Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

[james]

Welcome,

Here are a couple of guidelines for the Forno Bravo Forum:

1. We have moved this forum from its first location on groups.yahoo.com. In order to preserve as much content as possible, we have tried to copy postings from there to this forum, and put it in the right place. If something important is missing, let us know

2. This forum is open to folks with any type of pizza oven, brick oven or pizza stone.

3. We're here to enjoy wood-fired oven installation and cooking. Please be polite, and in keeping with the tone of group.

4. Our forum does not have moderators, though we are planning on adding them. If you are interested in signing up, please contact us.

5. Please don't promote any type of commercial venture or product.

That's it. Build, cook and be happy.

FB

[oventhusiast]

new group!

Hi James,
I really like this new format for the group! Although I'm really not computer saavy! Is everyone from the Yahoo group going to come over here and not use the yahoo group site anymore? I just want to make sure so I don't reply to people over there. Also, you mentioned all the past posts are coming over here. I really would like to reference those posts as I build this summer! I don't know what half of the icons on this page mean or how to use them but they're really colorful!! ( ok so I'm a computer dolt!) Anyway, I'm really looking foward to using this 'tool' as I build my Pompeii!!
Best to you, Rick

[james]

Hi Rick,

My plan is to have everything here. For a while, we can watch both places and make sure we aren't missing anything. I will keep copying postings from Yahoo to here under the name Yahoe-Archive, so we won't leave anything behind. I really like the idea that postings are organized by threads, so that you can look at building postings while you are building, and cooking info when you are cooking.

Make sure you select "email notification" under thread subscription, so you will know when new postings have been made. That's about it. I've never gone too far into the more escoteric configurations myself.

James

[oventhusiast]

Got it, thanx'

[oventhusiast]

another format question...

Will there be any pictures to access in this new site format? I don't see any 'buttons' to view archived pictures. HELP!
Rick

[james]

Photos

Good point. Would everyone be happy sending me photos, and having me post them on FB.com? Or, should I work out a way for people to post their own photos in a public section?

I don't think we need to have people post photos off the site, with links back from the forum. That isn't very efficient.

I am flexible on this, so let me know what everyone thinks.

James

[PerryPizza]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

Hi James,

I know it has been said many times before, but I think you continue to do an outstanding Job with Forno Bravo. I get so much inspiration every time I visit the site (I have just downloaded the unbelievably good 'wood-fired-pizza.pdf' and I am simply stunned).

I currently knock up pretty good pizzas using a pizza stone and an old wood-fired rayburn which needs to be lit and 'worked' for at least 4 hours to get it up to temperature. This leaves me time to peruse the site and forum, always getting ideas on ingredients, methods & toppings, inspiration for the planned imminent oven constrution, and a happily rumbling tummy!

The real joy is the fact that you offer so much information for free - I live on a very tight budget and this means a great deal to me. Without such generosity my pizzas would be nowhere near the standard they are (and will be, once I get that oven built!!).

Thank you very much, and Happy New Year

Perry

[chertupper]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

Hello.

Dang I feel like such a dingbat but I can't figure out how to make a new thread posting.

I want to ask about the cure of the insulating concrete layer in the oven's construction. Please tell me how best to do this.

Thanks much,
Cheryl

[elyryder]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

Hi,

I'm new or fairly new to the site and most impressed. There truly seems to be a community. I'm trying to decide on the particular oven I want to build. I've looked at hundreds of ovens, and the one I admire most is located in Healdsburg, CA and is shown at Pizza Oven Photo Healdsburg, CA It appears to be a Pompeii, although rather small. Is there a way to identify the builder or find out details of its construction? I'm drawn to the sort of minimalist look to it.

Thanks,

Ely

[james]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

Welcome aboard Ely,

The community is great, isn't it! That oven is a Casa90, finished at a traditional Mediterranean igloo. I agree that the lines and the look are very simple and classic.

You could re-create this oven with either a 36" Pompeii oven or an FB modular oven -- then follow all of the instructions for finishing an igloo enclosure. The stand was fabricated by a local metal shop.

James

[Les]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

The stand was fabricated by a local metal shop.

James

James - The oven used at Ramekins, Mary said it was a prototype. What product did that evolve into? It wasn't quite a dome inside and it looked pretty thin on the insulation.

Les...

[james]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

I love that oven!

It was a prototype oven for two concepts. First, we were testing out the concept of a pre-built oven on a metal stand, and second, if we wanted to see if we could make it light enough to be easily moved around for festivals, catering, etc.

The first concept worked, and it evolved to become the Toscana Series ovens -- which are pre-assembled Casa series ovens. The second concept did not work out as well. Try as we might, we could never come up with a good way of moving the oven using a trailer and setting it up for catering. That's why it is permanently in place at Ramekins. Still, everything we learned helped The Fire Within and other companies that are building trailer ovens using FB ovens.

The last part that was interesting is that the Casa oven we used had been dropped by a shipping company. Really dropped. I wanted to see just how much you could repair a badly damaged oven and how well it would last. We did all the repairs with Refmix -- and the oven is holding up really well.

Everything is an experiment. :-)

James

[elyryder]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

James,

James,

Thanks for the prompt response. I know I'm going to enjoy this. Do you know of anyone fabricating a base with ipe, an extremely dense and strong Brazilian hardwood? I'm confident it could carry the loads.

Ely

[dmun]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

Wood bases are a bad idea. Wood moves and swells with temperature and humidity, and ovens are heavy and rigid. People who haven't built ovens tend to underestimate their weight.

Your base choices are solid welded metal, or masonry. I've also seen them built into terraced hillsides, but that's a different topic

[Tony Totten]

Re: Welcome to the new Forno Bravo Forum

hey guys,
Also feel like chertupper. cos I dont know how to post a new thread!
Wanna post a new thread cos my pizzas keep sticking to the peel.
TT