Author Topic: Wood Burning pizza oven (Read 127945 times)

chuckh · « **Reply #100 on:** January 14, 2006, 02:27:46 PM »

Hello, I am a new member, and I am building a fire brick wood burning oven in my backyard.

Does anyone have any wood recommendations?
I am located in Texas if that makes a diff....THANKS!
Chuck

kip · « **Reply #101 on:** January 14, 2006, 03:52:37 PM »

I am in the process of making a wood burning pizza oven. My oven floor is 31 inches wide and 36 inches deep. Question: How high should my dome be? Kip

pam · « **Reply #102 on:** January 14, 2006, 06:49:05 PM »

Quote from: chuckh on January 14, 2006, 02:27:46 PM

Does anyone have any wood recommendations?

Chuck,

I presume you're asking for recommendations of what kind of wood to burn in the oven.

Hardwoods like oak, hickory, and pecan are a good choice. Mesquite burns very hot, but the smoke is quite acrid and may be too strong unless you stick to mesquite charcoal (lump, not processed).

For health and safety (to say nothing of taste) reasons, stay away from soft, resinous woods like pine and cedar. (A byproduct of combustion of the resin is creosote. which is not only highly flammable, but potentially carcinogenic.)

Also, it's generally not a good idea to use waste wood (building scraps, wood pallets, etc.) unless you know with absolute certainty that it's raw (untreated) wood. The most common weather-treating compounds contain aliphatic petroleum distillates, which have been labelled carcinogens, and/or arsenic.

pizzanapoletana · « **Reply #103 on:** January 15, 2006, 11:28:24 AM »

I agree with all Pam has stated.

I would like to add my favourite wood list:

Beech, Olive, Oak and fruit wood such as Peach, Apricot, Almond, Prune and other from the same family.

Ciao

JPY · « **Reply #104 on:** January 15, 2006, 01:30:57 PM »

Walnut, Cherry and Apple work well also. A big problem in some areas is where to find the wood. In Southern California it's very easy to find but it's expensive ($350 per cord) compared to other areas such as PA and NY. People of Southern Florida have a hard time finding seasoned wood that will burn well.

boski1 · « **Reply #105 on:** January 17, 2006, 12:46:51 PM »

pizzanapoletana,

I thought I knew what type oven to build until I encountered this forum, and now I'm sure that the domed Neapolitan style oven is what I want to invest my time and money into building. In your drawing which shows the basic shape of the flattened dome, could you elaborate on the recommended or critical rate of rise of the flattened portion of the dome between the curves, as well as the maximum lateral distance or ratio to the diameter that the curve should be before flattening begins?

I don't want to over-slope the dome nor cause its collapse based on my own notion of what to do here, so please help if you can. Also, is there a practical limit to the floor size of this type of oven?

We are all grateful for sharing your knowledge and experience with us on this great oven adventure.

Porter · « **Reply #106 on:** January 30, 2006, 03:14:09 PM »

Does anyone out there have photos of themself building an igloo pizza oven. I am going to attempt to build one next week but would like some photos and hints and tips to assist with my project.

Fio · « **Reply #107 on:** January 30, 2006, 03:29:33 PM »

Quote from: Porter on January 30, 2006, 03:14:09 PM

Does anyone out there have photos of themself building an igloo pizza oven. I am going to attempt to build one next week but would like some photos and hints and tips to assist with my project.

This isn't me but it's pretty good:

http://www.considine.net/mac/brickoven/

Another good one:

http://www.deltabluesfestival.net/pizza_oven.htm

Here's another: http://www.woodfiredpizza.org/construction/construction.html

And another:

http://www.traditionaloven.com/

I'm building one this spring. Buy the book "The Bread Builders." It's the BIBLE on the subject.

David · « **Reply #108 on:** January 30, 2006, 03:29:40 PM »

http://www.fornobravo.com/pompeii_oven/table_of_contents.html

This link should prove helpful.

vitoduke · « **Reply #109 on:** January 30, 2006, 03:31:44 PM »

Porter --I built an igloo oven from the Forno Bravo website. The directions are very easy to follow. --Mel

Aaron · « **Reply #110 on:** January 30, 2006, 06:20:36 PM »

The local wood burning pizza place(fancy bar) uses strictly apple wood for there pizzas and the owner swears by it.The pies are pretty tasty thats for sure.
Aaron

David · « **Reply #111 on:** January 30, 2006, 07:05:25 PM »

Depending on how serious you are about your Pizza and also what type of Pizza you want to make-you'll be faced with a whole lot of questions to answer before you lay a brick.With just a few suggestions in this thread there is more than enough info to totally confuse you ,( and mislead you IMO ) , and you'll probably end up with something that really isn't what you want or need.I consider this site to be primarily about what you put in the oven.Do yourself a favor and do a LOT of research elsewhere.I spent months,and I still have an oven that although adequate is still not what I want.There is soooooo much more to it than at first appears.My costs were in the 2K region (I did it myself ) and I still am not happy.Good Luck

Bill/SFNM · « **Reply #112 on:** January 30, 2006, 07:05:45 PM »

Quote from: Aaron on January 30, 2006, 06:20:36 PM

The local wood burning pizza place(fancy bar) uses strictly apple wood for there pizzas and the owner swears by it.The pies are pretty tasty thats for sure.

With regard to Neapolitan-style pizza: having gone through many cords of apple, oak, and pecan I feel strongly that the type of hardwood you use for baking pizzas in a wood burning oven is not important. Get whatever is most convenient and economical. In an 800F+ oven, the compounds that give different woods their unique fragrance are too quickly burned off to make it into a pizza that may be in the oven for only 60-90 seconds. Don't know if this is true for other type of pizza.

Bill/SFNM

skylinemad · « **Reply #113 on:** January 31, 2006, 10:57:24 AM »

pizzanapoletana i must thank you very much for the information you provided through this thread.... i followed most of your directions ( all of them reguarding the dimensions and shape of the oven) and had no problems building the oven. I christened it just the other night and must say that once i dried out the oven of all the moisture the pizza were coming out in no longer than 2 mins. and tasted bela. thanks again.
i will post some photos soon when i get mt digital cable back from a friend.

Forno Napoletano · « **Reply #114 on:** February 01, 2006, 06:58:44 AM »

Even if the advise in this thread are quite good, as well as already pointed out by Marco, it is about what use you would like to do with your oven. If you have to make 3-5 pizza, once a month, then a self built oven following these advices will be an option.

If you are more serious about your pizza, as David said, there is no other option then a professionally built Authentic Neapolitan Oven.

It is not all about the approximative measurement and dome curve, but more importantly it is about the materials (bricks and mortar) as well the insulation technique and materials. We only use traditional materials even when building ovens abroad. We first send the materials and then we go there to build the oven. The bricks we used for the ovens, for example, have no alternative even in Italy.

Quote from: David on January 30, 2006, 07:05:25 PM

Depending on how serious you are about your Pizza and also what type of Pizza you want to make-you'll be faced with a whole lot of questions to answer before you lay a brick.With just a few suggestions in this thread there is more than enough info to totally confuse you ,( and mislead you IMO ) , and you'll probably end up with something that really isn't what you want or need.I consider this site to be primarily about what you put in the oven.Do yourself a favor and do a LOT of research elsewhere.I spent months,and I still have an oven that although adequate is still not what I want.There is soooooo much more to it than at first appears.My costs were in the 2K region (I did it myself ) and I still am not happy.Good Luck

chuckh · « **Reply #115 on:** February 05, 2006, 11:22:52 PM »

HELP! My best friend and I have built ovens (fire brick 32 X35 X16 inches) and he fired his up for three hours and could not make a pie! ( I am still finishing mine) Are we losing heat out the top? We have not put any cladding or insulation on the oven...could this be a problem? Any experience or advice you can give would be appreciated.

Chuck

David · « **Reply #116 on:** February 05, 2006, 11:38:02 PM »

Quote from: chuckh on February 05, 2006, 11:22:52 PM

HELP! he fired his up for three hours and could not make a pie! ( I am still finishing mine) Are we losing heat out the top? We have not put any cladding or insulation on the oven...could this be a problem? Chuck

I think you have just hit your thumb and missed the head of the nail.I presume you were following some plans / directions?Where did you get them?You are looking for answers without giving too much info IMO?

Fio · « **Reply #117 on:** February 06, 2006, 12:19:06 AM »

Quote from: chuckh on February 05, 2006, 11:22:52 PM

HELP! My best friend and I have built ovens (fire brick 32 X35 X16 inches) and he fired his up for three hours and could not make a pie! ( I am still finishing mine) Are we losing heat out the top? We have not put any cladding or insulation on the oven...could this be a problem? Any experience or advice you can give would be appreciated.

Chuck

I have NO experience building brick ovens (I have researched it for months; I'm building mine this spring), but my guess is:

Yes.

and Yes.

Seal it up. Fire it up. Use an infrared thermometer to find where you're losing heat. If you don't have an infrared thermometer, use your hand or something else.

If you and your friend have built "ovens" (plural) I find it hard to believe you don't know what the problem is. If you're smart enough to know how to follow plans to build the oven, and smart enough to use the internet to solicit help, you'll be smart enough to know where you're losing heat.

Bill/SFNM · « **Reply #118 on:** February 06, 2006, 09:32:51 AM »

In addition to what the others have advised, three hours may not be enough time to get th oven up to temp. I go 4-5 hours with a large hardwood fire, especially with a large thermal mass.

Bill/SFNM

PizzaBrasil · « **Reply #119 on:** February 07, 2006, 06:55:44 AM »

If you were following oven plans, I am pretty sure (IMHO) that your problems may be only a moistness problem.
When you did your foundation and the walls of your oven, you had added a lot of water in your concrete, showered your firebricks and even your isolation (I am assuming that it could be 8:1 vermiculite/perlite and cement mixture).
Easily speaking, when you boil water, the temperature stands in 212°F, isn´t it?
It is necessary to obtain an almost totally dry oven to reach the desired 800°F hearth!
To do this, it is better begin with little fires (big fires in a moistness oven could crack it) once a day during the first week (in a nice weather) and increase them in the next (at least) two weeks.
Could be better that you will make the first big (cooking/backing) fire after this three weeks.
The temperatures will grow up with each one of the complete backing cycles, normally after 10/15 good pizza parties your oven will be ready and capable to reach high temperatures in 1 1/2 , 2 hours, depending on your oven size/type.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Luis

Author Topic: Wood Burning pizza oven (Read 127945 times)

kip

boski1

Porter

skylinemad