Genre: Instruction

How to build a cob oven -- step 1 I will now describe the first stages of how we built our cob oven; this process took us a few months as we needed to collect the materials first and we were determined to use as many recycled or free items as possible for this. There are many ways and shapes you can build your oven, and you can use different materials. We often hear TV chefs referring to these ovens as bread or pizza ovens....but you can do MUCH more than that in one of these! 'Cob' is an ancient building material, used the world over since the 11 th and 12 th centuries. Traditional 'English' cob was made by mixing a clay based soil with sand, straw and water. It is easy to learn how to make, fireproof and inexpensive, resistant to rain and cold. The big plus is that it is easy to form by hand and can be moulded into any shape you wish. We decided on a traditional rounded shape and as the first step is to make a very strong base so you can wide topped garden wall. A reinforced flat concrete base was needed on which to build. We had to purchase the cement and sand needed for this from a local builders yard, the cement and sand , of course, was purchased new...this was however our only main but necessary  expense . The materials for the cob used were local clay, sand and straw. To create the wall firebricks from old electric storage heater units were used. These have proved to be excellent as they retain the heat longer than normal bricks. Collecting enough firebricks was what took us so long to get started -- we got them from local Freecycle groups, recycling yards, house clearance ...in fact anywhere we could! Some were even brought down from holiday trips to the other side of the country once friends and family knew we were collecting them. Once we had sufficient a plan was sketched and measurements taken -- the door had to be wide enough to put in the heavy duty cast iron cookware and inside we needed it big enough to put two layers of cooking shelves. We also decided to have a chimney which was a little more difficult and not really necessary but well worth the effort. As each layer of bricks were laid the oven had to be left to dry out, so we continued to collect things we would need. A local wood yard has a skip of wood offcuts that can be had for free with permission from the owners, we had trees to lop, and often friends would donate their unwanted logs. Gradually a good supply of free fuel was collected and stored away in a dry place. Then there were the cooking implements to acquire! The heat in the oven would melt any normal cookware so I had to source some good th ick old fashioned cast iron pans. I found a couple of big casserole pots, some heavy cast frying pans and a baking tray. The frying pans had their wooden handles removed and are ideal for putting a roast of meat in. The tray is great for baked potatoes. The casserole dish is used for potatoes and vegetables or for a meaty casserole. I will put some of my recipes on my blog later. ALL my pots and pans are well cleaned up and are from either car boot sales or jumble sales; none cost more than 3.00. I keep them oiled up with a smear of Olive Oil to stop them rusting through and this also gives a slight non stick effect. Last but not least you need some good thick welding gloves to use to get your food out of the oven!