| Alan Scott | |
|---|---|
Alan Scott in front of a brick oven |
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| Born | March 2, 1936 Toorak, Victoria |
| Died | January 26, 2009 (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]
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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]
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]