Category Archives: The Common

Beehive (Cob) Oven: A Roof Overhead

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Ft Commander

The last piece to the Fort’s Beehive Oven is a cover.  We weighed the various options and decided to go with a single slant roof elevated several feet over the oven.  Of course it took a “design team,” “framer,” rough … Continue reading →

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Between Baking and Building: The Journey of a Beehive (Cob) Oven

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Ft Commander

Before one can use a cob oven (cob meaning earth or in this instance clay, sand, water and a smattering of straw) there is the necessary–and often long–drying period.  The cob needs to dry (outside and inside) and harden, forming … Continue reading →

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Rebuilding a Beehive (Cob or Bake) Oven

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Ft Commander

The first weekend of May began with our Beehive Oven Workshop.  Ed Murphy, leading the workshop was anxious to get things underway.  First folks sieved the clay to remove any stray bits, then sand and water were mixed with the … Continue reading →

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Building a Beehive (Cob or Bake) Oven: Take Down

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Ft Commander

Some times repair work requires a little dis-assembly. In the case of the fort’s well-loved beehive bake oven, almost everything, roof, oven, oven base, had to be  taken apart so that we might start anew. The roof came off easily, … Continue reading →

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Building a Beehive (Cob) Oven: The Fort’s Community Oven

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Ft Commander

The fort’s community oven (beehive) has served the fort for more than two decades.  After so many years of hard service, our oven is ready for major repairs.  While we make plans to work on our oven, we thought that … Continue reading →

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Building a Beehive Oven (Cob or Outdoor Bread Oven): Research

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Ft Commander

While doing some research in preparation for our upcoming beehive (cob) oven rebuild we came across some interesting materials.  Among these, from the Canadian Museum of Civilization, is the Book The Bread Ovens of Quebec (BOILY, Lise, and Jean-François Blanchette. … Continue reading →

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Building a Beehive Oven (Cob or Outdoor Bread Oven)

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Ft Commander

Rebuilding the Fort’s Beehive Oven Continue reading →

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From Hannah Glass’ “The Art of Cookery Plain and Easy” (1760) take a pound of loaf sugar, beat and sift it a pound of flour, well dried a pound of butter eight eggs half a pound of currant, washed and … Continue reading →

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Ft Commander | Leave a comment

One of the may recipes to be found in Foods From the Fort offered in our bookstore is Oatmeal Bread.  To make the bread you will need: 1 cup rolled oates 2 cups boiling water 1 package active dry yeast … Continue reading →

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Ft Commander | Leave a comment