile whenever Dan "gets around to it". Dan had picked up an amazing cast iron, forged steel, and brass riveted door at a second hand store some years previous- it had no pre-determined use at the time he bought it. We were able to make a frame for it and employ it as the ash box door for the oven. Also we used some additional space in the foundation for a "proofing room". Dan has been tweaking this little nook, but says it's service-able. That's on the lower left in the picture. The table slides in and out of the passage through the oven foundation.
It's been really nice to get to know Dan and his wife Mili (world class singer!) and be a witness to his excitement as he dials in his new operation. According to Dan, the new oven is "well behaved". I'll take that for positive feedback anyday!
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