Hamline Church

Community Bread Oven

Bread Oven Information

How can I get involved with the bread oven team?

Please contact the church office at humc@hamlinechurch.org to be added to the bread oven email list. From that list you will find out how to volunteer, when events are happening, and what bread baking classes might be available to you.

Can my group or organization use the bread oven?

This oven isn't quite like a conventional oven you would have in your home. A wood-fired oven takes 24 hours to get up to temperature, and a great deal of wood, stoking, and volunteer support. We are still learning how to use the oven ourselves. We have some community bread bake events when we have the oven fired, and there may be opportunities for you to work with our team to fire the oven. Please contact the church office at 651-645-0667 or humc@hamlinechurch.org to be put in contact with the right individual.

Community Bread Oven

The Community Bread Oven at Hamline Church is an outdoor, wood-fired brick oven. It produces amazing pizzas and rustic bread, but it is more than that. This oven is a unique place in our community where we all can slow down, create, strengthen relationships, and build connections. The bread oven was built by Hamline Church members, thanks to a generous grant from White Bear Lake United Methodist Church. The oven is a place for the whole community to gather around baking bread, pizzas, cinnamon rolls--and anything else you can imagine. 

For a long time, there was just one oven for an entire village.  It was inefficient for every person to have their own oven, and so the community shared a large oven in the center of town. In the process of baking, people would meet friends, discuss politics, share stories, and gossip. In addition to producing good food, the community ovens produced good neighbors. That old idea is now here in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood in Saint Paul.  

RSS The Bread Oven Blog

  • 2016 Community Bread Bake November 13, 2016
    We are hosting a Thanksgiving Community Bread Bake on Saturday, November 19th, 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  This event is open to everybody, just bring your loaf or loaves to the oven and we will bake it.  There will also be a Tot Time in the basement for the kiddos. The best breads […]
  • Wednesday July 20th---Pizza and an Outdoor Movie July 2, 2016
    Join us for free wood-fire pizza and neighborhood fun.  The pizza starts at 6:00 pm, and then the original 1969 Disney classic, The Love Bug, starts at dusk.
  • Summer 2016 Schedule July 2, 2016
    Wednesday, July 20th July Pizza and an Outdoor Movie Free Wood-Fire Pizza and The "Original" Love Bug Pizza at 6:00 pm and the movie starts at dusk Wednesday, August 17th August Pizza and an Outdoor Movie Free Wood-Fire Pizza and Shaun the Sheep Pizza at 6:00 pm and the movie starts at dusk Saturday, August […]
  • Portable Oven Building Class March 11, 2016
    Have you ever wanted to make wood-fire pizzas at home or at the cabin in your own outdoor oven?     On May 14th from 9:00 to 4:00 pm, David S. Cargo, one of the founders of the Saint Paul Bread Club and professional baker, will be teaching his popular class on how to build an […]
  • The Incredible Edible Ezekiel 4:9 Bread November 7, 2015
    I've been tasked with teaching Sunday school, and, of course, I wanted to incorporate bread baking into the lesson. Bread is a fundamental element of so many stories in the Bible, but I've been fascinated by the bread discussed in Ezekial and I've always wanted to try and make it myself. The bible verse itself […]
  • Community Bread Bake On November 21st November 7, 2015
    Happy Thanksgiving (almost). We are hosting a Thanksgiving Community Bread Bake on Saturday, November 21st, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  This event is open to everybody, just bring your loaf or loaves to the oven and we will bake it. Also, the Saint Paul Bread Club will be meeting at the same time. […]
  • Haunted Hallway and Pizza Party November 7, 2015
    It was a cold and rainy day at the community brick oven. By the evening the snow had turned into a winter mix, but the oven continued on.  Despite the weather, we served over fifty pizzas to about 120 students and neighbors. That's a success in my book. We purchased some delivery pizza boxes from […]
  • Our First Bread Baking Class October 25, 2015
    It was a great day at the community oven. About twenty of us gathered and learned from Ross Safford about dough strength. We baked sourdough, ciabatta, oatmeal bread and lavash.  By the end, I think we baked about sixty loaves of bread and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with neighbors and making new friends. Our plan […]
  • History Sunday with Sweets October 4, 2015
    We had a big day at the Community Oven last Sunday. It was history Sunday, celebrating 135 years. The day was proclaimed by the city of Saint Paul, is Marguerite Pramann Day and Hamline University and Hamline Church Good Neighbor Day! Thank you, Bishop Ough for visiting us and such an energizing sermon. The community […]
  • Community Brick Oven Dedication September 5, 2015
    It was a beautiful (but cold) Sunday to dedicate the Community Brick Oven at Hamline Church.  In order to bake bread in the morning, the oven had to be fired up the evening before.  I was out there in the darkness, loading wood into the oven and hoping that when I returned in the morning […]