How does a brick/dutch oven work?

Question:The brick/dutch oven is set into the fireplace, not hanging like a generic dutch oven. It is placed to the right of the area where the fire is made, yet still in the fireplace. How does this type of oven function and how would one go about maintaining the oven?

Answers:
It uses heat convection. In other words it applies heat without contacting the flames. Cast iron Dutch ovens are great. You need to keep it "seasoned" to work right. First, on a brand new oven only, use dish detergent and hot water to clean it and remove oils. From that point on, never use soap again. This builds up natural oils in the cast iron which makes it almost impossible to make foods stick to it. To clean, simply wash out with the hottest water you can stand, then fill with water to cover the inside and heat it till it simmers. Then drain and wipe clean. Once it is dry, use good quality crisco and coat the entire inside surface with it, work it into the cast iron for a minute or so and then wipe it almost dry. The secret to cooking wiht these is to get even heat. I use mine outdoors but instead of over the fire, I ( and most people now a days ) use charcoal briquets under them, and a layer of them on the lid as well to get even heat. This is what the rim on the lid is for. To keep the coals on and not let ash fall into the oven when opened. It takse surpeisingly few coals to cook. My experience with brick ovens is limited to baking. We used to build a fire inside the oven and let it burn for about a half hour. Then re removed all the coals, ash etc and quickly swept it out. we then placed the bread on the clay type flat dish and slid this into the oven on a wooden paddle. remove the paddle and closed the oven. Tat's it. On maintaining the brick oven, the only thing we did was use "clay" to fill in the gaps between bricks that crumbled. Now a days they use the same type of plaster that is used in fireplaces or wood stoves to seal in between the bricks.