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"Southern Woman Bakes Bread in Mailbox During Heatwave"

 
J. Graham
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Apparently, three days ago Howard E. Caesar posted a picture of his neighbor he claimed cooked a loaf of bread in her mailbox in Texas during a heatwave. Here's a news article on it: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=80fbbd4890eeb15bJmltdHM9MTY4OTIwNjQwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNzM5NWZjZi00NzFkLTZhODYtMWQxZi01MjQ3NDMxZDY5MTgmaW5zaWQ9NTE5Mg&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=17395fcf-471d-6a86-1d1f-5247431d6918&psq=bread+baked+in+mailbox&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly85OTlrdGR5LmNvbS93b21hbi1iYWtlcy1icmVhZC1pbi1tYWlsYm94Lw&ntb=1 It has presently been shared 8,700 times. 1,100 people gave it a shocked emote, 878 gave it a laughing emote, and 757 a thumbs up. So, it looks to me like more people believe the story than don't? I just think this is crazy!

Though it does bring up a good point. A mailbox could be a handy piece to use to make an actual oven, (just the right shape for a loaf of bread) as a solar, rocket, etc. It has a flat floor, and a reasonably well-fitted door.
breadinmailbox.jpg
Cooking bread in mailbox
Cooking bread in mailbox

“It’s said war—war never changes. Men do, through the roads they walk. And this road—has reached its end.”

 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Great photo! But personally I feel my spidey sense going off. That bread is a little too perfect. I suspect we've been 'had" -- but in a fun way.
 
Phil Stevens
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Frying an egg on the sidewalk is one thing. Given that a typical baking temperature for a full-sized loaf of bread is well in excess of 200 C (I use 240-250 most of the time), and that the hottest you could get that pile of masonry* in a day of full sun in Texas is probably 60 C (maybe 65 if you painted it black), I hereby call 100% shenanigans on that beautiful loaf.

Well played, whoever set up the photo and circulated it.

* According to the Engineering Toolbox, light red brick has an absorbed solar radiation factor of 0.55, which means that the 1 kW/m2 gets reduced to 550W and then you have the mass of the structure to contend with. A flat black piece of sheet metal can reach 80-90 C in full sun, but will cool off quickly as soon as you shade it.
 
Nancy Reading
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I also feel it unlikely - especially in that mailbox.
I agree bread bakes in a hot oven at about 200 degrees Celcius (425F). I could see you getting 70 Celcius in a metal box in the sunshine, see how hot cars can get:

source
I would suggest a strategic link to one of our solar cooking threads like this one perhaps?

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My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

 
Cat Knight
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Drat. I was hoping he had mistaken a rocket oven for a mailbox. That would have been great for Permies.

There is madness to my method.
"Life finds a way"- Ian Malcolm
"We're all mad here" - The Cheshire Cat

 
Christopher Weeks
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Even if it can't be solar, I'm having fun imagining the disguising of a rocket oven like that when you have an HOA to worry about.
 
Anne Miller
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I have heard of baking bread in a crockpot so why not bake bread in a mailbox since we have been having temp in the 110 F range?

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

 
Jane Mulberry
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Her mailbox almost certainly got hot enough to slow cook something, but bread with a rise and a crusty top like that? Nope! That needs a super-hot oven.

There are threads here on Permies about attempts to bake bread in solar ovens. The experiments worked and gave decent, edible bread, but it definitely didn't look like that!

Well played though, for whoever did this! Fun idea!

I'm only 64! That's not to old to learn to be a permie, right?

 
J. Graham
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She said it took 45 minutes to cook. It takes about that much time to cook a loaf that size in an oven at 350F. It is quite brown on top. I don't see any way that mailbox pictured could even approach such a temperature just from direct sunlight, sans some kind of reflectors or concentrators. If the sun were heating stuff that hot, the news would be filled with reports of people getting second, even third degree burns from coming into contact with items outdoors. I think it's an interesting experiment to see how people react to what they see posted on the internet.

“It’s said war—war never changes. Men do, through the roads they walk. And this road—has reached its end.”

 
Jim Fry
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Meanwhile, here in Ohio, the weather is beautiful. Moderate heat during the day, cool nights, plenty of appropriate rain, everything green and lush, gardens abundant. I'll never understand why some folks live in deserts and deluges, fires and earthquakes.

Creating sustainable life, beauty & food (with lots of kids and fun)

 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Cat Knight wrote:Drat. I was hoping he had mistaken a rocket oven for a mailbox.


Combining a rocket oven and a mailbox makes sense. The stuff in my mailbox is mostly kindling anyway.
 
J. Graham
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Found another place on Facebook posting it.

45,000 shares.
9,300 comments.
163,000 emojis.

Some people in the comments are expressing doubt, but I noticed no one taking a stand and saying outright it is fake. The most common comment is people asking someone they know in that area if it really is that hot, and them saying, "yeah, it sure is!" I wonder how big this will get.
Screenshot_20230714-164746.png
[Thumbnail for Screenshot_20230714-164746.png]

“It’s said war—war never changes. Men do, through the roads they walk. And this road—has reached its end.”

 
Douglas Alpenstock
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1357
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Interesting to watch.

BTW if anyone thinks that sweet old grannies lack a razor sharp wit and aren't capable of "having you on" for amusement, well I would say they have lived too sheltered a life.
 
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