Salv's WFO Build

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Hi Tim,

Things are going slowly at the moment. Too much heat to do any work! And I was too busy this weekend to get back to the oven.
I am trying to work out how to finish the oven but haven't got a definite plan yet. I do know I will be keeping the igloo look. I am interested in an acrylic render (or stucco?) but not too sure where to source this in Adelaide. Would appreciate advice from any other locals. I am hoping to fire up the oven a few times over the next 3 or 4 days to have another go at pizza.

[Tim F]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

How is it going Salv?

PS CJ, I found some pics here: My brick oven | Sourdough Companion

[CanuckJim]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Salv,

Wet it down. Keep it out of direct sunlight. Otherwise, it will dry too quickly and shrink, leading to cracks. Keep it damp for two to three days.

Don't want to step on Salv's thread, but in an unrelated area does anybody have pics of a barrel vault oven build they'd be willing to share with me? Thanks.

Jim

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

I put the insulation on the dome yesterday and just in time - it was 43 degrees Celcius here in Adelaide today and they are predicting another 3 days of 42 to follow! It was a full days work but it was great to get it done.

Thr first thing was to sort out what to do with the two cracks. After reading up quite a number of threads I decided to patch up the cracks on the outside with high temp mortar and then give the whole dome a thin render (about half an inch maybe) with the home brew mortar. I then put on the ceramic blanket



I then put on 4 inches of vermiculite over the top. Boy that was a challenge - We tried the method of stacking from the bottom of the dome but it was just taking too long. In the end it was a two man job where we started from the top - one holding a shovel full of the vermiculite mix and the other scooping and trowelling it on. We seemed to go a lot quicker this way and it worked out okay.




I know I should be asking this in another part of the forum but does anyone have a view to how long you should let the vermiculite dry out before cooking again? I am also worried that with this heatwave it will dry out too quick - should I be wetting it down regularly?

Cheers

Salv

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Tim - thanks for the advice on the fire - I made the mistake of putting a big log of redgum on the coals and it took a while to get going.

Carlos - thanks for the kind words. I have see some of your build and youre not that far away. I found that if you can devote a full day to the oven and maybe get someone to give you a hand the dome and arches go up very quickly. Re the sauce - I was in a rush that day so I used the traditional home made Italian sauce and it was cold. My parents migrated to Australia in the 1960's from southern Italy and we make the sauce every summer the same way they did it back in Italy. I think what happened with the first pizza was that we let it sit with the toppings and sauce on there for too long.

Cheers

Salv

[carloswlkr]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Beautiful, Salv! congrats on cooking the first pizzas! I'm jealous!

I didn't read what your sauce recipe was but I found in my indoor cooking (I've been using stones and pizza peels in my indoor oven for several years), that if the sauce is any warmer than room temperature, it can wreak havock on the dough, making it stick to the peel underneath. I try to always use room temperature or cold sauce.

[Tim F]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Good stuff Salv, looks delicious.
As per advice from others here, I have found that the key to pizza making is to keep an active flame going after pushing the fire to the side. The flame licking across the dome keeps some heat going into the floor between pizzas as well as giving you a nice crisp top. Recently I have had good results with using a medium chunk of pine at this point, it burns quick enough to give you some flame but slow enough to keep the flame going for a while.

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

I had my first go at making pizzas in the oven last night and it was great fun! By far the hardest bit was getting the hang of using the pizza peel to slide the pizza into the oven. I think by the end of the night I managed to get some of the basics. The first pizza, however mangaged to double over itself as I tried to put it in and I lost some topping on the oven floor. Managed to recover something slightly resembling a pizza - the kids were hungry so the first one was a simple ham pizza for them. I also think we didn't do the dough thin enough. Here is a pic



My Favorite pizza was a prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, artichoke and marinated mushrooms. This one was half decent.




We made six pizzas for the night, including a desert one with strawberries and chocloate which we were too full to eat. However, it did taste fantastic the next day for brreakfast.

I definitely have to read up on how to keep the oven floor hot enough for the later pizzas - they took more than 3 or 4 minutes to cook.

I cant wait to do pizzas again but I may have to wait a bit as I am planning to properly insulate the dome with ceramic blanket and vermiculite.

Cheers

Salv

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Cooked some pizzas today for the first time and they came out great eventually - there were things I did wrong and questions to ask but I will post full details tomorrow with pics.

James, re the curing fires questions - Fires 3 to 5 did not get very hot as the spot on the dome above the fire (nor any other spot) didnt go white. I burnt for maybe two hours then closed up most of the dome door with some bricks and left the colas in till morning. I also did this for fires 6 and 7. I read the threads on curing strategies but, as muuch as I wanted to I just wasnt able to spend all day maintaining fires. I also read Acomas excellent thread on his curing and I think I agree with him that the cracks appear beacause of the masonary work when building the dome. The cracks seem to be where vertical mortar joints are closest, which probably means I should have been more careful when a brick was getting to close to aligning with the one below it. This is only a guess but seems to make sense. Especially given that I have no cracks at all in any part of the vent arches or entry arch.

It was only on fire 6 that the keystone and the area around it went white. The morning after fire 7 I checked the crack and it had contracted back once the dome was cold. For the fire I did tonight to cook pizza - the same cracks opened and there were no new ones.

Re curing fires 1 and 2 - I probably only did these two for 90 minutes and 2 hours respectively.

James - you also mentioned patching the cracks - should I do this with high temp mortar or something else. I would really appreciate some advice on this as I will be putting on the ceramic blanket and vermiculite insulation in the next few days.

Cheers

Salv

[james]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Can't wait. Hopefully those cracks will just sit there and not get any bigger -- and you can patch on the outside (and inside, if necessary).

Salv -- do you remember how hot fires #3-5 were? Did the spot on the dome directly over the fire go white? I am wondering if those might have been a little too hot.

Also, how long were fires #1 and 2? Holding those at the low temperature for longer periods can help.

You are going to be fine, but this might be helpful for future builders.

Enjoy the cooking!
James

[Tim F]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

Looking forwards to seeing the first pizza Salv!

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

I did my final curing fire tonight. I kept the fire going until about half the dome bricks went white and then stopped there. Here is a pic.



I also noticed that there are no new cracks but the same three main ones that were there a few days ago. Two are tiny hairline but one is a little bigger. What seems to happen is that the crack opens up when the oven is heated and then closes back up as it cools. I understand that expansion will happen with heat and I have read quite a few posts where the crack is left as it is but I am still a little concerned - should I be looking to fill it. I haven't been able to see any flame through the crack and there is no smoke escaping. Now is a good time to get some reassurance from those that have already been there. Here is a picture of the crack before heating



And here are two after the oven reached maximum heat




I am planning to fire up the oven to pizza temp on the weekend and finally cook one!

Cheers

Salv

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

I was a bit too quick on the submit reply button there. I forgot to mention that I actually cooked something in the oven today. I really love mussels so I got half a dozen today and put them in a stainless steel baking tin (this is all I could find - I need to do some serious buying of some clay cookware!). I drizzled in a bit of olive oil, a bit of crushed garlic, some parsley, a small sprig of rosemary, thyme and lemon thyme and topped it all with home preserved tomatoes. There wasnt a huge amount of heat so I left the tray in the oven a good 30 minutes pushed up close to the coals. The mussels tasted great - nice and tender and the juice tasted fantastic mopped up with some bread. Here is a pic.

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

As mentioned in my last post I have started doing curing fires a few days ago. This first photo is of the second day of fires with newspaper and some kindling.


On my third and fourth fires I boosted up the fire and everything seemed to be fine. I was also relieved to see that the chimney vent seemed to draw well


When preparing for the fifth day of firing today I noticed some hairline cracks in 3 spots. They are very small and I'm hoping that this is the norm.


I also noticed after todays fire that the dome is so much blacker! I am assuming that this is what happens until you get to a temperature high enough to burn it off. I think I could have burnt a bit bigger fire today but erred on the side of caution. I will ramp it up a bit tomorrow.


So this is where I am at. I am being very patient even though I am just itching to get that first pizza in! I am aiming to cook one on the weekend before I start the dome insulation.

Cheers

Salv

[Salv B]

Re: Salv's WFO Build

I am finally back from holidays and to my relief the oven is still standing and in one piece

I have started the curing fires and all is going well so far. I am up to the fourth day. I dont have an IR Gun so I am following the guide in the forno bravo plan re number of sticks. I must say it is great fun doing the fires and being mesmerised by the flames. My kids think I'm nuts! Cant wait to cook in it. Will post some pics once I get them off the digital and onto the computer.

Cheers

Salv