Homes, Trades and Games of Long Ago · Drawing 06 of 40
The bread oven
Since the days of New France
This oven stands outside, under a little roof. First, a wood fire heats it up. When it is nice and hot, the embers come out and the dough slides in on a long paddle.
Look together
Why do you think the oven is outside?
An idea to try
Draw three small pictures together: heating the oven, removing the ashes and baking the bread. Your child puts them in order and tells the story, without handling any fire.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
In Québec, outdoor clay bread ovens sheltered by a small roof are documented from the seventeenth century. Maison Saint-Gabriel has a reconstruction today. A wood fire heats the oven; ashes are removed before the loaves go in. Heat stored in the oven bakes the bread. Québec’s cultural heritage directory also describes an old oven at Saint-Damase-de-L’Islet that may date from 1917: it is inventoried, which does not mean it has classified or protected status.
Ask your child to tell the steps in order, in their own words. The roof shelters the oven from the weather. Together, imagine why people might put a hot, smoky oven outdoors. The scene is an interpretation, not instructions.
Sources and illustration notes (2)
An imaginary oven and baking scene inspired by a traditional method; the activity does not involve children handling fire.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Maison Saint-Gabriel — ÉducationFour à pain extérieur de tradition ancienne; puits en usage depuis les années 1660; contenu sur les travaux domestiques. L’actuel four est une reconstitution.
- Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec — Four à painFour inventorié à Saint-Damase-de-L’Islet, possiblement construit vers 1917; la fiche n’établit pas de classement.
Source review: 2026-09-15. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
