Interviews E03 Campbell McFarlane - Building RackMaster and Supporting a New Generation of Bakers

What's in this episode

Send us a question or voice memo! What began as Campbell McFarlane’s own obsession with sourdough eventually became RackMaster- an oven designed to give home, cottage, and small-scale bakers access to thoughtfully engineered equipment without requiring a traditional bakery. In this episode, Campbell shares how he moved from baking in Dutch ovens and a small deck oven to designing one of the most recognizable ovens in the cottage-baking world. We talk about the very real learning curve that comes with moving into open deck baking, why a great oven cannot disguise poorly fermented dough, and what bakers should expect when increasing their production. We also explore the remarkable community that has grown around RackMaster. Campbell is known not only for making equipment, but for freely sharing his knowledge, answering questions at nearly any hour, delivering ovens to extraordinarily remote places, and helping bakers become the best they can be. In this conversation: How Campbell first became hooked on sourdough The experiences that inspired him to develop the RackMaster oven Why switching from Dutch ovens to deck baking requires bakers to reassess their dough Steam, oven loading, an