Alan Scott (blacksmith)

For other people named Alan Scott, see Alan Scott (disambiguation).

Alan Scott
Alan Scott in front of a brick oven
Born	March 2, 1936(1936-03-02) Toorak, Victoria
Died	January 26, 2009(2009-01-26) (aged 72) Tasmania, Australia
Cause of death	Congestive heart failure
Nationality	Australian
Occupation	Blacksmith
Known for	Designing and building brick ovens and writing on the subject
Spouse	Laura Scott
Children	3

Alan Scott (2 March 1936 – 26 January 2009) was a blacksmith and baking traditionalist who designed and built brick ovens and coauthored a book promoting their use for cooking breads and pizza.^[1] He built ovens in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and started the Ovencrafters company.^[2]

Life

Scott was born in Toorak in Victoria, Australia on 2 March 1936. He graduated from Dookie Agricultural College,^[3] and afterwards went to work for a fertilizer company.^[1] Leaving his job at 25,^[3] Scott traveled throughout Australia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Denmark—all hitchiking. Eventually, he settled in Denmark and opened a jewelry store.^[1]

Scott emigrated to the United States from Australia in the mid 1960s, where he opened a smithy in Northern California. When a friend, Laurel Robertson, commissioned him to forge handles for a brick oven she intended to build, Scott became interested in the oven itself. He redesigned the oven to better retain heat.^[1] Scott soon became an expert in the construction and use of brick ovens. In 1999, he published The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens with his apprentice Daniel Wing.^[1][4] The Bread Builders contained a treatise on the history and science of bread making, and gave detailed specifications for how to build a brick oven.^[1] The book eventually sold over 25,000 copies.^[5]

Returning to Australia in 2004, Scott opened a practice in Oatlands.^[3] He also become involved in the effort to recommence operations at the Callington Mill.^[3] Scott's interest in the project stemmed in part from the desirable properties of slowly stone-ground flour, which include the wheat's germ oil being ground into the flour and the retention of nutrients due to low milling temperatures.^[3]

Scott died on 26 January 2009 in Tasmania of congestive heart failure. His company, Ovencrafters, is now run by his children. The company designs and builds custom brick ovens,^[1] and has designed and created numerous ovens for clients throughout the United States, as well as in other countries, including Canada and Australia.^[6]

Advocacy

Scott spent much of his time conducting workshops and overseeing the building of community ovens, which he believed brought communities together.^[2][5] He further lectured on and encouraged small-scale industry, environmental stewardship, community connectivity and spiritual consideration.^[2] His business, Ovencrafters, pushed for “policy with principles, commerce with morality, wealth with work, and science with humanity.”^[2]

Bibliography

• Scott, Alan; Daniel Wing (1999). The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. Chelsea Green Publishing. ISBN 978-1-890132-05-7. 

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Hevesi, Dennis (5 February 2009). "Alan Scott, 72, Artisan of the Brick Oven, Dies". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/dining/06scott.html. Retrieved 8 February 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Betty, Carpick (27 July 2006). "600 degrees on a Wednesday night". Thunder Bay's Source. http://www.tbsource.com/tblife/index.asp?cid=85015. Retrieved 10 February 2009. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Reeves, Elaine (7 February 2009). "The fires keep burning". The Mercury. http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/02/07/54371_lifestyle.html. Retrieved 8 February 2009. 
4. ^ Scott, Alan; Daniel Wing (1999). The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens. Chelsea Green Publishing. p. ix. ISBN 978-1-890132-05-7. http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=VA6y1EMnkpYC&printsec=frontcover&hl=en#PPP10,M1. Retrieved 8 February 2009. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Baldwin, Deborah (23 December 2004). "Patio Trophy: Stoke That Backyard Bakery". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/garden/23OVEN.html?_r=1&fta=y. Retrieved 9 February 2009. 
6. ^ "Ovencrafters Oven List". Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080615032843/http://www.ovencrafters.net/ovnlist.htm. Retrieved 9 February 2009. 

External links

• Ovencrafters
• Interview with Alan Scott

Persondata
Name	Scott, Alan
Alternative names
Short description	Blacksmith and brick oven builder
Date of birth	2 March 1936
Place of birth	Toorak, Victoria
Date of death	26 January 2009
Place of death	Tasmania, Australia