Fourneau was launched by Sharon and Ted Burdett. Ted's dad Bob taught everyone in the family how to bake no-knead bread with the technique published by Jim Lahey and Mark Bittman in the New York Times. Bob, in pursuit of the perfect baguette, began experimenting with clay cloches and baking stones to bakes loaves that wouldn't fit in a standard dutch oven.

Before long Ted and Sharon were messing around too—and sick of burns from the dutch oven—they made a bread baker with an opening on the front. After years of baking and tinkering, and with the support of 800 backers, they launched the Fourneau Bread Oven on Kickstarter in 2015.