This is Mildrith, the oven of the Happy Monk Baking Company, a clay and straw mixture with a firebrick hearth. She is the heart and soul of our baking enterprise. So why is she called Mildrith?

One of the workers on the oven, Jacques Marmen, wondered several times whether the oven was a male or female … or perhaps non-binary? We both had a strong belief that she was female. But what would her name be? That was the big question.
Richard Miscovitch, the author of From the Wood-Fired Oven, speaks of naming his oven, “Fornax,” after a Roman deity of the furnace. Tongue in cheek, he says he often says a brief prayer to the goddess when he places a load of bread into the oven, asking that there be enough fire and heat to bake his bread.
Not long after our oven was finished, the name came to me. (She whispered it to me!): Mildrith. Some know her as Mildred.
Mildrith is close to the Old English spelling and pronunciation of her name. The modern version of the name is Mildred.
A few years ago, I wrote a novel, a medieval adventure yarn, named The Song of Oswald. It is about two brothers, a monk, named Richard, and a Robin Hood figure, named Oswald. Oswald is hired by a corrupt abbot to steal the bones of a long-dead saint in France and bring them back to his abbey in Kent. The saint I had in mind was St. Mildred of Thanet, and called her that in the book. Many great adventures follow, but the saints bones don’t make it back to Kent. The novel, alas, has yet to be published (another story), but inspired an interest in medieval monasticism … and, perhaps the name of the Happy Monk Baking Company.
Here is why the oven is named Mildrith.
St. Mildred, who lived in Anglo-Saxon England (early 700s), was the daughter of a Mercian King and his wife, St. Ermenburga. At an early age, Mildred’s mother sent her to be educated by an abbess at Chelles, France, where many English women gentry were trained in the religious life.

A young nobleman, related to the Abbess of Chelles, asked for Mildred’s hand in marriage. The abbess was in favour of the union, but Mildred was not. She told the abbess that she was in France to follow the religious life, not to be married. The abbess could not prevail. All her advice turned to threats and then physical blows. Nothing could persuade Mildred from marrying the nobleman. Finally, the abbess threw Mildred into a large hot oven. After three hours, the abbess opened the oven door expecting to find ashes. Mildred was standing there, unscathed and radiant, and walked out past the shocked abbess.
The nuns and other faithful venerated Mildred as a saint; but the abbess continued to abuse her, kicking and scratching her. In one exchange, she tore out a handful of Mildred’s hair.
Mildred was able to send her mother a letter, enclosing some of the hair that had been torn from her head. Queen Ermenburga immediately sent ships to fetch her daughter. She returned to her village of Minster-in-Thanet in Kent and eventually became an abbess herself.
An 11th-century hagiographer, a monk named Goscelin, called her “the fairest lily of the English.”
I was inspired by the story and decided to use some of it in The Song of Oswald. When my wife and I visited Minster-in-Thanet in 2015, we visited the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. I confided to the Vicar that I had written of St. Mildred, but seeing how Mildred is still revered in the town, I realized I couldn’t use her name, and so gave her a different one so as not to offend the good people of Minster.
I am not a religious baker, but I do hope the loaves that emerge from my oven are as radiant, unscathed and miraculous as St. Mildred.
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 16, 2020 - Happy Monk Blog: Time to Hang Up the Baker's Peel for 2020; Baker's Choice: Fruit Sourdough [ See link in profile ]
Instead of “figgy pudding,” I made some Figgy Bread! Fig and a hint of Fennel. Doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as figgy pudding, but it tastes better! (Thus the red carpet threatment!)
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#figbread #figgybread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
Salish Country Loaves tumbling out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven this morning. There are a few extras, so if you’re interested, I’ll be at Medicine Beach until 2pm today (Friday, Dec. 11)!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadporn #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Dec. 11, 2020 - Baker's Choice this week: Fig and Fennel Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: Praise the Rain! [ See link in profile ]
Volkornbrot casts a long shadow … getting bagged up for deliveries today. The aroma of 100% rye in the kitchen is otherworldly! I’m walking around in a trance.
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#volkornbrot #rye #ryebread #ryebreadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #woodfiredbread #coboven #bread #breadlove #baker #bbga #happymonkbaker #happymonkbaking #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #penderisland #southpenderisland
See you in the morning, Mildrith!
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#woodfiredovens #woodfiredbread #woodfired #sourdoughbread #baker #bakersofinstagram #bakersoven #woodfiredovenlove #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southpenderisland #penderisland #penderislandbc
Happy Monk Tidings - Bread 🍞 and Blog 💻 - Baker's Choice: Volkornbrot - German Rye; Happy Monk Blog: The Good People of Pender - [ See link in profile ]
Making this Olive Loaf is almost as delicious as eating it. Marinated Kalamata and Haldiki with zested lemons and spices.
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#wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Olive Loaf and Happy Monk Blog: The Joys of Firewood - [ See link in Profile ]
Breadcrumbs
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#innomine #sourdough #sourdoughbread #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #bread #breadcrumbs
Bread love 🍞 ❤️ 🍞
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#countrybread #countryloaf #salishsourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #bbga #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Intense little Seed loaf!
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#seedbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #sourdoughbaking #bread #breadlove #breadlabcollective #breadstagram #breadsofinstagram #artisanbread #baker #bakery #happymonkbaker #happymonkbakery #happymonkbaking #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #southerngulfislands
Sprouted Kamut bread tasted fruity, like banana, and of course grassy and sweet. And the loaves have that haunted face look! Halloween was two weeks ago!
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#kamut #kamutbread #khorasan #khorasanbread #bread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #breadlove #breadloaf #scarybread #halloweenbread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredbreadoven #woofiredbread #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #happymonkbaking #baker #bakery #southpenderisland #southpender #penderisland #penderislandbc #sproutedgrains #sproutedbread #sproutedkamut #sproutedkamutbread
Happy Monk Tidings 🍞 - This Week's Baker's Choice: Sprouted Kamut Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: To Autumn - [ See link in Profile ]
A hint of brotgewürz, bread spice. A mix of caraway, anise, fennel and coriander lifts this seedy Mountain Rye into a different realm.
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#brotgewürz #mountainrye #wholerye #ryebread #woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings - Baker's Choice: Mountain Rye; Happy Monk Blog: Entangled Lives and the Election - [ See link in profile ]
Cinnamon-Raisin Loaves are St. Francis’ favourite, you can tell. He moves along the wall and stands behind the trays fresh out of Mildrith, the wood-fired oven. There, he can inhale the intoxicating perfume of warm spice and warm his stone-cold feet. And dream of what these loaves could taste like, if he could only taste.
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#breadhead #breadlove #sourdough #sourdoughbread #cinnamonraisin #cinnamonraisinbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bbga #artisanbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Tidings from the Happy Monk 🍞 - Baker's Choice: A Warming Cinnamon Raisin Loaf; Happy Monk Blog: The Isle of Apples ... [ See Link in Profile ]
1. Spelt and Hunny on their first date. 2. Alejandro and Sandra like each other too much. 3. Happy, well-adjusted Spelt-Honey loaves.
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#spelt #speltbread #honeybread #breadhead #breadporn #breadlove #wildyeast #michaeljamesbakes #tivolirdbakery #naturallyleavened #artisanbread #realbread #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany
Happy Monk Tidings, October 14 🍞 - Baker's Choice: Russian Rye; This week's Blog: A New Look at the Noble Miche [ See link in profile ]
Why make a 5-pound miche? Bread-making tradition + dreams of Poilâne + the heft and bulk of a massive whole-grain loaf held against your chest. The sheer joy of so much bread!
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#bread #wholegrainbread #breadhead #michebread #redfife #redfifesourdough #sourdough #sourdoughbread #poilane #poilâne #peterreinhart #rusticbread #woodfired #woodfiredbread #wildyeast #breadporn #realbread #artisanbread #naturallyleavened
The way this fog transforms the landscape, as if our little piece of land has lifted into the clouds drifted about and landed us in another world!
REMINDER: The Happy Monk is on a Bread Break! 😎 See you all in two weeks! Also: read back issues of the Happy Monk Blog [ See link in Profile ]
Pender Island Apple Bread! We’re awash with apples so we used some up in today’s Baker’s Choice. Straight up apples; no walnuts or spices.
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#apples #applebread #woodfiredbread #bread #wildyeast #artisanbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #southpenderisland #penderisland #happymonkbakingcompany #wholegrainbread #organic #breadhead #bbga #ihatehashtags #ihatehashtagsbutwhatever
[…] Mildrith, the oven, is barely two months old at the time of this writing, but many have asked me to share some of my experience. Lots dream of building a pizza oven, but few get around to doing it, I’m told. My motivation was to build the Happy Monk Baking Company around this oven to sell bread at the Pender Island Farmers Market and/or to launch a bread subscription service on the Island. […]
[…] Mildrith, the oven, has been confounding, these past few weeks. She gives me enough heat for a single load of bread, but once that’s done, there’s nothing left. No heat left over for the next load! I need to build a second fire to get it up to temperature for the next bake, and that can take up to two hours until I can lay in another load of bread to bake. […]
[…] last load of bread is about to come out of Mildrith. I’ll let it cool awhile, package it up, then make the delivery rounds on Pender Island. The […]
[…] was still 400ºF plus heat inside of Mildrith when I went to light the fire for this morning’s bake. Starting from a cold oven, it can take […]
[…] and delivering. At this point, I’m bleary-eyed from being up since earliest morning stoking Mildrith’s fire, baking and trying to stay ahead of the chaos in the kitchen. But the promise of these last […]
[…] virtues of Mildrith are no secret to readers of these pages. She’s the wood-fired oven behind the Happy Monk […]
[…] been a baker in the art walk. Some of the organizers were intrigued, I imagine, with the birth of Mildrith, the cob oven, the post and beam log structure that provides her shelter, and the wood-fired breads […]
[…] bread in Mildrith, the wood-fired oven, is an ongoing experiment. I know her better every time I bake, and she […]
[…] walls of Mildrith’s dome were close to 800ºF when the mouse appeared the first time. He was standing on hind legs on […]
[…] first task is to revive the fire in Mildrith, to get the oven ready for the morning bake. It takes at least two hours before the first load of […]
[…] do I call the wood-fired oven Mildrith? You can read about that here. If you’re interested in the longer story of how the oven was built, check out this earlier blog […]