Judging Oven Temperature W/O A Thermometer

[TWP]

Let's assume you cook using a wood or coal fired oven.  That could be a real wood stove (very good to have) or just a home built clay baking oven.

This is very applicable in a SHTF situation too, not just because I would really like to be able to cook on a wood-fired stove.

Without a thermometer, you will need a way to judge just how hot the oven is.

This article gives three time-tested temperature tests:

http://granny-miller.com/oven-temperature-testing/

1)  Flour in a cup, browning time
2)  Hand-in-oven, 20 second test.
3)  Scrap of paper browning times.

The article also gives these approximations, when you have an old recipe which does not use actual thermometer readings:

A Slow Oven: 250ºF. to 300ºF.
A Moderate Oven: 350ºF. to 400ºF.
Hot Oven: 400ºF. to 450ºF.
Very Hot Oven: 450º F.to 550ºF.

[230gr]

If you can get some bimetal thermometers with a 8 inch or longer stem, drill a tiny hole through the oven door and check the temperature that way. Much more accurate and you want to monitor the temperature as you bake. My experience is that the oven temperature can very greatly with wood. Probably an art to it and a lot of trial and error.   

[TWP]

..Probably an art to it and a lot of trial and error.   

Not to mention burnt fingers...    Practice, Practice, practice...