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  • Pizza party time line for firing.

    Pizza party time line.

    Collect dry firewood weeks or months in advance, I like to get different varieties of timber due to their different burning properties.

    Morning of the party.

    7am. Out of bed to clean the yard and timber deck, wash chairs and flat surfaces with detergent and bleach.

    11am. I light the fire in the entrance of the oven, I like a good heat saturation for pizzas and find a burn of 6 hour or more hours is about right (for my oven).
    I start the fire with a few twigs and a firelighter, on top I put what I call fluffy wood, its stuff life Stingybark and Messmate and has a fluffy bark that ignites readily, although both types of timber are Eucalypts its really not that hard and dense when compared to other Eucs but it burns readily.

    Once the fire is going I push it to the back of the oven and add more fluffy wood, after the fire is well and truly going I start adding the really good wood that
    burns with a passion, stuff like wattle, box and ironbark.

    2pm. The fire has been going for 3 hours or so and after a good burn there is usually nothing but just coals left in the oven, I then start adding more firewood, usually smaller limb sized stuff and partially close up the oven to reduce oxygen.
    Closing up the oven makes the unburnt timber reduce to coals.

    The fire is checked periodically during the rest of the day and more small limb wood added as needed so that I end up with a huge pile of coals.

    6pm, guests start arriving and the oven is well and truly saturated with heat (6oo*C), by this stage there is usually a very good pile of coals to use for cooking and for lighting in the oven to see.

    I rarely have to rake the coals over the floor to recharged the hearth with more heat.

    This works for me but as every oven and timber burnt is different it may not work for you.
    The English language was invented by people who couldnt spell.

    My Build.

    Books.

  • #2
    Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

    Originally posted by brickie in oz View Post
    I rarely have to rake the coals over the floor to recharged the hearth with more heat.
    This is with just embers?Without any wood?
    How much wood approximately do you burn after 5-6 hours of firing?

    Originally posted by brickie in oz View Post
    Closing up the oven makes the unburnt timber reduce to coals.
    Do you mean reducing the opening with the door or completely airtight closing the oven?

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    • #3
      Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

      Learned some interesting tips on your firing timeline, especially the making of coals with a partial closing of oven door. I have to admit your post has to be a world record for you on the number of words in one of your normally short and to the point responses.
      Russell
      Google Photo Album [https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...JneXVXc3hVNHd3/]

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      • #4
        Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

        My pizza part time line:

        Thursday: Make dough in bulk
        Friday: Ball and refrigerate dough
        Saturday: Up early and mow, blow and weed.
        2-3 hours before party, start fire.
        1-2 hours before party, prep toppings, grate cheese, make sauce, start drinking.
        Time to cook, clear coals into grill, throw a small log and and go at it.

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        • #5
          Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

          Originally posted by dimitrisbizakis View Post
          This is with just embers?Without any wood?
          How much wood approximately do you burn after 5-6 hours of firing?

          I burn about 2 wheel barrows of firewood, keep in mind the wood here is dense and runs to about 1200kg per cubic meter for the gooder wood.


          Do you mean reducing the opening with the door or completely airtight closing the oven?
          Partial open door and damper.
          The English language was invented by people who couldnt spell.

          My Build.

          Books.

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          • #6
            Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

            Originally posted by UtahBeehiver View Post
            I have to admit your post has to be a world record for you on the number of words in one of your normally short and to the point responses.
            I would like to have some replies under 10 letters long if possible, but the computer says no.
            The English language was invented by people who couldnt spell.

            My Build.

            Books.

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            • #7
              Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

              [QUOTE=Tscarborough;150616]
              Saturday: Up early and mow, blow and weed.
              2-3 hours before party, start fire.
              1-2 hours before party, prep toppings, grate cheese, make sauce, start drinking.
              QUOTE]

              Whoa now you're talking! But I usually do the weed before I mow and save the blow for after the party...but that's just me.

              Sorry just kidding, I don't know what got in to me. Must have been the drink after the pizza party last night...and the blow.

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              • #8
                Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                If I do the weed before I mow it takes about 3 hours and I think I'm flying a jumbo jet.
                Kindled with zeal and fired with passion.

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                • #9
                  Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                  Originally posted by david s View Post
                  If I do the weed before I mow it takes about 3 hours and I think I'm flying a jumbo jet.
                  Sounds great David, but, I will have too wait until I retire . Most all companies in the US drug test .
                  Joe Watson " A year from now, you will wish that you had started today" My Build Album / My Build

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                  • #10
                    Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                    I have my pizza dough in plastic tubs with 5/tub........usually about 3 or 4 tubs for an average show. A glass of red per tub is the rule....any more and I find I'm in trouble
                    ......so a bottle means its time to sit down with the guests
                    Cheers
                    Damon

                    Build #1

                    Build #2 (Current)

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                    • #11
                      Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                      Originally posted by Bacterium View Post
                      I have my pizza dough in plastic tubs with 5/tub........usually about 3 or 4 tubs for an average show. A glass of red per tub is the rule....any more and I find I'm in trouble
                      ......so a bottle means its time to sit down with the guests
                      I make dough and ball it the night before , 24 hours in the fridge. 4 dough balls each container. At one glass per tub, that is a glass every 5 mins. Nice idea though.

                      Firing time for me is 2-3 hours to get a decent bed of coals. I add double split pieces approx every 10-15 minutes to keep a flame curling over the top of the dome.

                      Anzac Day this week. Any special pizzas for Anzac Day? I might try some lamb mince and rosemary.

                      BC

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                      • #12
                        Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                        Originally posted by ShuttleAU View Post

                        Anzac Day this week. Any special pizzas for Anzac Day? I might try some lamb mince and rosemary.

                        BC
                        and some tzatziki sauce (greek yoguhrt/cucumber/garlic) over the top once its cooked
                        Cheers
                        Damon

                        Build #1

                        Build #2 (Current)

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                        • #13
                          Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                          This was for my previous oven....

                          Night before
                          15mins prep = do dough in dough mixer
                          after first rise (after about 2hours)
                          25mins to divide into balls and into fridge for the night

                          Mix some bread dough as well for later that night (oven had no underfloor insulation so bread had to be done as guests going home on pizza night. Not ideal for really big shows).

                          Pizza night - People due about 6pm

                          Usual stuff around house etc.


                          1-2PM, Chop wood from wood pile and start fire in oven. Tidy area tables/chairs...Keep tending to fire in arch front (kindling/paper/turps). Use air from compressor to encourage it along

                          2:30-3PM, Dough out of fridge (vary to weather eg. summer=later). If Fire not roaring leave towards front and "inject" more air to roaring.

                          5PM all oven dome is white, unless weather has been really wet prior. Should now be mostly coals - time to sit and watch flames with one of the kids for 5.Add large piece of wood.

                          5:30PM, Another piece of wood in, get ingredients out, cut up etc., wipe down prep board. Clean Peel, Setup mop/bucket. Find wine glasses. Uncork wine

                          By now I will either be ready or not

                          5:50PM, Make first Garlic Pizza, pour first glass, . Early guests get the first bite or if base is burnt ditch it into ash box

                          6:30ish after 2nd garlic pizza do 1st pizza....Put wood in every 1.5hours while cooking.

                          By now either you have 1 or 2 good/keen helpers (so go get something to keep them from getting thirsty)
                          OR
                          You are mostly on your own (doing the work for the night)
                          ....no problem .....scope the good red and make sure its within reach.
                          Set the pace
                          Cheers
                          Damon

                          Build #1

                          Build #2 (Current)

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                          • #14
                            Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                            Originally posted by ShuttleAU View Post
                            Anzac Day this week. Any special pizzas for Anzac Day? I might try some lamb mince and rosemary.

                            BC
                            add some poppy seeds

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                            • #15
                              Re: Pizza party time line for firing.

                              My party timeline varies a bit depending on number of guests. We only have three adults in our house at present, but because my oven is small, if we feel like pizzas I give the oven one and a half hours of fire. I light the fire after work, put on a batch of dough in the bread maker and by the time the oven is ready the dough is too. In between there's plenty of time for a few drinks and prep for toppings. The oven has fully cleared, although not really saturated, but plenty of heat for four or five pizzas @ around two mins. ea.

                              If we are having between 10-30 people I give the oven a full two hours of heat, remove half the coals to make more room and have some refrigerated dough ready. As my oven is only 21" in diam we usually cook 9" pizzas, one at a time, maintaining a fire on the side. We always share whatever comes out of the oven, that way people are not waiting for "their" pizza.

                              If cooking for 50-60 people, i give the oven at least two hours of fire before the first pizza. We use some pre cooked bases as well as freshly rolled ones so there is always a pizza ready to go in the oven. Maintaining a fire on the side and cooking 90sec pizzas I can keep it going all night like this with maybe one or two 10 min floor recharges every 45 mins or so.
                              I think that because the oven is small the dome is closer to the pizza and high temp cooking is pretty easy to achieve without extended firing times.
                              Last edited by david s; 04-21-2013, 05:56 AM. Reason: Slow typist
                              Kindled with zeal and fired with passion.

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