About our service and the ovens themselves

These ovens are designed specifically for bread and pastry baking, and can be used for smoking, drying, roasting and most other baking. They are capable of being used continuously and are ideal for small to medium sized micro bakery applications. They have a larger capacity than a Rofco oven but occupy only a slightly larger footprint. They can be used indoors provided there is adequate exhaust ventilation.

As a result of many years of prototyping small and medium sized commercial ovens, Warwick Quinton has settled on two designs which can be commissioned and built as a service at our site on the mid north coast NSW, and then freighted or delivered to your site when complete.

These ovens are transportable and easy to relocate within your premises.

The ovens use a unique gasification system Warwick has developed over the past five years. This system allows the ovens to burn cleanly after heating up, effectively burning their own smoke. The longer they burn, the cleaner they get.

The ovens have a firebox underneath, and are very simple to fire up, use and maintain. They run very cleanly, and can be de-ashed in minutes.

The price quoted contains up to 150 hours labour and maximum 30% of the total price as the 'materials' budget. This is an average build time and budget for these ovens and represents a likely base price. We keep detailed build diaries, and photograph each stage. Each oven is built to a plan, but with all bespoke items, variations to the plan or materials can cause time or budget blowouts, and we have a policy of keeping our clients well abreast of any issues before they occur. Extra labour/materials are costed and quoted, and invoiced upon completion.

The build philosophy

These ovens are a one time purchase, so they need to be simple and robust. There is nothing to break, and provided they are used in accordance with general common sense, i.e., keeping them clean and running them the way we will instruct you to, they will keep going for as long or longer than you will. And, because the majority of the ovens are brick and mortar, cracks and wear over time can be mortared over.

We use repurposed materials wherever possible. Some materials are purchased new, as they are not to be found elsewhere. At other times certain materials become scarce, and we have to search for them. As such, when we take on a commission, we will discuss a likely time frame for your build, which can vary according to availability of materials. Preference for specific materials may incur extra cost, though the budget system does allow for this. Variations on the designs are possible, but also may incur extra labour costs.

Both oven designs are built on sturdy castors, have steel frames, and are made from regular, stamped (3 hole) and fire bricks. The castors are swivel and two lock, so the oven can be easily moved once onsite.

They are insulated using a lightweight clay/perlite render and bagged in your choice of colour.

The ovens are set up using cast steel plates as removable or semi static baking shelves. These are baking shelves, and can be easily slid in and out.

The Direct Oven

A direct oven is also known as a 'black' oven, due to the smoke being flued directly through the baking chamber.

This one has 4 removable steel plates, as well as a steel base plate to bake on. This means you have 5 baking decks, each one holding approximately 4 large free form loaves. The oven will accept triplet tins, dutch ovens, cake molds or whatever. Deck size is 400 x 500mm, but can handle trays up to 550 in length. Deck height is 1600 mm with this configuration.

It can be configured as a smoker by replacing the plates with racks.

Smoke from the firebox enters the baking chamber from the middle of the base plate, and is circulated through the baking chamber evenly before being evacuated at the flue gate on the top of the oven. Smoke volume and speed can be regulated from the outlet flue and also from the firebox..

The oven is happy burning well seasoned hardwood or softwood. It runs well on treefall if you are in a heavily wooded area, or clean hardwood offcut. The type of wood will impart its flavour on whatever is cooked in the oven.

There is a steam system built into the baffle underneath the baking chamber, so the oven has even heat and powerful steam.

The oven is designed to heat up very quickly, and after use, to cool down quickly also. Heat up time to typical bead baking temps will be between 30 and 120 minutes. As such, it will not heat up your kitchen for extended periods. There is still a substantial amount of brick around the oven, so it will provide useable heat for hours after the baking session for drying or slow cooking. Extra insulation can be added onsite, or can be done during the build. This will incur extra cost and will increase the footprint.

The footprint of the oven is 750 x 750 x 1850 and the weight is approximately 900kg with the basic setup.

The Indirect Oven

An Indirect Oven is also known as a 'white' oven, as the smoke does not enter the baking chamber at all. In our version it is flued around the outside of the chamber via special 'stamped' bricks. This means that there is an extra layer of brick in the construction, making the oven slightly larger on the outside.

The direct version has 5 removable steel baking plates which slide in and out as required. The plates are 400 x 500 mm. The oven can also take regular 400 x 600 baking trays.

The oven can run on any combustible material. It is quite effective with waste wood from pallets, sawmill offcuts, etc. It is also very happy with hardwood, biochar or household combustible waste.

It has a steam system for the bottom deck and a heavy duty baffle to create even heat on each deck.

This oven is still relatively fast to heat, average time being between 2 and 4 hours, depending on the fuel and stored heat.

The indirect oven is designed to be used for long periods of time, and will serve well as a daily oven. It has more insulation than the direct model and holds heat longer. Extra insulation can be added onsite for more efficient use.

The footprint is 1000 x 1000 x 1850. Weight is approximately 1200kg with the basic setup.