We knead to bake!

Saint Paul Bread Club Outdoor Oven Field Trip (June 30, 2004)

When did we go? June 30, 2004, arriving at 10 a.m.

Where did we go? We went to the farm and home of Robbi Bannen and Ted Fisher, (715) 448-4802, N2956 Anker Ln, Stockholm, WI 54769.

How long were we there? Until about 1 p.m.

How long did it take to get there? Depending on where we started, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

What did we do? Baked bread and clover leaf rolls in a retained heat oven.

There were eleven visitors from the bread club to Stockholm.

• David Cargo and Judie Cilcain
• Steve and Crystal Carlson
• Rachelle and Molly Dupey
• Jill Lindahl
• Carol and Berny Sturgeleski
• Lon and Vicky Weise

David Cargo make two loaves of sourdough bread and two loaves of white bread.

Jill Lindahl make a loaf of basic white bread made with taro flour from Hawaii and a loaf of Swedish Cardamom bread.

Carol Sturgeleski made cloverleaf rolls.

Lon Weise made a loaf of white bread.

These photos were shared with us by Lon Weise.

Field Trip Narrative

I had planned this field trip after I had met Ted Fisher and Bobbi Bannen when they were catering a luncheon at my church. When I talked to Ted about bread and his oven and the bread club, he thought he would be willing to have us visit. In only a couple of weeks, we settled on a date, sent out a call for participation, and arranged for the trip.

I planned to bring bread that would be ready to bake in the three-hour window of our visit, a sourdough that was moderately slow to rise, and a plain white bread that could stand up to five risings. On the trip from Saint Paul to Stockholm, I had to stop and punch the white bread down twice as it wanted to lift the lid on its container.

Judie Cilcain and I saw a few cars that seemed to be heading the same way at the same time; one of them turned out indeed to be some other bread club members. We had the advantage of knowing about where we were going.

Ted and Robbi were wonderful hosts; they provided fresh salad, homemade salad dressings, plates and forks, two fresh pizzas, and reheated, left-over pizza. They were very warm and welcoming, and so was the rest of their family.

Strawberries were made available on a "you pick" basis. We got tours of parts of the farm, including the green house.

They didn't want any money, but we passed a hat anyway. I had brought them a chocolate cake as a "thank you" gift, and they shared that after lunch.

Ted described some of the characteristics on baking with his hearth oven.

• Sourdough breads seem to do better in the oven; ones with sugar, butter, or oil tend to brown a lot faster.
• Bread, pizza, and other things go in on narrow or wide peels.
• The oven takes a day to heat up. Part of that is heating time, and part is for the heat to distribute itself more evenly.
• Ted Fisher recommends the book, The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens, by Daniel Wing, Alan Scott. That book talks about both bread (from a scientific view) and masonry ovens.
• Bread in the oven bakes very quickly; my loaves of 21 and 19 ounces cooked in about 10 minutes (or so it seemed). Ted says his two-pound loaves bake in 15 minutes.
• When fully heated, pizzas cook in about 2 1/2 minutes.

The Bogus Creek Cafe and Bakery in Stockholm, WI, has a bread club, but it's a different type of bread club. (It's like a patronage system, where you get a free loaf of bread after buying some number of loaves.)

Designed by David S. Cargo © 2004 David S. Cargo