Ten Years of Good WFO Eats!

Wow! Hard for me to believe: Ten Years, +Three Tons of Dough, and +5,400 Bread Loaves

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2019 was to try to be more consistent posting on this blog. I had come to the startling realization that from a dirt pad to a working WFO oven took about five months, the den enclosure for the oven was completed in about five months, and actually documenting the complete build through this blog is now approaching the 36 month mark (although I’m getting closer to finishing the original WFO build topic...so obviously, I’m improving my procrastination skills). At this point I thought it might be smart to at least confirm that we are extremely happy with the addition of the WFO and Dragonfly Den. Also, looking back at that first loaf of bread I baked in the WFO over 10 years ago, I’m amazed that Susan allowed me to continue baking for us and the neighbors. (I profoundly appreciate you continuing to read this blog after seeing pictures of that first loaf and first pizza...at least now people aren't feeling sorry for me anymore...I hope.) Since I told everyone that the oven and bread baking were intended to be my primary retirement project, I figured I needed to keep trying (I certainly didn’t want to go back to work–especially since I don’t think anyone would hire me now). Here’s my spreadsheet summary of dough product bakes for the period 2009 - 2018 just to prove I haven't been totally slacking off in my retirement (note: for those of you who are detail oriented, and blessed to see apparent discrepancies in text, titles, and stated numbers...the total loaves below are my loaves and do not include the nearly 1,000 guest baker loaves.)

As you can see, that couple of months at the end of 2009, saw only 10 loaves baked. I was only doing a basic bread from an Alton Brown’s Good Eats formula then, but it was still much better than what I could buy. In January and February of 2010, I starting to incorporate Chef Bill (my sourdough starter) to my bread doughs and using long, cold fermentation techniques. The three books that I considered really helpful to improving my bread during that time were The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart, and Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman. Our neighbor Diane is a great cook and loves to bake (as well as brew awesome beer). When she started to come down and bake bread with me, we shared a lot of bread making experiences (and her beer, of course). Since we had the oven fired up pretty much every week, another set of neighbors started to come down for fresh bread and conversation after the bake was done. Susan and Diane always shared recipes and ideas that always seemed to quickly evolve into gourmet meals that allowed us to all stretch our stomachs to the max. Diane’s husband Peter often brought down some tasty treat he’d made, while our other neighbors Bob & Deb pitched in with home made sausages and seasonally, white or black truffle laced appetizers.

Yes, we are officially spoiled now and refer to the six of us as the Densters...since we at least now had an enclosed area that seems like a pretty comfy den (especially after a couple of Diane’s great beers). Big jump from the 10 loaves of 2009 to over 370 loaves in 2010. Got a pretty good feel how to bake almost everything from baguettes to biscotti and soufflé to Thanksgiving turkey that year (even roasted asparagus & mushrooms). Definitely, baking output improved with practice and the realization that you can cook successfully most anything without a lot of temperature control. As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

 ... burp ...😎

We've Been Framed!

Time to start giving the set posts a real supporting role in this structure!

Double top plates were leveled and nailed to the posts. We started building roof trusses in the garage where we could lay them out flat and then bringing them out to set on the plates. Trusses were set at 16" centers on the top plate and 3/8" plywood sheeting was secured on top. One truss had to be “custom fitted” to go around the oven chimney stack.










The finished structure was not absolutely solid, so we added chunks of 4x4 at each post truss junction for bracing. That worked great and now we couldn’t budge the frame at all. Door frames were built and placed for the two entry door openings (front–French Doors set and back–wood cart access).

Horizontal boards and base plates were set between posts for attaching plywood skirting around the outside of the den. I borrowed a friend’s pickup and got some exterior plywood from the local Home Depot. Putting four full sheets of plywood on the outside corner of the den behind the oven, making it seem more like an enclosure for an entertaining place (instead of a car port for extremely small vehicles).

Next, we cut and placed pieces of plywood along the bottom and top of the den framing. Our intent was to have screened windows all around, so we could enjoy the great out of doors without the great out of doors residents (mosquitoes, yellow jackets, flies, etc.) enjoying us and our meals. 

Roofing felt and metal roofing sheets were put in place. Of course, a storm was predicted before I got the metal roof, so it was "throw all the scrap wood you can find up onto the roofing felt" so it doesn't blow off. Cutting and positioning the roofing metal around the chimney was a real adventure...I just don’t have the words to describe it...let me just say that the word kludge is now something with deep, personal relevance.

Kludge - A kludge or kluge (/klʌdʒ, kluːdʒ/) is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, evolutionary neuroscience, and government.
(Source: Wikipedia - not because I trust Wikipedia, far from it, but because it fits my definition of the word at this moment.)

With the roof on, the next job was addition of the window and door screening. Bob, our neighbor, is a fabulous wood worker and had some extra cedar molding pieces from their house build. We talked about the screen framing I envisioned and then we ripped the pieces needed for the job. Susan and I cut the metal window screening to length for each section. I wanted each section to be easy to replace (since I’d had a lot of experience going through screened doors as a kid). Each screen section was stretched tight and stapled in place.

Next, we put the cedar molding around each section to give it a finished look and to provide extra support for the staples (since I’d had extensive experience with staples pulling out when you least expected it). We did the same for the French Doors and back door. At last we had refuge from the elements and established for the critters in the area a "no flying or feeding zone".