Beehive Ovens of
the 18th Century
THE BEEHIVE OVEN
What Were 18th Century Beehive Ovens Like?
In the Thirteen Colonies that later became the United States, most households had a beehive oven. Bread was usually baked in it once a week, often in conjunction with pies, crackers, or other baked goods. To heat the oven, the baker would heap coals and kindling inside and wait several hours. Requiring strict regulation, the right amount of wood to ash had to be burned and then tested by sticking one's hands inside. Then one had to add more wood or open the door to let it cool to the right temperature.
1870-1905
History of Beehive Ovens in Pittsburgh
Beehive ovens were also used in iron-making. Before this time, iron-making utilized large quantities of charcoal, produced by burning wood. As forests dwindled dangerously, the substitution of coke for charcoal became common in Great Britain, and the coke was manufactured by burning coal in heaps on the ground in such a way that only the outer layer burned, leaving the interior of the pile in a carbonized state. In the late 19th century, brick beehive ovens were developed, which allowed more control over the burning process.
The number of beehive ovens between 1870 and 1905 skyrocketed from about 200 to almost 31,000, which produced nearly 18 million tons of coke in the Pittsburgh area alone. One observer boasted that, loaded into a train, "the year's production would make up a train so long that the engine in front of it would go to San Francisco and come back to Connellsville before the caboose had gotten started out of the Connellsville yards!" The number of beehive ovens in the Pittsburgh seam peaked in 1910 at almost 48,000.
1700s
Baking in the 18th Century
18th-century baking was characterized by traditional recipes and techniques. Bakers relied on centuries-old methods and often had limited access to written recipes. Baking knowledge was passed down through apprenticeships and family traditions. Ingredients in the 18th century were limited to what was locally available. Bakers used stone-ground flours, natural leaveners (wild yeast), and basic ingredients like butter, eggs, and sugar. Exotic ingredients were rare.
