An efficient bread oven can be made very easily in the bush. Its important to select a spot that is sandy and well-drained; the permafrost level will be deep and the sand will hold the heat better. Dig a square hole and if possible, place flat stones on the bottom. Build a fire in the hole and keep it burning while the bread is rising. We used some heavy screening as a basket to hold the pieces of burning wood. This made it a lot easier to remove the fire later in order to place the dough in the oven.

By the time the dough has risen two or three times, depending on the recipe, the sand around the oven is very hot and is ready to receive the panned dough. You can also place the dough directly on those flat stones after brushing off the ash with the tip of a spruce bough. In either case, don't leave the oven open any longer than is necessary.

We then closed the oven with a section of stove pipe that was lying about and an old sheet metal tray. The basket of fire was placed on this cover and a slow fire kept going while the bread baked. This heat was necessary to help colour the top of the bread.


Although one of the loaves received a bit too much heat from above, the dark crust didn't discourage people from sampling the product very soon after it was removed from the oven!

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