Mud Oven

• The mud oven has a floor built of red bricks on a level bed of tamped sand. The dome of the oven is made from mud shaped on a form of wet sand. Wet newspaper covers the sand form and serves to keep the mud from sticking to the sand form. A layer of mud 3 to 4 inches thick is applied over the wet newspaper. This layer is packed or tamped using a board until it sits solidly against the sand form. After the first layer is dry, another layer of mud can be added and packed. When the oven walls are thick enough and dried, a layer of plaster can be added for a nice finish.
  
  A door must be cut that is 63 percent of the height and 1/3 to ½ the diameter of the inside of the oven. The door size is sketched on the outside of the oven where it will be located. While the mud is still soft enough to work with but firm enough to hold its shape (leather-hard), a hand-sized hole is cut and enlarged to a narrow channel. The oven is dried for a few days, then the rest of the door is carved out using a spoon or piece of wood and the sand form is removed until the newspaper lining is reached. The door opening is smoothed using a spoon.
  
  The door opening is traced onto a piece of paper and is cut from a piece of hardwood. The door doesn't have to be a perfect fit. When the oven is in use, the door can be draped with a wet cloth to keep it from charring and it will also add moisture to the bake. For additional moisture, the door can be soaked in water before use. Another way to avoid charring on the door is to cover it with foil.
  
  

Preparing the New Oven for Use

• Begin using the oven by building a fire on the floor of the dome without the door in place. Allow the fire to burn for two to three hours, letting the oven temperature to rise steadily. When the black soot on the inside of the oven is no longer visible, the oven is ready for use.
  
  

To Bake

• The coals are removed, the oven floor swept clean and it is ready to use. Heat rises from the oven floor for baking and radiates from the oven walls equally so there are no hot or cool spots, creating even baking. A thermometer will help you know when the temperature is correct for baking.