Outdoor pizza and bread oven?

[sixdogs]

It's late winter and my mind is wandering to potentiol projects. One that has intrigued me is an outdoor wood-fired oven. The kind for pizza or bread and the kind that has been seen on those DIY shows on TV.
The only way I figure this can be done is either have the skills and experience to build one from scratch (nope) or buy the clay interior lining kit and just do the exterior stonework. This way the smokeshelf is guaranteed to be correct. These kits seem to start at $3,000 because they come from Italy?
Does anyone here know anything about these regarding building, cost or whatever? Next to the wife and dogs and my farm equipment, I love wood-fired pizza and bread.
I hope this is an OK thread because it's not tractor related but there are some pretty clever guys here. Anyway, I have baled hay and eaten pizza a number of times.

 

[Egon]

Where is Prokop with the pictures and advice??

The Thread did come to light.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/123928-brick-oven.html

 

[archeryantny]

The trick is getting the right material to work with. I personally loathe the already made forms that are sold. Most people build these ovens to get back to how bread was originally baked. I'm willing to make a hefty bet that 300-400 years ago there wasn't an Italian selling premade pizza oven forms. Instead there was an oven trade and people who mastered this art made good livings because everyone needed an oven.

Imho you should do some reasearch and do it the right way. It will not cost you anymore to do it authenticly versus byuying the kit. When built well, a warmed up pizza oven should hold steady temperature of 650F-700F with one or two pieces of wood.

I wish i had pictures but I'll try and explain. Building the base for the oven is pretty straight forward so I won't get into that.
Once the base is complete and your ready for the actual oven dome, you have to make a template of the dome out of plywood. Pile wet sand onto the base, pack it well and get it to the overall height of the inside dome. Next you take the template and make the form of the dome. (This packed sand will be a mold of sorts to hold the dome bricks in place while they cure.) Once your sand form is complete you start laying your dome bricks on the sand to make your oven dome. Once everything is cured you simply shovel out the sand and you are left with the dome.

As far as the flue goes, it should not be placed any where near the oven dome. The dome is for refraction and the containment of heat. Any disruption of the dome will seriously affect the efficiency of the oven. The flue should be located at the mouth of the oven.

The finished dome has to be insulated between the outer dome and you facade. For this insulation I usually use vermiculite.

A picture is worth a 1000 words and I hope I didn't confuse you too much. I'll see if I could dig any up from my travels to Italy and Europe. If you have any thing specifically I could help you with just ask.

 

[woodlandfarms]

A friend of mine has one kind alike this
Amazon.com: Wood Fired Burning Pizza Oven Outdoor Cooking: Patio, Lawn & Garden

Except it look more like a wood burning stove (the house heating kind) with a cooking box on the top (tall and skinny as opposed to round).

He can wheel it out of the weather, takes less time to heat up and hmmmmmm pizzaaa It is good. He got all gourmet on us, which is fun...

 

[sixdogs]

Wow, you guys are amazing. I felt someone might have an answer but certainly not in one day and not right under my nose. With the photos and thread from the czechsonofagun at EGON's thread and description from archeryantny I now have my plan formulated.
I originally thought to find a guy like czechson....but I didn't know where to look. This is an art form that takes a lot of skill and practice. He's got it. I am going to double my efforts to find a guy like him that can build the important parts for me.

Woodland--I like the wheels but want to go traditional from an appearance standpoint--thanks.

Arch--anything you can find re: Italy would be appreciated.

My first choice was never the clay liner but it was the only way I could assure a reliable end-result with someone unfamiliar with construction. I think I'll either find the right guy or not build it.

Thanks.

 

[CurlyDave]

Now you already know about the rule that you have to be able to sing opera before you can use one of these?

 

[Egon]

sixdogs, I don't know if you caught it but Prokop started another thread this morning describing his oven.

These ovens are specific to Italy but would be found all over Europe.

 

[sixdogs]

sixdogs, I don't know if you caught it but Prokop started another thread this morning describing his oven.

These ovens are specific to Italy but would be found all over Europe.

I have been looking but cannot find it . Where is it?

 

[SPIKER]

Now you already know about the rule that you have to be able to sing opera before you can use one of these?

if-n he drops one of the bricks on his foot he will be able to sing opera just fine me thinks


Mark

 

[Slackdaddy]

goto:
The Masonry Heater Association Home Page - Information on masonry heaters, manufacturers, and masonry heater builders

or:
The Brick Bake Oven Page

Slack

 

[Egon]

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/123928-brick-oven.html

Prokops Oven.

 

[sixdogs]

Many thanks....

 

[johntab]

No topic on bread is complete unless you have a good recipe:

Easy, No Knead Crusty Bread

recipe is on page 2

This is so easy that even I can make it. My mother makes it every day. I have an aunt who took her dutch oven to Florida on vacation so she could bake this daily.

 

[TDVT]

You need to go to this site:

FORNO BRAVO

It is one of my regular stops on the net.
LOTS of information.
They also have a free, downloadable book for constuction of their Pompeii oven design.

 

[sixdogs]

Wow--after this one thread I have learned more than in months of trying on my own. The last one is a wood-fired forum. What more could a guy want? Don't answer; making wine is for next year.

Thanks you all very much.

 

[beardley]

I built an earth oven last summer. The great thing about earth ovens is if you play your cards right, the only thing it costs is your time!!

Amazon.com: Build Your Own Earth Oven, 3rd Edition: A Low-Cost Wood-Fired Mud Oven; Simple Sourdough Bread; Perfect Loaves: Kiko Denzer, Hannah Field: Books

Here is a few pics of it in process. Sticking with the theme I used an old tractor tire as the foundation filled with field stones! I actually just uploaded these, so they aren't organized very well, but you'll get the idea.

oven - Zorpia: Album - Photo Sharing - Zorpia - Share Photos, Make Friends

 

[dcyrilc]

Sixdogs,

Did you ever build your oven?

 

[sixdogs]

Sixdogs,

Did you ever build your oven?

No--I faced a crisis of confidence. At this very moment, however, my wife is on the way to pick up the library book--- The bread builders : hearth loaves and masonry ovens --so I can keep the dream alive.
To me anyway, it's a a daunting task requiring skills I don't posess and don't think I can become proficient at with just one oven. And the world does not need another mediocre oven builder. By the way, that book is so popular it took me a number of months to get it on reserve. So others have the same ideas.

I retired a few months back so my plan now is to talk with a new family that came into town from an eastern bloc country. He is a mason by trade and plenty smart so I'm going to talk with him about having it done.
In the meantime I have been baking some great pizza and Italian bread in the oven on a stone. It is very good but nothing beats things baked in a wood fired oven.
There is a thread with pictures of an oven built by Czechsonofagun that is as nice as they come----they guy has it figured out and has the skills to do it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/123928-brick-oven.html


Wish I had more to report.

 

[dcyrilc]

No--I faced a crisis of confidence. At this very moment, however, my wife is on the way to pick up the library book--- The bread builders : hearth loaves and masonry ovens --so I can keep the dream alive.
To me anyway, it's a a daunting task requiring skills I don't posess and don't think I can become proficient at with just one oven. And the world does not need another mediocre oven builder. By the way, that book is so popular it took me a number of months to get it on reserve. So others have the same ideas.

I retired a few months back so my plan now is to talk with a new family that came into town from an eastern bloc country. He is a mason by trade and plenty smart so I'm going to talk with him about having it done.
In the meantime I have been baking some great pizza and Italian bread in the oven on a stone. It is very good but nothing beats things baked in a wood fired oven.
There is a thread with pictures of an oven built by Czechsonofagun that is as nice as they come----they guy has it figured out and has the skills to do it.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/123928-brick-oven.html


Wish I had more to report.

Check out Mark's Thread (polo1665). He's doing a pretty good job of documenting the build he did and it looks like it could be done fairly easily without having to be an expert mason.:thumbsup:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/195199-patio-outdoor-kitchen-project.html

 

[sixdogs]

Check out Mark's Thread (polo1665). He's doing a pretty good job of documenting the build he did and it looks like it could be done fairly easily without having to be an expert mason.:thumbsup:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/195199-patio-outdoor-kitchen-project.html

Thank you very much.
His pictures are very helpful.