Business Starts!

All the inspections have taken place, we attended our Farm Market Orientation and we're thrilled to announce that we will be at the Las Cruces Farmer's and Crafter's Market this Saturday, May 12th, 2012!

As I type this announcement, it all sounds so simple, but there is one final step to the construction of the oven that was holding me back . . . . Thermocouples!

We're still waiting for ours to arrive from Ovencrafters, and this was proving to be a true test of patience for me. With the end of each day, and no package arriving at our door, I was becoming, well . . . . cranky!
And then, it happened, again! Another home run hitter stepped up to the plate! A "brother in Christ", Paul, from our church calls me and shares that he read about our plight in the last blog post, then states, "I have Thermocouples, would you like to borrow them?" I have to admit, I was a bit dumfounded, I mean how many people call you and say "oh yeah, I have thermocouples, wanna use them?" It's like, oh yeah, I have a bicycle pump, wanna use it! Ha! So a big shout out to Paul! What a blessing his phone call was. And it's because of Paul that we are able to now commit to the Saturday market. Without knowing where the heat was in this new oven, I was very tentative about baking more than just a few loaves.

Such a simple looking wire!

Tom has inserted the Thermocouples in our new oven so that they
can be replaced if they fail. We had several fail after about 2 years in our
first oven but had no way to replace them. 

They work!

Tom replaced the outlet so that the unit could be
turned on and off. When kept on all the time, the
little transformer can get hot. We found out from our
Electrician that the little transformer was similar to those in
doorbells, and overheating is a problem with those also. 

This past weekend we enjoyed a wonderful break while celebrating Dad's birthday with the whole City of Las Cruces, it was Cinco de Mayo! We had fun with family as Tom's Aunt and Uncle from Nevada came through on their way to Denver, CO. I think we basically ate our way through the weekend!

Aunt Helen trying out the peel! 

We're all having fun at the Farmer's Market! 

We've all heard of Brad and Jolie right? Well here is Bradley and Lilly. Mom and Dad's little girl is Bradley's most favorite Canine in the world. When we visit mom and dad, Bradley comes to have his play time with Lilly. They really have a blast. 

Two little "Angels" 

I fired the oven yesterday, and again this morning. I'm seeing an immediate difference in our new oven in regard to the insulating aspects. Our new oven is holding heat longer. I can only imagine that a big part of this is the foamglas. The cladding over the oven chamber hasn't been covered with insulation yet and it's still holding heat. I've gone over all my journals from our first oven and it's amazing to compare the two. I'm really excited about the immediate changes I'm already seeing.

I'm only going to bake 60 loaves for Saturday since our proofing unit isn't completed yet. So the loaves will proof on the floor and I'll bake them late Friday night for Saturday's market. We'll bake in this manner until the proofer is complete which at that point I can bump up to 100+ loaves. My two years of being a home baker have taught me well. I learned how to read the dough and determine it's readiness for baking without the overnight proofing I had grown accustom to.

Firing the oven early this morning. If you look closely,
through the window, you can see the fire:)

This morning's Sunrise. We had heavy rain last night so the morning is crisp and
fresh with the smell of the desert's Creosote Bushes permeating the air along with the
fragrance of Juniper burning in the BakeHouse oven!

We're looking forward to having all of you with us as the BakeHouse is introduced to Las Cruces, NM! For those of you who will want to find us at the Market, we'll be sure to post our location/status on FaceBook and Twitter so you can find us among the many vendors! 

Thoughtfully ~ Kath