Single Pizza Oven?

[jorhyne]

Hey guys,
I'm a complete newbie so I figured I should start here. I'm 19 and on the good ol' classic college kid budget. I just got back from a week in Italy though (thanks Mom and Dad!) and LOVED the pizza I had there, most of which came from a wood fired oven.

I've done a little reading and am wondering if there is any way I could build a mini wood fired oven that could cook one pizza well and be affordable for me? If this has been done before, kindly point me in that direction and I'll be eternally grateful! The most I could possibly spend on this would be $200-$300 dollars. This seems like a great forum with tons of amazing ovens, I'm just hoping there some others out there too that have built ovens and don't have deep pockets!

[Stan]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

Brick Ovens for the Cheapskate

I cannot vouch for any of this work. You would be well advised to spend some money on ceramic blanket insulation.

Stan

[dmun]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

The best way for keeping costs down is to scrounge. Bricks and blocks are close to free used, portland and mortar are often marked down if the bags are damaged at the big box stores, we even had one member that got free vermiculite from a demolition company (be careful: the old stuff wasn't certified asbestos free). You spend time instead of money, and you can get as good or better an oven than if you spent thousands. Start haunting your freecycle and craigslist pages, talk to contractors in your neighborhood, and if you see someone with a pile of bricks in the backyard, offer to remove them for free.

The best bargain, of course, is the free forno bravo plans, and the support you can get here.

Good luck with your project.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

I bought firebrick seconds from a local manufacturer that was willing to part with them fir $50 a pallet as they were not perfectly rectangular. Since each 9x4.5" brickwill be cut in half, angled and beveled, I figured why not?

[texassourdough]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

You can also build an earth oven as a "precursor" to a longer lasting oven. Kiko Denzer has a book on earth ovens that is pretty good.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

Personally, for cooking one or 2 pizzas, I just use the kitchen oven. Crank it to max for 20 minutes, then about 3 minutes into the cook, turn it on broiler/max.

[mustbecrazy]

Re: Single Pizza Oven?

cheap BBQ, a few firebricks heat bricks with gas-briquettes or wood. Cook one or fifty pizzas. That is what lead me to look into building a "Real WFO". I haven't started yet. I've got to get "permission" from the wife first. Do you have a wife? If not then you're good to go. gene