Milestone Reached!

[John Middleton]

Well, I see it's 2.75 years since my initial registration and the original design of my outdoor living area.

We had a large area of approx 150m2 (1600sq ft) off the western side of our 150m2 house. We poured 110m2 coloured concrete with a further 40m2 set as a lower paved area that will have an area for the kids above ground 16' pool to be erected on during summer. I am still fencing the area in.

I also had precast concrete bench tops made and installed. I had intended to build my own WFO but after the time delay and work changes etc I knew it wasn't going to be achievable. I then researched New Zealand WFO manufacturers and found a guy that had a great reputation about 600km from me and I commissioned an approx 36" oven. Fuera Ovens on FB.

It was finally delivered yesterday. I first had to have the crane remove my precast corner slab and I had it set in the corner between the raised concrete and lower paved section to use as a base for a fire pit. They then lifted in my WFO. I Had to reset the front legs back further and the smaller benchtop to the right requires some realignment but overall I'm very happy with it.

Next, I have to complete the fencing, then set up the firepit area. I already had a fire pit made from some corten steel so it's a matter of setting it up only. Then once summer is finished, I need to do the paving for the lower area. It'll be great to bring it all together as a cohesive outdoor area. All being well, that will be a total 3-year 'start-to-finish' project...

Kind regards, John

[John Middleton]

Lifting the oven in.

[John Middleton]

Set in place. Now for shifting the legs, bolting it down etc.

[John Middleton]

Legs shifted and bolted down. Need to realign the small bench on the right, that will be the weekend's job. Aspect from the drive seeing the partly completed fencing too.

[roobqn]

Patients being a virtue certainly describes your WFO journey. I like the the layout and your view is awesome. Happy cooking!

[david s]

There’s no guarantee that all “patients” are virtuous, however “patience” can be a good attribute as long as it doesn’t lead to a lack of enthusiasm.

[John Middleton]

Thanks guys. I have had an absolute blast for the first week. We have made so many different dishes and loving experimenting.

Potato dishes, roast lamb for Christmas day, pavlova x2, focaccia bread, pizza from homemade dough, chocolate self-saucing pudding and slow cooked beef stews.

When you shift the fire away from your cooking zone, how do you not end up with heaps of fine ash left on the surface that sticks to the first pizza or two?

John

[SableSprings]

Glad to hear you are experimenting with different baked entrees and enjoying the "fruits" of your WFO. As to clearing the cooking zone, I pull off my bulk ash/coals with a scraper/brush and then use a copper tube with a flattened end to clear the cooking area (by being a blow hard ). The swirling heat from the oven will take the ash dust out and up your chimney. I've attached a link to a pdf that listed and illustrated my favorite/required tools for baking in The Dragonfly Den.

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...498#post383498

Hope that helps...and Happy New Year!

[John Middleton]

Thanks SableSprings. I’ll definitely get a blow pipe sorted.

i have been following the quick and overnight recipes from this book. Using scales and weights based measuring but still need to fine tune my dough. The first was way too wet and would put slide off the peel. The second was not stretchy enough so it ended up with minor holes in the base having the same effect of sticking to the peel.

cheers, John

[RandyJ]

Do you jave a wood peel? A little corn meal, rice flour, or semolina flour as a dusting on the peel helps the dough come off nicely. As you get use to the dough and oven you will be able to go for more hydration and still launch the pizza nicely.

[John Middleton]

Just an aluminium peel. Didn't have any of those flours, so dusted it with standard flour.

[RandyJ]

I suggest that when possible you try to find a wood peel. That will make all the difference. I started just like you and had the same issues. The other flour has a higher burn point and won't give the raw flour taste. Good luck

[JRPizza]

I agree with Randy - I use a wooden peel for placing the pie in the oven and a metal one for turning and removing.
I tend to use a bit of flour when forming my disk and stretching/spreading my dough which forms a little "skin" which helps retard sticking. Right before I put on toppings I sprinkle a little corn meal to act as ball bearings and help the pie slide off the peel. We tend to really load up our pies so I have not had luck transferring the pizza to a secondary peel, but with the above technique I don't get any sticking. The other thing that has helped me is going from the ~275 gram balls I was using to around 335 grams, to make a 12" pie. I was getting the dough so thin with the smaller ball that with all the sauce and toppings it was "sogging" through before I could get it ready for the oven. For reference, I'm using 65% hydration with either Pivetti or Caputo flour.

[RandyJ]

Yes for turning the pizza i like my turning peel i believe it is called a banjo peel. Mine is 9 or 10" in diameter. It is designed for turning pizzas and a must have.

[John Middleton]

The oven came with 2 aluminium peels. A larger square fronted one and a smaller banjo one.

I'll look into making a wooden peel and see how that goes. As our dough improves and using a bit of cornmeal instead of flour on the peel hopefully things will naturally get better.

Thanks.