Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

[asimenia]

Do you always heat up your oven to max (bricks go white) not matter what you are cooking or just to the temp you need - our oven loses temperature quite quickly - if the oven is fired up to max at 8pm - the temp won't be sufficient to cook anything by 8am the next morning.

[david s]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

It's a great question and i'd love to hear others opinions on this matter. If you are not wanting to cook anything the next morning then I don't see much point in wasting time and fuel firing the oven, waiting for it to cool to roast or bake. Every oven is different of course, but with mine I only fire for one hour, from the time I light the match for roasting or baking. The oven is not saturated with heat, but it's plenty to do one batch of bread or a roast.Ofcourse the temp drops off quicker, but I find it's quite manageable.

[Laurentius]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

No! If I did, I couldn't cook anything else until the next day, unless grilling counts. My wife believe that God invented grilling to make a man feels that he's doing something useful.(Burning something)

[asimenia]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Thanks - we fire it up for pizzas which need a load of heat but I don't want to just use the oven after pizzas to cook (overnight) as I really want to try other recipes and can't fire up 2hrs then wait for it to cook down in order to roast chickens etc - seems a shame not to use the oven more. We have a BBQ for grilling and this is used often - especially in summer - we are in Greece (husband's Greek) and everything is grilled - he's in charge of that (I have to say he grills meat/fish perfectly shhhh don't tell him I said that) and I'm in charge of the oven.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

If firing for pizza to clear, if for something else, I fire to that temp.

[mrchipster]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

If firing for pizza to clear, if for something else, I fire to that temp.

I do the same but usually overshoot a little because the oven when not saturated with heat will drop back about 25% from what I am reading on the surface quite quickly.

Chip

[Tscarborough]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Yes, you have to overshoot it and depending upon what you are cooking, you may have to overshoot it a lot. For instance this weekend I did a brisket that required 6 hours at 250+/-. I fired the oven for a little over 2 hours with a small fire (4 pieces of wood total) and brought it to 500 degrees. I left the door off with coals removed until it was at 300, then put the brisket in. The oven was at 230 when I took it out.

[REE REE B]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Well I fired up my Primavera to 900 degrees cooked pizza's for our party, closed the door at night put the rain cap on top and the next morning baked bread in the oven as it was still at 500' !!!!!! that is one amazing oven!

[asimenia]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Just trying to make me jealous? - I found this site AFTER they brought us the oven and closed up the exterior - therefore leaving me to learn about insulation wayyyyy too late!
Never mind at least I have an oven. Going to really experiment this year.

[cobblerdave]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Gudday asimenia
This is probably a silly question as well but do you hav an insulated door?

Regards Dave

[jeeppiper]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Awesome question(s)! Thanks for asking because I have been wondering the same thing. I have been heating mine to max everytime,....then sitting around waiting for it to cool off. (Im not the sharpest tool in the shed)

Am now waiting for someone to respond to Dave's question about insulating the door.

[Laurentius]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

Yes. Fuel is costly in money or time collecting. An insulated door allows me the opportunity to cook for multiply days at no added expense, leaving a smaller carbon foot print. If I'm not cooking anything with the reserved heat, I use it to dry wood that needs seasoning. In addition, if I want to cook something later in the week, it requires less fuel to bring it up to temperature. I use my WFO primarily and an insulated door is a win, win.

[mrchipster]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

My two cents, A well insulated door is the best investment you can make; after a well insulated oven, and then a well insulated oven is not well insulated if it does not have a well insulated door. Saves me time money, wood and labor. And I believe I use my oven more often because it is always warm or even hot. Ready to cook. Or it will be ready shortly.

Chip

[Tscarborough]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

I don't really understand the purpose of a door that is NOT insulated. The only time it is used is after firing anyway.

[texassourdough]

Re: Maybe a silly question .... but ... here I go

If it takes two hours to get your oven hot and it doesn't hold heat it sounds like you are insulation impaired or you have a very heavy oven. Pizza ovens should heat in an hour or so. And partial heating is really not very helpful for too much heat is going into the refractory and not into the oven to cook with.