Pompeii Oven in Switzerland: the Saga Continues...

[Frances]

Re: Pompeii Oven in Switzerland: the Saga Continues...

Dave, you really seem to be getting that hang of cooking in your WFO! I still have a lot of learning to do there - I end up putting things in a too hot oven, getting them prepared too late so the heat is too low... but I'll get there! (...ok, so maybe I DO need a thermometer...)

The other thing is, its too cold outside to do much cooking, especially in the evening. I'm so looking forward to next summer!

I ended up with between 10 and15 cm of insulation (I think). Hey, did you post any pics of your insulation? I was waiting for them to use some of your ideas!

[asudavew]

Re: Pompeii Oven in Switzerland: the Saga Continues...

Looks good Frances.

I think you did the same thing as me. The difference is I used screen and a different framing.

How many inches of vermiculite did you end up with?
I think I ended up with about 5-6 on average. 17cm if I converted correctly.

I'll tell ya .. mine sure holds the heat in. Amazing... I like to cook brisket at
300 f or so... And after firing mine on Saturday night for pizza... Sunday morning my WFO was at 475 f +!!

TOO HOT! So I didn't quite get the brisket I was looking for. But it was still quite tasty.

I may have to wait 2 days before cooking a large chunk of meat next time!

Cheers

Dave

[Frances]

The weather cleared up a bit the last couple of days, so my insulation and outer structure finally got off the ground.

I'm using rebar for the basic shape, which fits into holes in the vermiculite layer, covered by wire mesh and lined with some kind of floor underlay stuff I found. My reasoning is that the heat will be kept inside by the insulation, and the underlay stuff only serves the purpose of keeping the vermiculite in and the cement out, so it doesn't have to be specially strong or heat resistant.

Its so nice to be out there again! ...the only grumble I have is that somehow insulation just doesn't seem to lend itself to singing.

Oh wait, I do have one:

Stop, stop, stop the heat
leaking from the dome,
Merrily, merily, merrily, merrily,
pizzas for my home.