Over the past 12 years, Warwick Quinton has co designed a large number of commercial woodfired ovens. He has also worked extensively with the refinement of one particular design. That design has been at the center of his bakery for the past 8 years.

This oven, known on these pages as Luna, was mostly made from steel, so it was able to be fabricated and then transported anywhere. While the design has proven very successful in a number of micro bakeries around Australia, the level of fabrication, and especially the cost of steel involved in building the oven, has made it very expensive to make. Startup bakeries simply can’t justify the expense of one of these ovens. It takes a lot of loaves to pay one off!

The Heart of the Bakery

Micro bakeries stand or fall on the efficiency of their oven. It is the most essential tool of the trade. Their oven needs to be fast, easy to use, energy efficient and easy to maintain. It needs to be a reliable workhorse, year in and year out. The longer an oven lasts, the more cost effective it becomes. It truly is the heart of the bakery.

Artisan style bakeries need a very special piece of baking equipment to bake bread. A good oven sets them apart from the competition. Their oven needs to be able to get a great crust, and provide maximum lift for their bread. They also need a large enough capacity oven to be able to bake hundreds of loaves in any baking session, and to be able to bake them quickly, so that they are not tied to the oven for hours on end trying to make enough bread to make a profit.

Warwick is keenly aware of this, and has for many years been at the forefront of designing ovens to suit proper artisan bakers. The concept of ‘third world simple’ has been top of mind in his design process. He has been instrumental in driving simple technology further, to make it clean and super efficient without using electricity or gas. His innovations around firebox design for indirect (white) ovens, as well as live steam systems for them, has meant bakers now have great tools to work with.

Direct vs Indirect woodfired ovens

Most woodfired ovens are known as ‘direct’ ovens, as the fire is inside the baking chamber, heating the baking surface directly - as you might see in a pizza restaurant. They heat the baking chamber from the inside out, and need to be re fired a number of times when baking large amounts.

‘Indirect’ ovens have a separate firebox, which sends the hot flue gases around the outside of the baking chamber. The baking chamber is heated from the outside in. This type of oven has the big advantage of being able to be run continuously without having to re-fire between loads. The more they bake, the better they get.

Indirect ovens are very efficient to run, and use substantially less fuel than typical ‘direct’ wood fired ovens. In fact, when timber offcut is used as fuel, an indirect woodfired oven is way cheaper to run than comparable electric or gas or ‘direct’ woodfired ovens. In addition, an indirect oven can also utilise alternate fuels such as biochar, which in turn can be created from food or bread waste.

An affordable bakery tool

Warwick has now rethought his original design, with the aim of making an affordable and high quality oven for startup bakeries and journeyman bakers alike. This new design moves away from using a lot of steel and steel fabrication, thus reducing cost substantially. When he made his first version, he utilised brick as his primary material. The oven proved to be superior in many ways, and not just from a cost perspective. The bread baked in the first prototype had a larger bloom (kick) and better crust than Warwick had experienced in the past. It also heated up more quickly from cold, and the firebox transmitted the heat around the baking chamber more evenly.

Warwick has now committed the full brick design to a step by step ‘Do It Yourself’ guide, which can be built by anyone who has basic handyperson skills and equipment. The DIY approach means that people can gather their own materials, and by following his simple plans, create a Commercial Baker’s Oven from scratch. Warwick provides support and knowhow as you go, so you will be approaching the job with confidence.

The oven can be configured for bread, or pastries, or both. It has 2.5 metres of deck space (in ‘bread’ mode, and twice that in ‘pastry’ mode), and yet only has a footprint of 1.5 m2. The design has live steam, and a number of possible options regarding construction detail, so the baker can customise their oven to suit their budget and specific application requirements.

The plans provide a layer by layer map of the oven’s construction, as well as a breakdown of materials required, and various options for fitout of the oven. There are also comprehensive supporting notes around the construction of the oven, with lots of detail and drawings to illustrate things. It is done in a way that ordinary people can understand. Warwick also provides ongoing support during the construction and commissioning phases of your project (with no time limit). You can ring, email or video conference him at any time as often as you like.

The Commercial Baker’s Oven will take some time to build, and will quite possibly present you with challenges along the way. However, it will outperform most other ovens, and it will be a dream to use. It is designed to be able to be easily maintained, so the life span of the oven will be very long indeed. Most of it can be made from recycled materials if you choose to do so. Materials for the oven are easily sourced, whether new or recycled, as they are commonly used. Fabrication is straightforward and well within the skillset of your average handyperson.

If you would like to discuss the idea of building your own wood fired oven with Warwick, ring

0409 480 750.