outdoor pizza oven

[lieu]

Hello All
I was wondering if anyone ever built an outdoor pizza oven?
My back patio is getting old and is going to need some attention in the next year or so, so I was thinking about totally re-doing the whole area.
If I'm going to put that much effort into this I would like to incorporate a pizza oven.
I have looked on the WWW but was just wondering if anyone has ever built one.

 

[Rocky]

Bruce,


I have not built one but we had one at home long ago. I have thought about it for my patio. I have looked at the pre-fab stuff that is available and it is really expensive. You would have $3-5K in it if you went that way. I don't know if you have any really old brick craftsmen in your area, but I imagine in RI &MAthereonce werequite a few and probably getting "fewer"with time passage of time. These types of ovens are very common in Italy so you may be able to find someone from the "old Country" to build one from scratch. You can do gas or woodburning (the real thing!) and you can find rough designs on the net.

 

[lieu]

Hey Rocky,
I have also looked at the pre-fab ovens and although they seem nice they are pricey like you said. I dont think I could get the BBL to go for it.
I would like to have a go at it myself because I think I will be re doing my patio myself and really how hard could it be

 

[robie]

I have never built one, either, but it seems one could build the whole oven, except the door, out of bricks and use wood for heat. Sounds really nice to me.

 

[tdeyette]

Lieu,


I too was very interested in brick ovens. I did a lot of reading but have not attempted to build one.... YET!


Have you seen this site in your searches:


http://www.fornobravo.com/index.html#pizza_ovens


They have a good user forum and offer free plans (as well as pre-fabs, ingrediantsand materials for sale)


See their e-book section (in their store) for free plans and recipe books. The pompeii oven looks very interesting!!


Tom

 

[closetwine]

Look at diy networks web site... You can build it out of concrete blocks the cover in brick or simulated stone. It's cheaper and still looks high-end. Best part is it's fairely easy, but labor intensive...

 

[Rocky]

Bruce,


The important thing is that the entire inside of the oven has to be firebrick. We did not have a door on ours, rather a Steel plate with an angled base and wood handle (yes, it got HOT!) that we would slide in front of the opening when needed. We made lots of bread and pizza in that old oven.


The website that Tom posted is interesting. Looks worth exploring. Also, I agree with DancerMan that wood is the fuel to use for authenticity. Build a good fire and you can bake all day.


Incidentally, the city shown on the home page is San Gimignano which is famous for Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a really great Italian white and DOCG wine. If you can get your hands on a bottle from there, I highly recommend it. Crisp, dry and acidic. We drank lots over there.

 

[Dean]

My family used to make them out of clay in Northern Alberta. We called them "peech ovens", and many Russian and Ukrainian settlers had the art of making these things. I wish that I had the skills and knowledge to make one. We tried a couple of times, but the oven would explode after a few sessions. Yes, explode, most likely due to improper curing. Making them with fire-brick seems easy enough though.