Page 5

After the 1st day's work - the first seven courses of the hearth are built and drying for strength.

Beginning to form the "cap" or "dome" of the oven. Bricks seal the top and filled with adobe mortar to form the "dome."

Adding adobe mortar for the rough finishing of the horno dome. The adobe is allowed to dry and strengthen until the next weekend (3rd workday).

3rd work day - mixing fresh adobe. The New Mexico soil near the Center has the natural 70% sand and 30% clay for the ideal adobe mix.

Adobe mortar is applied to the adobe bricks, much like applying plaster,

to give the horno the traditional smooth "beehive" look and to retain heat.

Yup ... even in there, too!

4th work day - mixing more adobe for the finishing work.

On the 2nd day, the remaining courses of adobe brick are added. Each new course is offset inward to start forming the "dome" top.

Building the "benches" for keeping food and dishes off the ground.

Scrapers and brushes are used for the final sculpturing.

At the conclusion of the 4th work day - a small fire was built in the horno to "fire it" (cure the adobe) and to bake an inaugural loaf of bread.  The horno has since baked bread to cooked chicken for Center events.

It is agreed - the participants of the workshop did an excellent job building the Center's traditional style horno.

A traditional horno (oven) was built as a permanent addition to the Center in October 2007.  It was built as a special horno-making workshop sponsored by the Foundation.  Hornos are traditional to the Southwest ... used by the Native American Indians, and later adopted

by the Spanish colonists, as an efficient form of cooking.  Hornos are still found - and used - throughout New Mexico today.

Using a horno - Wood and mesquite, used for building fires, was often a scarce commodity in New Mexico.  The traditional use of the horno was to build a small fire, to conserve fuel, early in the day.  The slow burning fire heats the adobe walls of the horno, which can retain the heat for many hours. Later in the day, bread, squash, corn, meat, and other foods were cooked, often without the need to continue the fire.  A wooden door, built to fit the opening of the hearth, is used to keep the heat in the oven.  A small hole near the top of the dome allows the smoke from the fire to escape. Plugging this hole with a rag was also used to regulate the heat in the oven. A wooden "paddle" is normally used for placing the food in and out of the horno.

 

The horno is an efficient way of cooking with little fuel.  The slow cooking process retains the moisture in most foods and cook meats to a tender state for a delicious, mouth-watering meal.  The aroma of salt cedar or piñon is also used to give the cooked foods a distinctive smoked taste.

From Illustrated History of New Mexico by Thomas E. Chavez

The Center's horno after several uses. It is shown here baking bread and cooking beans - with some tasty campfire coffee.