Help Please - about to start work!!

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

My wife has finally become interested in the project, now that the oven is "no longer an eyesore" (her words) and changed her tune to "do you think some gothic ridge tiles wood look good?" Better late than never!

[james]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Congratulations on that voice of support. It was always coming.

Now, it's time to build that monster fire, and convince your wife that you are going to burn down the entire neighborhood. :-)

James

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

First pizza party tonight - great fun!!!

Soot burnt off within an hour, 10 Pizza's in after ~3 hrs at 300?C+ (probably 400-500?C - it wasn't many Mississippis) all very yummy and turned with my bespoke pizza tool (below).

This time:-

Blocked about half of the doorway with bricks to retain some heat.
The bottom of the firebricks were hot to the touch (the front row)
Roof and exterior walls were @ ~30?C
Rock wool insulation on top was at ~50?C

I'm glad I followed people's advice on using solid bricks for the oven interior: I used some left over grade B bricks (ones with holes in them) to block the doorway and all of them broke withing 3 hours!!

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Congratulations on that voice of support. It was always coming.

Now, it's time to build that monster fire, and convince your wife that you are going to burn down the entire neighborhood. :-)

James

lol

I don't think that's gonna happen - we're both chemists (i.e. pyromaniacs).

[Frances]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Good call on the bricks...

Congratulations on your first pizzas! Very cool! Its been great fun watching you build.

So... what dough did you use? What hydration? Which toppings? How long did they take? Did you make any desert pizzas? And, above all... where are the pics?!

Enquiring minds want to know!

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Not actually the first pizzas out of the oven - did some about two weeks ago for lunch.

We did a white dough and a 50:50 white/wholemeal dough (surprised how much denser the wholemeal flour made the mix). Other than that, nothing too adventurous to start out (2.75 cups flour, 1 cup body temp water, 1 teaspoon dried bakers yeast, 3 tsp golden sugar, dash extra virgin olive oil).

Think I'll spend a month or so getting used to the fire and then do a proper experiment to perfect the dough.

We did 2 calzones - one savoury, one nutella. (3-4 mins cooking time).

And had 8 thin crust pizzas, (1-2 mins cooking time) with mixtures of:

gorgonzola
mozzarella
mature cheddar
home grown rainbow chard (with egg for a twist on a Florentine - very nice and no egg spillage either - I was impressed)
yellow peppers
asparagus (in season too...yey!!)
capers
chillies

For the sauce: drained tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and home grown oregano.

Unfortunately, no pics this time (too busy eating) but did get some of the fire before hand......went for the pushing to the sides technique once it got going - the convection currents and flames were mesmerising.

[gjbingham]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Wow! That's a scary fire!

[biondoli]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

mmmhumous,
is that a thermometer in the middle of the inferno?
where did you buy it as I tried on ebay but found only up to 500F...thanks

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Wow! That's a scary fire!

Not that scary really, (although my view of fire may be slightly skewed as I'm used to playing with 6-8000?C plasma flames at work, now they are scary or great fun depending on how you look at it, and burn a pretty shade of green)

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

mmmhumous,
is that a thermometer in the middle of the inferno?
where did you buy it as I tried on ebay but found only up to 500F...thanks

It is indeed, but sadly only rated to 300?C (572 F). Athough I have calibrated it to higher temps using the mississippi method of temperature measurement:

I've been working on 50?C (having gone round the dial once already) = 400?C and the dial starting to burn = time to put the pizzas in lol!

Think I'll be buying the thermometer Frances is using (rated to 500?C/932F) The only one I've come across so far.

Tip, search for bimetal and/or gas filled thermometers as the high temp ones tend to be one or the other).

See quote:

Here you go, Ebay:

500?C Thermometer Steinbackofen Holzbackofen Ofen Grill bei eBay.de: Zubeh?r (endet 17.05.08 19:55:41 MESZ)

Its not particularly exact or fast, but it does the job.

[Frances]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Actually this one says not to put it in the oven while the fire's burning because if it (the thermometer) is pushed higher than 500 C it will break. So I've no idea how hot the oven gets for pizza temps, and only measure afterwards for bread... more luddite than geek method I'm afraid

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Actually this one says not to put it in the oven while the fire's burning because if it (the thermometer) is pushed higher than 500 C it will break. So I've no idea how hot the oven gets for pizza temps, and only measure afterwards for bread... more luddite than geek method I'm afraid

Doh! might have to wait for my Birthday and go for the infra red instead then

[Dutchoven]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

I have burned several commercial oven thermometers in our oven. A couple just sorted of melted into some weird shapes and another just popped the face off and spewed the spring out. Infrared will work out to be more consistent anyway. You will find that surface temperatures are more important than the air temperature in most situations with your WFO. In our oven the air temp is about 200F lower than the top of the dome with the door open...about 150F or so below when the door is closed. You will get better as time goes by.
Best
Dutch

Doh! might have to wait for my Birthday and go for the infra red instead then

[biondoli]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

thanks!
I already bought an infrared one $30 at harbor Freight, thought that the traditionals would be better...but after this exchange I guess I'll stay with the infrared/laser.

[mmmhumous]

Re: Help Please - about to start work!!

Just had a few people round again for pizza -managed to take some photos this time too:

Got some guys from work coming round on thursday too!