ok, what do we all know about wood burning pizza ovens?

[vash]

just watched a show where they simply stacked a bunch of fireplace bricks and got to cooking. i know ZERO about pizza ovens. at the pro restaurants, i see a wood fire burning inside, way in the back. they are huge. for the backyard deal, if you build a fire inside, there isnt much room for a pie, right? how does a backyard deal work?

i did work in a pizza joint as a kid, but it was an oven joint.

[James Brown]

I helped open a pizza place in bellingham WA called LaFiamma. We had the 2nd wood buring oven from Woodstone. The best in the industery made right here in Bellingham (Sumas to be exact). Great oven It has been hot for over 10 years and still going strong. They mak small backyard models now, Check them out if you want the best. When working at peak, it's around 800˚ inside and makes the best pies around. We pulled the fire out at closing time and in the morning, it is at the right temp to bake some focasha bread in it. Then start a fire and heat it up.

[RWebb]

a friend of mine wants to build one but he says it costs $3,000 for the materials -- apparently they need special fire bricks or something

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by James Brown

I opened a pissa place in bellingham WA called LaFiama. We had the 2nd wood buring oven from Woodstone. The best in the industery made right here in Bellingham (Sumas to be exact). Great oven It has been hot for over 10 years and still going strong. They mak small backyard models now, Check them out if you want the best. When working at peak, it's around 800˚ inside and makes the best pies around. We pulled the fire out at closing time and in the morning, it is at the right temp to bake some focasha bread in it. Then start a fire and heat it up.

My sister lives in Bellingham. I will check your place out on my next visit, probably in October. We got pizza there in March, but I can't remember the name of the place. Lots of bums and drifters hanging out nearby. I think it was near the train or bus depot.

[Walter_Middie]

I built one in my backyard. Bought some plans off a web site from Australia. Not really plans, just a CD with a bunch of pictures. I had to make up most of the instructions myself. It wasn't all that expensive. A cinderblock base, firebrick oven, and insulation over the top.

You build the fire inside to heat up the bricks - then pull all the fire out before putting in your bread or pie or whatever you are cooking. The oven is completely sealed to keep in the heat. Mine wasn't insulated as well as it should have been, and my cooking time was 30 to 45 minutes in a small oven.

They have some really nice looking ones that you can make, but I would suggest getting some real plans that include materials and instructions. Maybe find a place that sells masonry products and fire brick and go talk to them first.

[ERH]

We are putting one of these into a kitchen remodel.

Casa2G Series Residential Pizza Ovens

I'll report back in six months and let you know how it works.

Ed

[BernieP]

I have a keg grill similar to a Big Green Egg. Turns out some great pies over wood lump charcoal.

Bernie

[ERH]

Originally Posted by ERH

We are putting one of these into a kitchen remodel.

Casa2G Series Residential Pizza Ovens

I'll report back in six months and let you know how it works.

Ed

6 months a year, more... whatever...
this thing really works and is great fun, as long as you don't compute cost per pie
It does add a lot to the kitchen.

[Jim Bremner]

How well does it work?

[ERH]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

How well does it work?

very, very well... no smoke in the kitchen and the stone in the front of the oven was 780F with the small fire in the picture

I need to start working on bread.

[Drisump]

The crust looks perfect, I was in Italy in the spring and had a few quality pizzas while there, unfortunately there are few places that make em like that around here. Looks great but as you were saying, price per pie would be kind of prohibitive for most. Cheers

[supernovatx]

try fornobravo it's the pelican forums of brick ovens.

[SXSMAN]

Originally Posted by supernovatx

try fornobravo it's the pelican forums of brick ovens.

Where's Kemo when you need em .......

Kemo's South Austin Pizza Oven - Forno Bravo Forum: The Wood-Fired Oven Community

I was going to buy one from an Ohio company but they won't return phone calls or emails , sooooooo I'm a bit of a bone-head and when I get POed I say #@* it and I'm building my own , yeah .......that'll fix em !

Cooking at present on my weber w/pizza stone,not the same but damn fine.

[SXSMAN]

For you guys that can't even boil water this is a good thread about making pizza , easy peaszy as Jamie Oliver would say.

Home made pizza?

[Kemo]

This is the Second thread Ive seen talking about pizza ovens! My wife and I built ours about 3yrs ago and its still going strong. I had never laid a brick before in my life and we got thru it. I downloaded the Pompei plans from Pizza Oven | Brick Oven | Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens and went to work. If you dont want the full monty, they do sell kits. I just took a snapshot with wifey's IPhone and here is what it looks like today. Stucco top, rock veneer bottom, hardee and metal roof, no combustables.


Nothing better than a brisk cool night cooking pizza at 800+ degrees.

I learned so much building this one, Id like to build another one...bigger, stronger faster

[Kemo]

oh...and to answer the original question, I heat up my oven to white hot bricks which i estimate to be over 1000 deg. then I push the coals to the back of the oven and let the oven cool down a bit...i use an infared thermometer to monitor and cook right there on the pizza brick hearth at about 750-800 degrees. homemade dough, growing my own tomatoes and basil. I have a book on how to make cheese but havent got to making any. Mozzarella can be made in a day. im a big pizza snob too

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by Kemo

oh...and to answer the original question, I heat up my oven to white hot bricks which i estimate to be over 1000 deg. then I push the coals to the back of the oven and let the oven cool down a bit...i use an infared thermometer to monitor and cook right there on the pizza brick hearth at about 750-800 degrees. homemade dough, growing my own tomatoes and basil. I have a book on how to make cheese but havent got to making any. Mozzarella can be made in a day. im a big pizza snob too

you want to push the coal to both sides, not to the rear.
If you don't your pizza will cook unevenly in the back.

You probably have to rotate it the way you're doing it to prevent it burning in the back and undercooking in the front, right?

spread the coal, and you can just dunk it in, not touch it till it's finished.

[Kemo]

ya...you have to spin the pizza about every 30 seconds or so...but you only have to spin it twice at 800 degrees

ive seen different theories on the coal placement, some people create an even thin line along the back and sides, making a semi circle. This is proabaly the best for heat distribution, but you still have to rotate due to the door at the front which has no heat at all

Also, there is the side theory which alot of people use putting the coals to the left or right of the oven. they then cook opposite the coals.

for me, I like piling my coals up at the back in as neat of a pile I can get. the oven stays hotter and its easier to get a flame going with a maintenance log if you have a hot spot. the thin coal layer burns evenly, but burns out quick. I guess it depends on how many pizzas you will be cooking and how long you need to maintain 800+ degrees.

Mine is pretty well insulated, so I can carry 600-650 degrees for hours, the next morning with some fire bricks over the door, I can make biscuits or breakfast calzones as its still 400 or so.

after 30hrs or so, it levels out about 200 deg and I can slow cook a brisket or warmup whatever...its really a neat deal. I just got a good recipie for corned beef, so maybe ill slow cook a corned beef brisket here pretty soon. Flat bread is fun and you can even make cookies in there. just like a regular oven, but funner

[grendiers]

We do this for a living. The Stone Barn in Nelson Artisan Food, Antiques and Ambiance, pics of our commercial oven included. We heat up to 700 degrees in the back, and it's about 600-650 in the front. We keep a fire going in the back to keep the oven up to temp, and to brown the cheese. Speaking of cheese, we use a 50-50 blend of provalone and mozzarella cheese, less chewy. Takes from 11am to 5pm to heat the big oven up to temp on a friday, and only 2-3 hours sat/sun. We're only open weekends, that's enough. We use standing dead elm trees for our wood. Nice amount of BTUs in the wood, but faster burning than say oak. Lots of dead elm trees in the midwest.

We cook two 18" pizzas at a time, thin crust, but not crispy, takes 90 seconds to cook. We're open 4 hours a night, and have served 200+ pizzas several times. There's noooooooo 'romantic' notion to doing this, just an FYI if anybody is thinking of doing this for a living. But, we get 7.5 months off!

[SXSMAN]

grendiers , do you hand roll/pull your crust or do you use a dough roller ?

PS. Not sure when we will be traveling to your area but when I showed the wife your place some time ago we saved it to our favorites and are looking forward to a pie or two with you.