Kneading Conference 2024

This workshop is all day Thursday and into Friday:


Join Albie Barden, who has been building masonry heaters and ovens for nearly fifty years, along with Michele Barden, as they share their unique approach to oven construction and their passion for preserving heritage corn.
A few years ago, Albie realized that an antique cast iron bathtub, when turned upside down, could make the perfect oven shape. He purchased a five-foot antique tub and had it sandblasted to remove the enamel. Scott Barden's team at Maine Wood Heat then cut out a door opening and a chimney exit with a torch. They welded a rimmed plate for the base to contain the oven and three inches of structural insulation, on top of which Albie templated and cut a floor of all-natural firebrick. He also formed and cast an arched refractory baffle to keep flame and heat inside the oven as long as possible.

On top of the tub, Albie added three inches of reinforced cast refractory concrete and a thick layer of insulation. A metal shell was added over the entire oven, which was mounted on a cart for a total portable weight of 1800 pounds. More recently, Albie and Scott's team have prepared a second five-foot sandblasted tub. This oven will feature hard red mortared bricks as the thermal mass, with about three inches of insulation added. Conestoga ribs and wire mesh will allow for a stuccoed finish or metal skin to be added later.

The original portable tub oven that Albie and Michele use regularly at home will be present at the workshop. They will bring heritage flint corn to shell in an antique Maine-made cabinet corn sheller. They will also make or bring fine ground cornmeal, bake and share Jonny Cakes in the original tub oven, and discuss their project of preserving Maine and New England's heritage flint corns.

This workshop offers a unique opportunity to learn about innovative oven construction techniques and the importance of preserving agricultural heritage.