Here are answers to your frequently asked questions.
- Is the hearth mortared in or just a sand/ clay base?
The bricks in the hearth are placed on a sand/ clay base with no mortar. This way, a cracked brick can be removed and replaced. Also, bricks can move during heating/ cooling more freely if they are not mortared. - Can we advertise on woodfiredpizza.org?
Yes, please contact me for advertising rates. - Are you Alan Scott?
No. Alan Scott is the man who ran ovencrafters.net and who sold the plans for ovens. He was also an excellent consultant for people going into business with woodfired ovens (bakeries/ pizza restaurants/ etc). Unfortunately, Alan Scott died in 2009. I am a public school teacher who purchased Alan's book "Bread Builders" and also purchased some plans. Oven building/ pizza cooking is a hobby for me. - Is there any oven I can make for $100 or so?
If you want a quick, inexpensive oven, you might look up the "Outdoor Adobe Oven" featured in August 1998 Sunset Magazine. (you may not be able to get that first link to work if you are not a Sunset Magazine subscriber, although most people tell me they can.)
Cob ovens are also inexpensive. - Will you give me plans?
The plans are property of OvenCrafters, not me.
As far as I know they are no longer in business. - I want to make an oven like yours. What should be my first steps?
First, you must purchase the Bread Builders. This book is an indispensible guide to the process of building a wood fired oven. The book is the best $25 you will spend if you are considering this project. You could conceivably construct the entire oven from the guidance in that book. - What are the dimensions of your oven?
The exterior is 72" deep (bottom) and 64" wide. My oven is 39" deep, 31.5" wide and 16.5" high (interior dimensions) and my door is 15.75" wide and 10.5" high. I think most home bread/ pizza bakers would be fine with a slightly smaller oven, say 33" by 30". I usually find I don't need the depth for pizza nearly as much as I need the width. The oven is often so hot that I can cook the pizzas just outside the hearth. I almost always cook the first pizza there to get a feel for the heat in the oven. - Is there any easy way to construct a wood fired pizza oven?
There are excellent pre-cast components which can made the construction much simpler, but also more expensive. Some of the companies include
Wildwood Ovens or Los Angeles Ovenworks or MaineWoodHeat (Paynol ovens)
http://www.emberz.com/index1.htm
http://www.earthstoneovens.com/ or http://www.fogazzo.com
If I had more money than time, I would certainly consider one of these companies. Their ovens generally run $2000-10000. A self-made oven like mine can generally be made for under $1000. I think my favorite oven company is http://www.mugnaini.com/ - Why do you use firebrick and common brick instead of just one type?
The yellow firebrick is excellent at holding and withstanding heat, it is also about twice as expensive as the red common brick. I was cutting costs. If you have to choose, put the firebrick in the hearth where the heat is most intense and use common brick for the walls and roof. If cost is not an object or you plan to use the oven regularly, use firebricks throughout the oven. - What other tools do you use and where did you get them?
The peel and brush came from a restaurant supply store. I added a longer handle to the peel. (from the hardware store) There is an excellent online supply store for professional tools for the home baker. - How long does it take to heat the oven?
I start heating the oven about 5 hours before a pizza party will start. I use "mill ends" (fir/ pine/ soft wood) for the first four hours then let them burn almost to ashes before I put hardwood in. (oak) I keep a constant fire with hardwood going during the pizza cooking. For bread, I heat the oven about three hours, rake out all the coals and sweep it well. I then swab the hearth with a wet cloth on the end of a stick. Temperature control is more challenging for bread baking and I use a digital infrared thermometer to be sure it is only 450-500°F. The pizzas are usually cooking in a 650-850° oven. Notice the wide range of temperatures that pizzas can cook in compared with bread. - Is there any advice that is not in the book?
I had no idea how tall to make the chimney. In talking to Alan, I've learned that the chimney should be at least as tall as the oven is deep. I made mine a little taller because it drew air better that way. You can experiment with cinder blocks or chimney pipe to get this length right, but a good starting point is 1.6 times the depth of the oven.
Also, take your time and do things right. This oven can add thousands to the value of your home and rushing the project can be disastrous. Visit other ovens. Talk to people who have made them. Think about the decorative aspects of the oven as well as the structural ones. Take the time and money to make the oven attractive. - Can you give me some help with starting the chimney?
That darned chimney is a challenge. I admit. I am deliberately vague on my website about it because I don't think I did it "right". I mean, it works.... but I don't think it is Alan's design at all.
Study photos 16-20 here and let me know if you have more questions about the chimney.
The chimney is the trickiest part of the project... believe me. Here is a photo of another person's oven with an excellent example of the start of the chimney.
What would you do differently if you were to build it all over?
The list here is extensive although I am very happy with the oven.. Alan Scott thought I made a huge mistake creating a solid insulation top over my oven instead of walls to contain loose insulation but I have had little problems with my design. Sure, it cracked a little, but it insulates well and I think it looks great.
I wish I had made the roof for the oven first. I put the roof up last and it was a bit of a hassle to put it up after the oven was made. (it also would have provided shelter from the sun during construction)
For bread, I have had a hard time getting to know the temperature. I think I would install the thermocouples early on (they're inexpensive and easiest to install during the building process) rather than waiting until now to decide they might be useful. The actual meter (which connects to the themocouples) is expensive and you can purchase that later. I have since purchased an infrared thermometer off ebay, which has made temperature reading easier. Infrared thermometers look a little like a radar gun. You point at the surface you want to read, and pull the trigger. Instantly, the digital temperature is shown. I got mine on ebay for about $30 and it reads up to 750 degrees F. There are more expensive ones which read even higher.
Pizza is easy enough to make without themocouples as you can move the pizza farther back or closer to the front. You can also pull out the pizza when it looks done, unlike bread. If you are going to bake bread, you need to know the temperature of the oven. The methods I had heard about how long you can leave your hand in the oven or how long it takes to toast flour were simply not accurate enough for me. I kept baking large sourdough charcoal briquets until I got the thermometer.
I would certainly consider the "Forno Bravo" circular design oven as it is more specifically designed for cooking pizza instead of bread. There is a lot of debate over which oven design is better.
Finally, the bullnose bricks should be finished like this:
The list here is extensive although I am very happy with the oven.. Alan Scott thought I made a huge mistake creating a solid insulation top over my oven instead of walls to contain loose insulation but I have had little problems with my design. Sure, it cracked a little, but it insulates well and I think it looks great.
I wish I had made the roof for the oven first. I put the roof up last and it was a bit of a hassle to put it up after the oven was made. (it also would have provided shelter from the sun during construction)
For bread, I have had a hard time getting to know the temperature. I think I would install the thermocouples early on (they're inexpensive and easiest to install during the building process) rather than waiting until now to decide they might be useful. The actual meter (which connects to the themocouples) is expensive and you can purchase that later. I have since purchased an infrared thermometer off ebay, which has made temperature reading easier. Infrared thermometers look a little like a radar gun. You point at the surface you want to read, and pull the trigger. Instantly, the digital temperature is shown. I got mine on ebay for about $30 and it reads up to 750 degrees F. There are more expensive ones which read even higher.
Pizza is easy enough to make without themocouples as you can move the pizza farther back or closer to the front. You can also pull out the pizza when it looks done, unlike bread. If you are going to bake bread, you need to know the temperature of the oven. The methods I had heard about how long you can leave your hand in the oven or how long it takes to toast flour were simply not accurate enough for me. I kept baking large sourdough charcoal briquets until I got the thermometer.
I would certainly consider the "Forno Bravo" circular design oven as it is more specifically designed for cooking pizza instead of bread. There is a lot of debate over which oven design is better.
Finally, the bullnose bricks should be finished like this:
- What about the ash drop slot? Why don't I see one in your oven?
I did NOT put the slot in for the ashes because I wanted a smooth surface to load the bread and pizza, I didn't want to deal with the added complexity of the construction and I did not want another opening for cool air to come in. It has not been a problem to unload the ashes from the front and I can store some wood underneath (which would be impossible if hot ashes were dropping down. If I was to build it all over again, I think I might put in the slot as the wood storage has not been very useful located under the oven and it is a little messier to unload the ashes all the way to the front of the oven. - How long did it take you? How much building experience did you have?
It took me about 8 weeks, working 0-5 hours each day. I had never laid a brick so I purchased a book about masonry projects. I can operate a circular saw and a cordless drill. I know a few basics about carpentry. Other than those skills, I'm a novice. - I am about to build a wood fired oven for a pizza restaurant I have. Can you help me?
Contact a professional mason who may have information about the legal requirements for your restaurant. - I have a lot of questions. Are you the person to ask?
I'll help if I can, but for excellent advice, join the Yahoo! brick oven group. They have some talented members who can answer all your questions. - If you still have questions, feel free to write to me.