It seems that I've started

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Hi Frances,
My friends from Italy told me that I have to look on the temperature, and probably on the dough, so I have to practice a lot.
We have here mostly bread flour, special ones is quite rear, made of wheat I mean - it's nor so difficult to by rye or outmeal or buckwheat of pea - but it's a problem to get wholemeal, for example. We have local flours as well as Scandinavian, but Italian is rare (never seen it, to be exact, but saw French 55 once, strange). I hope to find it in a special shops - but didn't search yet.

[Frances]

Re: It seems that I've started

That looks really good!

...Five out of six isn't bad at all, specially if these were your first pizzas ever - and in the rain!

What kinds of flour do you have in Russia? Is it easy to get different variaties? The flour here seems to be rather different from what is sold in the USA and the UK, but it works, so I'm not grumbling.

[dvonk]

The first pizza!

Well, it was quire rainy yesterday, but I've managed to fire the oven covered with plastic film. It still has no chimney, so I'd covered the upper part of facade with mortar just to keep it of smoke and soot.
I was an experience - cause it was not only the first pizza in my oven, but it was first pizza I've ever made. There still a lot of room for getting skills, of course - fire management, working with dough, but it works.
And the very first pizza come out more or less normally - but the last, 6th pizza stick to peel and was ruined completely (Frances, I was keeping you in mind!)
The crust was pretty thin - about 5 mm maybe, crispy and easy to fold.

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Thank you, Dave

Did you experience any

Not yet, Dave. Actually my firing is rather moderate. And I hope of mortar, well, Frances told you that ))

I'm definitely would build another dome-opening walls transition if I build it again, to lock walls with a dome. Now it gave me a simple way to leave a door reveal but forced me to make some cartwheels and jumps and tricks - say nothing of wasted time for two attempts to build the facade arch and vent.
And I probably will change the vent-chimney transition, cause I'm thinking of making brick chimney instead of sandwich. Not sure but


Dimitry

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Dave, he won't get any cracking because he used the same mortar as me.

It seems that chamotte mortar irate amateur cement-dependent oven-builders!

[asudavew]

Re: It seems that I've started

Dave, he won't get any cracking because he used the same mortar as me.

Show off!

[Frances]

Re: It seems that I've started

Keeping it dry at all times definately is a pain - Get that thing covered with something watertight as soon as possible!! ...I'll keep my fingers crossed for you in the meantime.

Dave, he won't get any cracking because he used the same mortar as me.

[asudavew]

Re: It seems that I've started

Sorry I hadn't caught this thread.
Great work Dvonk.

Did you experience any cracking after firing?

And what would you do different if you could?


Congrats!

Dave

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started



I've made to firing this weekend, about the same size, reached about 150C. The dome was cold after first one, yesterday it was definitely warm outside, so it's look like a progress. Unfortunately, we have a very unstable weather, so I'm forced to keep an oven all the time covered with plastic film.
In a couple of days I'll dress it in insulation blanket and hope to cover it with concrete next weekend.

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Hi Dick
I'm in doubt right now - can't figure our if I want to get into custom-made anchor plate, sandwich chimney and roof transition story or to make the brick chimney?
Anyhow, I was thinking of blanket as a shock absorber-thermal expansion compensator and a sealer, three-in-one, 25% gratis and blah-blah-blah.
I don't like the thickness of the couple of bricks in the upper chains, to say frankly, I'm expecting it to get quite hot.
Should wait a couple of month to build a gazebo that will force me to make a decision.

[thebadger]

Re: It seems that I've started

Dvonk,

Are you going to use a chimney plate?

One thing Ken recommended was to put some insulating blanket between the brick and the metal chimney plate. I did that and then used 4 tapcon screws. So far (only 5 small curing fires) so good. My guess/hope is that the insulating blanket will act like a gasket/shock absorber.

Keep up the great work.
Dick

[Frances]

Re: It seems that I've started

Hehe, I once had a job like that

Last weekend I had a rather wet pizza party, with pizzas sticking to everything like superglue...

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Your guess is wrong!
'cause I'm actualy spending all my work time in _three_ forums (including that one)

By the way, what happend last weekend (I didn't seen anything about that)/

[Frances]

Re: It seems that I've started

Hmmm, let me guess... you're spending all your time at work on the forum, right?

The roof sounds like a very good idea - specially when taking my experience last weekend into account.

[dvonk]

Re: It seems that I've started

Hi Frances
I've used here the same mortar. I only used mortar + cement mixture for the lowest 3 bricks. Since I'm going to make a roof for the outdoor kitchen/gazebo, the question of clay going wet is not so important, so I've decided to go strict mortar way on the upper bricks.