Hansen Horno

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks, woods witch!

We are actually going to try our first pizzas tomorrow (Sunday). I've had the oven up to 800 degrees at least twice already, so I think I'm ready for takeoff. I'm expected to host a pizza party for my son's 9th birthday next Saturday, so this is my one chance to practice! My wife got me a complete Forno Bravo tool set for MY birthday a few weeks ago, so I'm all set.

I ended up getting a Mastercool IR thermometer (this one). It reads Type K thermocouples too. Seems to work fine so far. I have no regrets about installing the thermocouples because it's quite interesting to watch the thermo temps slowly rise in comparison to the IR temps. You really get a sense of how long it takes for the heat to saturate the bricks.

My only complaint is that the IR thermometer only reads 1 thermocouple input at a time, so I have to keep swapping the plugs. Someday I'd like to get a reader that takes multiple inputs, but those seem to be pretty expensive.

Daren

[woods witch]

Re: Hansen Horno

good luck with your pizzas.....I did buy a small digital scale from HF and I really believe that it makes all the difference in the world when making pizza dough. I have been making pizza dough for a long time without the scale, but the more I read about it, I'm sure it's the way to go.
Funny, we're supposed to do a pizza party for our son's 10th birthday in a few weeks, too. The dough recipe here is awesome. Good luck!

[dbhansen]

First pizza

SUCCESS!! Here's my first pizza. After more than a year of labor, it's such a relief to know that this oven really does work. This was my first attempt at the pizza dough from the e-cookbook, and it turned out absolutely fantastic. I agree, woods witch, it's highly recommended. I also made some pizza sauce from scratch this afternoon with fresh tomatoes, and picked up some whole-milk mozzarella. Yummmm! I made enough dough for 6 pizzas, because I was sure I would burn several of them, but after pizza #1 we called the neighbors over for the next 5 pizzas, and everyone raved.

I'm all smiles over this oven!

By the way: I'm not sure what I would do without the oven tool set from FornoBravo. I've used every tool already, just for the 1st pizza!

[Ken524]

Re: First pizza

After more than a year of labor, it's such a relief to know that this oven really does work.

I know that feeling!! Congrats. That's a great looking pizza!!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

I got started on the enclosure walls today. Here's a pic of the lower track, installed.

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Congratulations on the first Pizza! That looks like a pretty happy kid! Imagine the years of joy he'll get, never again knowing what pizza out of a carryout box tastes like!

[Les]

Re: Hansen Horno

Very cool! Like the pic's of the first pie. I am going to play with a couple of sacrificial crusts - you went for the gold and nailed it.

Have fun with the enclosure - I found it to be more work than the oven.

Les...

[Frances]

Re: Hansen Horno

Congratulations, that pizza looks yummy!!


I know what you mean, I was astounded that the oven actually works - and not just everybody else's but mine, too! And yours now . Enjoy it, it just gets better and better.

[David Manchester]

Re: Hansen Horno

Yeah that first pizza...I dropped mine on the ground lol. Definitely had trouble wielding that 4' peel. It was a very cool moment, though. Congrats and keep up the good work!
Dave

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Daren,

It looks like you had an uneventful, crack-free cure. (congrats!)

What method did you use for curing, the original one described, or a longer, slower method (or some variation of above?). What ever happened to your wet insulation board? Did it dry out?

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Have fun with the enclosure - I found it to be more work than the oven. Les...

Ugh, say it ain't so, Les!! Well, I think I'll be putting most of it off until next summer anyway.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

Mike, I did get numerous long cracks on the outside, but none was wider than about 1/16". Most were hairline. So far, I can't see them on the inside (knock on firewood), but I'm not actively searching for them either! Now that my dome is clear, I'll take a closer look. I was limited to doing short fires in the evening (2-3 hours each day), over a 2-week period, after first allowing the mortar to cure for 2 weeks. So for 2 weeks, I was able to do a fire almost every day, starting at about 200 degrees and working up. After about 9 days, I was able to keep a 500-degree fire going for 8 hours on a Saturday. All the cracks showed up in the first 2-3 days. I'll always be wondering if I did something wrong on those days. The first crack was along a horizontal mortar joint, about 5 rows down from the top, so maybe the first newpaper fires should not have been centered in the oven, but rather placed on the side? I'm not sure.

Thankfully, the insulation board seems to have dried out.

[egalecki]

Re: Hansen Horno

So how did your door work? I'd love to know how it performed!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

So how did your door work? I'd love to know how it performed!

Oh, it performed GREAT!!

... until it cracked.

As I suspected it might, the maple cracked on both sides after I left it on the hot oven overnight. It's still holding together and works great, but it's not as pretty. The side with the insulation and Durock is like new. Overall, I think the design is good, but a solid piece of wood was a bad choice. This weekend I want to try making one with some heavy-gauge sheet metal and see how that goes. I definitely like the idea of using insulation board encased in cement, though; I just need something more durable on the other side.

Daren

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Here's my next try at an insulated door, given that my wooden one cracked. I went with scrap steel this time. So I have 2" insulation board encapsulated in Durock cement board, sealed up with hi-temp adhesive, bolted to the steel face, and painted with hi-temp grill paint. The handle screws are secured tight with an epoxy glue. I will still add some oven "rope" where the steel touches the oven. So far, the handles seem to stay cool enough to grab.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

We had pizza Friday night, so I made scones and bagels in the WFO for breakfast this morning, then baguettes and Italian bread this evening (after re-firing the oven). Bread was my original reason for making the oven, so I'm excited that these turned out, but it's definitely going to take some experimenting to get everything just right. Hope to do a sourdough next time.