Bread in a Russian oven

Every nation has its own culinary traditions in all ages. For the Russian people, the main asset is bread. Baking depends on the technology, hence the color of the crust, the taste and aroma of the product. The quality is primarily affected by the baking time and the heating of the dough in the oven.

Before you start baking bread, the Russian oven is cleaned of the remaining ash, and then heated. For this it is enough to burn about ten logs. At the same time, they should be the same and dry, this will allow them to burn out simultaneously and quickly. The logs are laid out in the form of a lattice, and a kindling is laid between them. Then it is set on fire and with the help of a poker is moved to the back, while it is important not to break the fire. With such a layout of firewood, they burn down in about an hour, the oven is ready for baking bread.

At all times, human life was associated with fire, it warmed, fed, protected. In Russia, massive ovens have always been placed in houses. They were used for cooking, drying things and products, as beds and baths. For a long time the Russian oven served our ancestors. She carried warmth into the house, was a wet nurse. And only it turned out real Russian bread. There were a lot of ways of baking bread, and every housewife had his own corporate recipe. Now the bread is baked in a frying cupboard, an electric bread maker. But modern bread can not be compared to the one that was made in the old days.

The Russian oven is not only warm and cozy, but also the quietest place in the house. This is both a home and a sacred place for any Russian home. Well, most importantly, she is a nurse, she was used to cook food, bake cakes and bread. In addition, the Russian oven was a kind of healer, because of the warmth, with great success healed catarrhal diseases.

In the old days, the behavior of the oven in the hut could predict the weather. If the draft in the furnace is strong, then soon there will be frost, a weak draft predicting wet weather. If the firewood is crackling and the fire is red, there will be severe frosts, a white fire - to warming and thawing.

The Russian stove was often mentioned in proverbs, bylins, sayings and fairy tales. And this influenced the traditions of the Russian people.

The first stoves were made of clay. But by the beginning of the 16th century, a burnt brick had come in to replace the clay, and smoke had appeared over the roofs. All the smoke went to the attic, and from there came in a wooden smokehouse. After some time, the chimney system changed to a pipe.

In the 16th century, the stove makers came up with a new way to remove smoke. There was a hood, it was called a smoke box. With their help, traction improved, combustion increased, but fires increased. There was a need for safer brick pipes. But such a pleasure could afford only wealthy people.

Peter the First issued a decree prohibiting the construction of stoves with wooden pipes. Thanks to this, factories for the manufacture of bricks began to be built. There were also certain requirements for the laying of certain elements.

But times change. Many owners of private cottages and country cottages often recall the stoves that created home comfort and warmth. Not only grills and barbecue stoves became popular, but also Russian stoves.

Modern cooking includes many complexes, from the function of cooking to an extraordinary decor. These are fireplaces, barbecue ovens, pizza ovens , barbecues. But the most powerful hearth for home and comfort is the Russian stove.

In fact, the Russian stove, it's a kind of fireplace. And if the fireplace brings only heat to the house, and you can cook with the help of a spit. That in the Russian oven is "Russian character", it is able to store heat in the house for a long time, and the food is cooked not on fire, but inside the oven, once all the firewood is burned.

Russian stoves of our ancestors return to modern houses. Despite many changes, it still plays an important role in the comfort and warms not only the home but also the soul.