The information provided on the back cover reads, " This unique study of the role of the bread oven in rural Quebec society also gives complete instructions on how to build a traditional outdoor bread oven. The techniques, which are the same as those in Diderot's eighteenth century Encyclopedia, are described in detail, and are illustrated with photographs of the actual building of a clay oven.
But the book is far more than a construction manual. The authors relate the bread oven in various aspects of French Canadian culture - economic, social, linguistic, psychological and religious. They also describe the traditions that have grown up around the preparation of the dough, the ingredients used, and the baking and eating of bread. In the final chapter, they examine the appearance of the oven in other areas of folklore - songs, legends and beliefs. ..."
