Kemence - Hungary 4

We turned one of the old outbuildings at the Tanya into a Kemence ("kementseh") house. A Kemence is an old style mud plaster wood burning oven that was also used to warm a house, in many cases. There is an elderly artisan in Szatymaz, Imre bacsi, that makes them - he learned the trade from his father.

The first room has the opening to the oven - you first let the wood burn down to coals, and then push them to the back and put your bread in. There is a heavy metal door that fits tightly over the smaller hole inside the oven to seal the heat while you're baking. Galen has an obsession with anatomy - he has his Hungarian language anatomy book here.

This is the second room, showing the body of the Kemence. There is a ledge that will be covered with wood all around the side of the oven, where one can sit and warm up on a cool day. This room also has a small table and chairs. The oven gives off a nice, warm, radiant heat.

Here is the feast we cooked in the Kemence! Pizzas and Langos ("langoesh") - a baked or fried yeast bread. This is our nephew (not so) little Miki. Hungarian pizza seems to often have cheese and corn, among other things - try it!