Everyone asks why I have a brick in the oven, and after trying my pastries, they no longer ask questions

We live in a small private house, which we are gradually expanding by adding new premises to it. While my kitchen and living room are combined in the form of a studio, and everyone who comes to visit me for the first time begins to look closely at what is on the lower level of the gas stove.

And there is nothing more than refractory bricks. What is it for? This is a unique life hack of our family! Even my grandmother always had a brick in the gas stove on the lower level. And mom too. It is needed so that the baked goods in the stove bake evenly and rise well. It heats up and gives off heat, serving as its source.

Gas stoves can be very capricious in terms of preparing quality meals. This is not an electric stove with its uniform heating from all sides.

I have a good Hans stove, no questions about it. But at first the pies in it always burned from the bottom, and did not form a crust on top.

And then I remembered about the brick. Of course, you can't immediately bring a brick from a construction site and start cooking. It needs a rather long time, about three times an hour, to ignite. And it is worth accepting that there will be a strong enough smell at first. But by the third time it will disappear. And after a couple of years of use, like mine, the brick will be completely calcined.

I can share one more idea. To make this smell less strong when igniting, place nearby charcoal from a stove, or a purchased one from a bag. It absorbs the smell and helps fade it out faster. But then the coal must be carefully removed.

For those who do not believe in such a way to improve the quality of baked goods, I can show that they are always neat, not burnt and well baked.

Both yeast dough and biscuits are successful.

And dishes in pots are obtained just like from a Russian stove. Here it is, today's buckwheat porridge with meat, just delicious. Thanks to our family secret - bricks in the oven.