Beehive oven
Encyclopedia
A beehive oven is an early type of oven
. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive, and was in common use in the Americas and Europe from the Middle Ages to the advent of the gas and electric ovens. Beehive ovens were common in households used for baking pie
s, cake
and meat
. Ovens were used in industry prior to the Industrial Revolution
, in such applications as making tiles and pots and turning coal
into coke
.
, most households had a beehive oven.
Bread
was usually baked in it once a week, often in conjunction with pies, crackers, or other baked goods.
To heat the oven, the baker
would heap coals and kindling
inside and wait several hours. Then, he or she would test to see if it was hot enough to bake in by sticking a hand into the oven. If the hairs singed off, then the oven was hot enough.
Oven
An oven is a thermally insulated chamber used for the heating, baking or drying of a substance. It is most commonly used for cooking. Kilns, and furnaces are special-purpose ovens...
. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of an old-fashioned beehive, and was in common use in the Americas and Europe from the Middle Ages to the advent of the gas and electric ovens. Beehive ovens were common in households used for baking pie
Pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients....
s, cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
and meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
. Ovens were used in industry prior to the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, in such applications as making tiles and pots and turning coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
into coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
.
Use In Colonial America
In the thirteen coloniesThirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
, most households had a beehive oven.
Bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
was usually baked in it once a week, often in conjunction with pies, crackers, or other baked goods.
To heat the oven, the baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
would heap coals and kindling
Kindling
Kindling is a term to describe small pieces of wood and twigs used to start a fire.Kindling may also refer to:* Kindling, a 1915 film directed by Cecil B...
inside and wait several hours. Then, he or she would test to see if it was hot enough to bake in by sticking a hand into the oven. If the hairs singed off, then the oven was hot enough.