September 27, 2007.
SAN LUIS, Co. -- In the crisp beginning days of fall, friends gather to make bread in a horno, or outside adobe oven.
Today, loaves have been prepared by neighbors and relatives.
Don Townsend, who constructed the horno for his friends, was born and raised on New Mexico's San Felipe Pueblo.
"An horno in any tribe is very, very valuable," said Townsend. "It is the way of life."
Townsend said he learned how to cook from his mother. Passed on to him were the traditions of canning, making birthday cakes, and family recipes such as his mother's green chili stew made from beef.
Townsend and Bertha, his wife of seven years, traveled to San Luis at least six times over the course of several months to complete the horno.
The adobe bricks used to construct the horno came from an old horno. Bricks were also salvaged from old adobe homes that had collapsed.
The base of the horno is built with adobe. Three feet of river rock is sealed in the horno floor with adobe. The river rock heats as wood is burned in the horno. The rocks retain heat through convection once the oven is cleaned and sealed.
Townsend stressed the importance of heating the horno with small chips of wood, which burn hot and fast. Townsend said a clean cedar without sap is best for horno cooking. Sapless wood burns white smoke, Townsend said, whereas cedar with sap will burn brown smoke.
The wood fire is kept roaring inside the horno for about an hour. Then, the fire is let to die.
When the flame has disappeared and the ash is black and burning, the temperature of the horno is checked using oatmeal. Raw oats are thrown into the horno.
"If the oatmeal bakes really fast, you're looking at probbaly 500, 600 degrees," Townsend said. "If the oatmeal burns slowly, you're looking at around 400 to 450. Once it's at that temperature, you clean the horno out, get the bread in there as fast as you can, and close everything up."
When the temperature is right, the horno is cleaned with a long stick with a wet burlap sack tied at the end. All of the coal and ashes are swept out of the horno. A second person sweeps the ashes away from the horno door.
When the horno is clean, each risen loaf of bread in its pan is placed on a shovel and transported into the waiting oven.
The horno is then sealed so that no heat can escape. Wet sheets are used around a panel to completely seal the front door.
At the back of the horno, two temperature release holes are plugged with rocks wrapped in wet cloths. After one hour of baking, the stones and cloths are removed and a light is shined into the horno. If the bread seems to be baking, the stones are replaced and the bread is left to bake. If the bread is too brown, the temperature release holes are left open so that steam can escape.
After one hour, the bread is removed from the horno, and the light, fluffy loaves are enjoyed with butter, chili, and local vegetables.
"It's fun cooking in the horno," said Townsend. "Especially cooking with friends and family. It's really nice. You get to share everything."