There’s something about the smell of freshly baked bread filling the house. Having grown up in a 300 year old house with a beehive oven in the walk-in fireplace, us kids grew up baking our own bread. It’s a holiday tradition the grandkids now carry on.
With a fireplace like this, how could you not bake bread?!
Here’s a better look at the beehive oven hidden behind the hanging pot.
First, we’d get a roaring fire going in there. When it had burned down to coals, we’d push those aside, put in our loaves, and cover the front with a door. The bread always came out with a perfect golden crust housing a chewy delicious inside. Wood-fired pizza was a close second favorite. And then, of course, there were the roasted chestnuts on an open fire…
Needless to say, I got spoiled with the taste of these delectable delights. Now, the only kind of bread (and pizza) I really like is the kind I make myself. For some reason, it really does taste different and better. So, when I have the time, I go to this website, Cooking Bread (where you can find any kind of bread recipe you could ever want), and get baking.
We have a house built in 1776. As part of a renovation, we discovered remnants of a fire place – which my husband (an architect) figured out how to restore! Now, for Thanksgiving,we are going to try baking bread in the beehive oven! Can you recommend an initial bread recipe to try. Also – more details on how to make the right fire etc. (we do not have a door on our beehive oven – I wonder what we could use….
Looking forward to smelling that wonderful bread and would be Thankful for any help!
To make the fire, you may need to split whatever logs you have to get them small enough to fit in the oven. Good, dry wood is important. Arrange the logs like you’re building a fire outside, teepee fashion.Let the wood burn to coals and then push to the back of your oven. Place your loaf inside and check in 20 minutes for done-ness. You’re looking for a golden brown top. To make a covering, get a piece of plywood and cut to size to fit covering of beehive. Attach a handle to one side and cover the other side well with aluminum foil to reflect the heat from the wood. Then you should be good to go.
 Good luck and enjoy!
I am drooling over the fireplace, the possibilities of wood fired pizza and the idea of living in a 300 year old home. We have had a plan in the works for a decade to build a pizza oven outside. Baking bread is one of my passions! Thanks for the link and this lovely post.
Wow! What a great fireplace. My bread turned out more like a doorstop, but I love the smell (and taste) of freshly baked bread.
I kept making all sorts of bread last year, must take it up again. not the baking kind though, more the frying kind, chapathis, parothas, bhaturas, puris that sort of thing. It does taste better when you make it yourself.
Oh, this post makes me HUNGRY! Growing up we used to have fresh bread-home canned peaches dinners almost once a week. To me it remains one of the most exquisite meals ever!
A lovely oven.
I really wish this post came with smells.
:)
Oh my gawd I am so jealous! That is beautiful. Bread baking is one of my passions… the feel of that dough … the texture.. the shaping… all glorious miracles to me…
I would love to toss some bread in that oven.. oh my.. the pizza crusts! can you imagine!
You must try my rosemary garlic potato bread recipe… it’s incredible.
Jen, Oh yes, recipe please!!!
Favorite Aunty (now 91 years old) is a fabulous baker. Her kitchen always has smelled of cookies, cakes,fresh bread, butter and sugar-with a topping of love and happiness. Your fireplace is amazing but a gas stove sounds far more manageable.
That fireplace is beautiful! I could use it as an extra bedroom in my house! So, I take it you’re not making the bread in a bread-maker. I’ve had one for about five years and am embarrassed to say I’ve used it once!
Nutmeg, I have a big honkin’ gas stove that I love to cook on and in. :) Though I think bread-makers work just fine, I don’t need one more appliance on my counter-top.
You’re right…I’d be cooking at that hearth all the time!
Hey, I just remembered my grandmother. She used to bake bread and it was so good! I still remember that smell. And your fireplace is gorgeous. I wish I had one (but in a block of flats this would be a bit complicated).