by John Carter

Created on: October 22, 2008

How to build a dome topped oven

Whether you call it a dome topped oven, a Dutch oven, or a Hornito it is all the same thing. No colonial household was complete without a Dutch oven built into the chimney next to the kitchen fireplace. The oven was built into the chimney when the house was built as part of the chimney and was equipped with its own flue. The domed roof of the oven caused the heat to be reflected downwards into the oven.

A fire was lit in the rear of the oven; the smoke and heat was directed over the ceiling of the oven. The smoke and heat exited the oven through a flue that was located over the door at the front of the oven. In a modern oven we are able to control the heat with a thermostat. This was not possible in a dome topped oven the amount of heat was a function of where it was placed inside the oven. You can use a modern oven thermometer to find the different zones of heat in the oven. The greatest heat is close to the fire, the least heat is close to the door with all kinds and levels of heat between the door and the fire.

The dome topped oven is still in many parts of the world for baking bread and pastries as well as roasting meat. There are several of these ovens in use in the Gaspe region of Quebec for baking bread. They are also in use in some pizzerias to bake pizzas. Its use and construction goes back to ancient days.

To construct one you build a solid chimney base up ten courses of brick. You can leave part of the base hollow, but fill it full of dry sand. The floor of the oven should be two layers of brick thick. The oven is about four feet in diameter with the oven itself being rounded. A gap is made in the front of this circular opening about four bricks wide. These measurements assume that you are using standard 4x4x8 inch bricks. By transposing these measurements the oven can also be built from concrete or mud. Once you have laid out this circular shape build it up straight for four bricks high, and two bricks thick. Allow the mortar to thoroughly set.

Now comes the tricky part; making the dome. This has caused some ingenious methods, but it is best to meet the KISS principle. (Keep It Simple Stupid.) What actually forms the dome is accomplished by filling the oven with wet sand. This sand is heaped up over the top of the straight part of the oven. The wet sand is then shaped by hand into a dome shaped heap sticking up above the top of the oven by several inches. The bricks are laid over the top of this dome thus forming the dome shaped ceiling of the oven. Once the mortar has thoroughly set; the sand is shoveled out of the front door of the oven. Then an opening over the top of the door is bricked out over the straight part of the door to accommodate the flue for the oven.

Then the rest of the chimney is constructed with the appropriate flues and other openings for fireplaces, etc.

Learn more about this author, John Carter.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.