Old communal oven in Le Breuil village

Houses with vaulting, typical of the local architecture, can be seen in this traditional Savoyard village, which also has a communal oven that has recently been renovated. The date this oven was built is unknown. Its 60 to 80cm-thick solid walls are built on rock foundations. The location of such a bread oven was always chosen a good distance away from dwellings and near a source of water. In the olden days, everyone knew how to make bread: it was baked in the communal oven once a month. The oven was pre-heated using firwood. The temperature was checked by throwing in a pinch of flour or a scrap of newspaper, and if it turned the colour of perfectly baked bread, it was hot enough. The remaining charred wood was taken out using "the scraper" and the oven was cleaned using a damp cloth. The loaves of bread were then put in using a long-handled timber peel. Baking time was usually about an hour.