Diy pizza oven

[vwmark]

I have been talked into building an outdoor pizza oven.

Looking at loads of youtube vids, most dont seem to make an effort to build a heat store. The majority seem to have built the basic oven on top of a layer of fire bricks. My thinking is that its the thermal capacity that is important.

Anyone on here built one? If yes, could you post pictures and an explanation?

Thanks

 

[Parm]

I built one a few years back

I don’t do YouTube instructionals, I just find they lack some of the important details

Have a look at this https://www.debongo.com/diy-pizza-oven/

I used this to build the base, then made a concrete dome (as I didn’t have any bricks)

Made a sand mould of the required shape, lined with wet news paper, then set a sharp sand mix on top, about 3” thick, once set dig out sand through opening and allow to dry more, then slowly build fires over a few days till they get bigger and bigger

It’s been outside for a few years now and no cracking

I’ve got one, but they are a real faff. A good hour or two to get the fire going and up to cooking speed and then it’s all done in a few minutes. Bit like a tandoor oven

 

[stuvy]

I have a steel one takes ten minutes to get to temp and cooks in two

can get a pic tomorrow

 

[Mick Annick]

I built one a few years back

I don’t do YouTube instructionals, I just find they lack some of the important details

Have a look at this https://www.debongo.com/diy-pizza-oven/

I used this to build the base, then made a concrete dome (as I didn’t have any bricks)

Made a sand mould of the required shape, lined with wet news paper, then set a sharp sand mix on top, about 3” thick, once set dig out sand through opening and allow to dry more, then slowly build fires over a few days till they get bigger and bigger

It’s been outside for a few years now and no cracking

I’ve got one, but they are a real faff. A good hour or two to get the fire going and up to cooking speed and then it’s all done in a few minutes. Bit like a tandoor oven

Someone did one of these on Escape to the Chateau DIY this week, looked good

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you have a heat store built in then you need to heat that up first before you can start cooking.
If you are selling pizzas over the garden wall or it's just for garden parties a few times a year then not an issue but for frequent use I would aim for insulation for quick heat up

 

[Spark plug]

Wares @skotl, I've heard he knows about these things

 

[Shedendman]

Also google cob ovens,tons of ideas out there,keep it natural

 

[Bladevane]

Someone did one of these on Escape to the Chateau DIY this week, looked good

I went right off Dick Strawbridge a few years ago when he built an overshot water wheel that overshot backwards, so negating any kinetic energy benefit.

 

[Parm]

If you have a heat store built in then you need to heat that up first before you can start cooking.
If you are selling pizzas over the garden wall or it's just for garden parties a few times a year then not an issue but for frequent use I would aim for insulation for quick heat up

in my experience that never works. You have to heat up the internal mass before the insulation starts to make any difference

having it insulated only reduces the consumption of fuel if using for an extended period of time in a single session

my tandoor is now fully insulated, but still takes the same charge of wood to heat up. But dies stay hotter for much much longer

my suggestion to the OP, build one but don’t go too mad or too expensive. The romance soon wears off and then it just becomes a garden ornament

don’t let me put you off, these are just my experiences from years of making contraptions for cooking with wood fire in the garden

my go to situation is a BBQ from a redundant fuel bottle. Once you know how it works and how to create different types of fire it will do anything you want

 

[Shedendman]

I went right off Dick Strawbridge a few years ago when he built an overshot water wheel that overshot backwards, so negating any kinetic energy benefit.

How was his pizzas?

 

[badabec]

How was his pizzas?

His children ate them all...

 

[gaz1]

now id be cruel if i posted this up

and yes ive got an idea how hes done it

if you do a direct flame you will get this as he explains it

im posting this as a dont do direct as ash will go over your food the one thing i hate

 

[Olderisbetter]

Bloke next door made this last year sometime and i could smell it a few times this week

 

[frank horton]

Strawbridge.......his first name says it all..........hahaha,,,,,,,

ps bought mine readydone.....only 700 dia inside......
the base slabe took 6 strong people to pick it up.....

 

[winchman]

Winchgirl wants to build one but I just feel it will end up and an ornament? We also wondered about a good supply of wood as so much is chemically treated

 

[toddy]

all i will say is dont buy one or we will see another post on how to move a pizza oven ....
that was an interesting one to follow

 

[Wany]

I made one a few years ago, the family have just got round to putting the mosaic on the base. I used cinder blocks for the legs, 3 x 1.2m concrete lintels with 4 x 60cm square slabs on. Sleepers round the top with a mix of vermiculite and cement in the base with 5cm of sand and then the fire bricks. More thermal mass is better for lower temperatures and longer duration like bread making and once you have some heat in the oven (eighty minutes of fire) half a dozen small bits of wood gets it from 300C to 450C in a couple of minutes. Dome was made with a sand former and a grogged mix of 2 parts sand to 1 part clay, one layer internal, then a layer of clay and vermiculite and then a top layer of clay. Opening is 65% of the diameter of the base and you can get tapered firebrick arch sets.

Use dry wood and don't worry about any cracks that form that you can't put your finger in once it's cooled. My base mix is 50% strong white flour and 50% 00 pasta flour with some salt, sugar and yeast. Get the base temperature up to 450C and they take 45 seconds to cook. If you don't have flames coming off your wood while cooking it's not hot enough. I get a pickup truck of dry firewood about once a year (cheaper in the spring/summer) and stack it in the shed. Damp wood will cause the inside of the clay oven to spald. I'm still not sure what roof/cover to use, I put a tarpaulin with a ratchet strap round at the moment (once cooled).

 

[Dee J]

Many pizza ovens have a constantly burning heat source, unlike stored heat bread ovens. So lighter-weight versions can work well. Google 'portable pizza oven'. Even amazon lists a small lightweight wood-pellet fired one.

 

[stuvy]

My mate made one of these to see if he really would get the use out of a pizza oven, it’s dismantled now

I did actually wash mine yesterday when I did the decking

if I can get some flour from the shop il make a few and social distancing drop them to our neighbours

 

[Parm]

View attachment 223518

My mate made one of these to see if he really would get the use out of a pizza oven, it’s dismantled now

I did actually wash mine yesterday when I did the decking

if I can get some flour from the shop il make a few and social distancing drop them to our neighbours

I like that, did it work?