Brush

A long-handled brush, with metal bristles — usually copper — is a very practical tool for use in the wood-fired oven. Use it for brushing ash off the oven floor once you have moved the fire to the back of the oven and before you begin cooking straight on to the oven floor. It is also useful for brushing off any food that has spilled on to the oven floor during cooking and for brushing the cold ash out of the oven door. Have a metal bucket handy by the oven door to brush the ashes into; you can then use them on the garden as potash or put them on the compost heap. As with the peels and the coal hook, the brush needs a long handle so you can reach in and around the oven easily without having to lean into the heat.