The Kings Wood Fired Pizza Oven Thread

[Fu Manchu]

We have a wood fired pizza oven thread. I’ll post mine later.
Bread cooked in one of these is to die for.

 

[Immortality]

About Time!

This is my little pizza oven although it's used for other stuff mostly. Bought as a kit set. I built the base frame and counter tops myself, still need to complete the doors and finishing touches though.

 

[losh1971]

Baking bread in a pizza oven is very tricky. It needs to be about 220-250deg and pizza ovens tend to be around 500deg.
Not to say it can't be done but regulating the temp is really hard. It's easy to maintain 500deg, as you just keep the fire burning and that's about that temp, once you give it 5-6 hours to heat up.

 

[Immortality]

They are also good for slow cooked stuff.
Fairly sure in there is a butterfly chicken on a bed of vegetables (carrots, potato and kumera) and in the other will be a slow cooked pulled pork.

Small fire, low heat and just chuck a log on once in a while.

 

[losh1971]

I've roasted vegetables in one before that worked really well. I've tried bread a couple of times and regulating the heat was the biggest issue. It was either too hot or not hot enough. I've wondered if there is some sort of thermometer that can go inside? This would help in keeping the temp in the 220-250 range.

 

[losh1971]

Just on a side note don't throw petrol in the pizza when you try and light it. I know a bloke who did this and when the petrol didn't ignite this same bloke reach in with a lighter. Well this same bloke lost his eyebrows and singed his hair. Very silly thing to do and this bloke learnt his lesson..

 

[Immortality]

I use an infra-red hand temp gun to see how things are going in there.

 

[Immortality]

Spent quite a bit of time out the back during covid stoking the fire. Quite therapeutic!

 

[losh1971]

Where did you get that? And is it just a matter of pointing inside the opening? Pretty hard to get your arm in due to the extreme heat.

 

[marty351]

How much wood and how long does it take to get the oven up to temperature?
I've known and met many fans of home made wood ovens that seldom get used, mainly because of time and cost, but also from poor quality design and build.
I saw a portable oven on one occasion, cinderblock and concrete slab? design, about 40-50 years old in it's 3rd incarnation and had been used commercially too.