For the next six weeks, while I’m in my kitchen in the country, I’m embracing a new rhythm – cooking exclusively on the fire. The new wood stove. No gas, just flames. Cooking with fire is slower, more contemplative.
This is cooking as it once was – rooted in patience, presence, planning and flames. How’s that for an alliteration!
Yesterday I baked bread with fire. Then wrote a new bread recipe for my Little Book.
Hauled straw for Jude and FreeBee.
Tomorrow I will shut the PopPops in the field and see what happens. Will they escape now they are bigger? Then clean out their bed. These are the grubbiest pigs I have ever known.
The cows got two bales of hay and today I will walk the fences.
I will clean out the chickens water bowl. Fix the light. And add more leaf bedding.
Soon I will begin a deep clean in the cow shed.
Mother in Laws lunch will be last nights stew cooked on fire.
This year is either going to go very, very fast or very, very slow. I am not sure yet. But I know for sure I am not going to be bored.
To bake the bread yesterday morning, I stoked the fire until it roared, opening the lever to let the flames whip through the oven. As the coals deepened, heat intensified and the oven heated up. I put the Dutch oven in to heat.
There is no accurate way to judge the temperature so I opened the door and felt the heat with my hand. I had roasted potatoes in it the day before to work out the hot spots so when I popped the dough into the cast iron I placed it in the oven right to the back and on the left of the oven closer to the fire.
I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful spring of the bread when I took off the lid and returned it to the oven to brown for a further 30 minutes.
I made a little video for you.
This is the finished loaf. It is crunchier than in the gas oven. Lighter almost. And I had no clue how hot the oven was. So I am not even bothering to worry about those numbers.
Then I long-cooked a stew and it came out dark brown and delicious. Heaving with vegetables.
I cannot bear to waste the cooking heat the fire is making. That oven calls to me. Everything is cooked either on the stove top or in the oven. So I will make the most of it before I go to Melbourne to be her doula and Nanny Granny. And cook on nothing but fire until I leave.
Later I will write Thursdays post for SubStack. In case you missed it here is ALL of Alice read by Cecilia. The Bedtime Stories. We have finished Alice in Wonderland and I will begin reading Wind in The Willows in a week.
Time for me to get busy now. Get that fire stoked up and bake another loaf of bread! I wish I had more people to feed!
Take care and talk soon.
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
39 responses to “cooking with fire: a six week challenge”
When I lived on the mountain I sometimes had to cook on my woodstove. I acquired a range of trivets so I could moderate the heat of the hotplates a little, and at times I found I needed to keep a kettle on the stove to put a little moisture in the air. I had a kettle that tootled a melodious “oooooooooh” instead of whistling, which was a lot less annoying. Bread I did in a camping oven, and scooped coals to put on the top. I’m told you gauge the heat by the feel on your face when you open the door, and that there are different woods for different types of cooking. Something slow-burning for stews, something hot and fast for bread, fruitwood for cakes, etc. You’ll get the hang of it!
Lovely !
It is! Cooking and warming at the same time.
Cooking with fire demands precision and adaptability. Your commitment to mastering this traditional method is commendable. The unpredictability of temperature control without modern gauges challenges even seasoned cooks. Your success with bread and stew indicates a sharp learning curve. Maintaining consistent heat and managing hot spots are critical; your hands-on approach reflects a practical understanding. Continuous experimentation will refine your skills. Embracing such challenges fosters resilience and self-reliance. Your journey is worth following.
Well thank you Rafaela! What a comprehensive comment! It is true about temp control – which is why I wave my hand inside the oven to test its heat!
I remember my aunties old wood oven .. made wonderful scones 😊