Size and shape of the oven floor

Dimensions of the oven floor

The width of the oven floor is in theory equal to 3/4 of its length. Broader ovens are more difficult to heat; deeper ovens make the process of putting in dough balls and removing the baked loafs of bread from the oven, more difficult.

Shape of the oven floor

The oven floor is typically egg shaped to improve the air circulation. By means of length and width of the oven floor and the base of the catenary arch we can determine the egg shape.

• necessary:
  
• Rope that can be tied at the end to a piece of chalk
• Gauge ( fold-up meter)
• Carpenter’s square
• straightedge

• For an oven floor of 85 cm wide and a length of 104 cm you follow this procedure:
  
• Draw on 61,5 cm off the backside of the oven mouth half a circle with a radius R= 42,5 cm. The circle goes on a bit further across the diameter
• Draw the tangents of circle CD from points A and B - determined by the catenary arch -
• Draw on the line segments AC and on the perpendicular bisectors BD.
• The traces of these perpendicular bisectors with the diameter of the circle are on 255 cm off the midpoint of the circle, as well left as right.
• Draw the circle segments AC and BD with the acquired traces as midpoints.

Drawing by Carlo Vande Walle