There are lots of tips for working out the temperature of a wood stove, if you don’t have an oven thermometer. A simple one is to throw some flour onto a baking tray and put it in the oven for a few seconds. If it goes brown the oven is very hot, if it is starting to change colour it is warm. A piece of writing paper will curl up brown when it’s at the proper heat for baking pastry. If you hold your hand flat over the cooking surface, and find it’s too hot to do so for more than three seconds, it should be hot enough to cook. Even if you think the temperature is right, you need to maintain it and you still need to check visually for how the food is cooking. For instance, when biscuits should begin to brown, you can insert a wire cake tester or fork into a cake to test it for doneness. If the wire cake tester or fork comes out clean without batter or crumbs attached, the cake is done. Most of the old fashioned recipes are quite forgiving, and with practice you will get to know the stove, the fuel and your recipes!
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