Masonry Bread oven tips for design

[evan12697]

Hi all,

I am working on designing and building a masonry bake oven, intending to use it predominantly for bread but if we could do a baked ham or something too that would be awesome. I would like to use predominantly red brick/fire brick if possible. I've got a copy of "The Bread Builders: Hearth Loaves and Masonry Ovens" by Daniel Wing on the way, as i was told over on /r/breadit it was near invaluable for the task for beginners. I mostly want to know what tips or points people have that i should know while getting it going, building it, etc? Also, if anyone wants to recommend some plans for me i'd appreciate it.

[SableSprings]

Welcome Evan12697 ! Yes, the Wing/Scott book has a lot of great info and will be well worth having...that said, masonry oven design has come a long way since the book was written. Many concepts/ideas of Wing/Scott are no longer valid for efficient oven builds and use. It's not that they were wrong at the time, it's just that they are now dated with new and improved materials and methods. This forum has a lot of great builds that are very well documented (and illustrated) and incorporate the current "best practices". Take the time to check out the thread linked below

https://community.fornobravo.com/forum/good-background-information/newbie-forum/12621-a-newbie%C2%92s-survey-of-the-forno-bravo-treasures-hiding-in-the-archives

I have a "beavertail" Pompeii oven I built and have been baking primarily bread in it since it was completed in 2009. I'm not commercial but have baked over 3,100 loaves and 4,600 # of dough in my 39" WFO (I've given 70% of the loaves away so I'm still able to fit into my pants ). My internal Pompeii has an outside facade that makes it look like a vault type (doghouse ), so remember that the working portion of the oven can be quite different from what you see on the outside.

A few things to ask yourself as you begin planning are:
1) How much bread do you anticipate making on a weekly/daily basis?
2) Do you have access to wood and have a place to store it on-site?
3) Will you want to bake year round?
4) Will you be entertaining groups of friends/relatives?
5) Zoning/burning/smoke restrictions in your area (government & neighbors )?

There are a lot of things that are related to these 5 questions when you plan your build, so really think about them as you go through the builds in that "Newbie Survey..." link above. Definitely cost and build time is going to be of concern, but they are tied in with your overall intentions.

Lots of folks on this site that can give you great advice...but the more specific your questions (and photos/plans), the better we can help. Looking forward to your progress.