Planning my 32" cast oven

[AndreasP]

Thanks, i guess I'll see how it goes. Is there any issue if I were to divide the dough before I refrigerate it? I have a box i can use for that and keeo then separate.

[david s]

Thanks, i guess I'll see how it goes. Is there any issue if I were to divide the dough before I refrigerate it? I have a box i can use for that and keeo then separate.

Yes, no worries, but expect it to double in volume. The top will dry off if not covered properly. A plastic bag keeps the air off the top, but allows the dough to expand.

[AndreasP]

Thanks, am trying to prep as much as I can tonight.

[MarkJerling]

Your first method is the usual method, but when cooking for the family or just a few guests we just place the dough in a stainless bowl and cut off fist sized bits of dough as needed.

I second that. We used to make balls now we just leave the dough in the dough boxes and grab a roughly "correct sized' lump of dough at a time. I'm getting pretty good at guessing the weight.

[AndreasP]

Thanks Mark. I ended up making dough balls in the evening and put them in the box. Left them in the fridge overnight. Worked very well, other than they were all stuck together anyway. Still, made portioning easier and it didn't take that much time to make the dough balls.
I also had Trader Joe's dough, since I only had 1 kg of 00 four. The homemade dough with the 00 flour was certainly better than Trader Joes', and easier to stretch. Will be using that in the future.

I used the bread machine, but it wasn't able to mix the dough properly. I had to use a slotted spoon to mix it, then restart the machine. Other than that it worked great. Next time I will just mix the ingredients with a spoon before starting the machine and it should all work.

[MarkJerling]

You're welcome Andreas.
My wife likes to use the bread machine while I prefer to mix by hand. I can't tell you which works out better, except that I can make a much bigger batch of dough, much quicker than the bread machine!
I now use the Caputo 00 flour almost exclusively although I can't really tell the difference from ordinary 00 flour.

[AndreasP]

Right, bread machine only makes 1kg, 7 pizzas. But I can just run it twice the evening before. If I were to do more than two portions I am sure I would knead it by hand.
Yes, I used the Caputo 00 flour, the taste was noticeably better than the Trader Joe's dough.

[MarkJerling]

We're planning our biggest pizza party yet for Tuesday night. Maybe around 50 people so that will be the most dough and pizzas yet!
Wish me luck. I've been hoping for dry weather. We've had 166mm of rain already this last month.

[AndreasP]

Mark,
that sounds awesome. How much dough do you make at any one time? If it gets too big I think it's hard to handle.

We are going to have another smaller party, 12 pizzas or so tomorrow. Should be dry here.
Good luck with the weather!

[MarkJerling]

I usually do max. 2kg flour per batch so that gives me around 3.3kg per batch (with water, yeast, salt) which fits one of my dough boxes perfectly once risen out. I prefer keeping the batches separate rather than combining it further into an even bigger dough ball! Most I've done so far is 2x 3.3kg batches (so 28 pizzas at 235g per pizza) but this time will be more! Another problem is fridge space. Logistics logistics!!!

Thanks! I can do with the luck with the weather. Normally, December is dryer but so far it's been a very wet spring / early summer.

[AndreasP]

Made a little progress on finishing the oven today. I was able to build the form for the front arch.

I also put some flashing around the bottom of the oven and sealed the bottom with high temp silicone (even though it won't get hot there).
Screwed the flashing and galvanized mesh into the foamglass. It really only needs to hold it in place until the stucco is covering it.
The hope is that this will give the oven another layer of waterproofing when I pour a countertop around it. The flashing will be higher than the top of the countertop, so even if there is a gap between the countertop and the stucco I hope to have a good chance to keep the floor insulation dry.

I will have to wait a few days before I stucco the oven, we have rain forecast for next week.

[AndreasP]

Question on the stucco around the chimney

I am thinking of only putting stucco on the vertical walls around the chimney, leaving the top (right around the pipe) uncovered. Then sliding the collar down and sealing the collar around the pipe.
This way any moisture that finds it way through the stucco (I will use a sealer on top of the stucco) has another path to escape (other than the center breather vent).
I am a bit worried about being able to seal the flashing to the chimney. I only have a double walled, uninsulated chimney, and especially when I start the fire and the flames are big, it get quite hot.

Any thoughts? I think I have seen something similar in one of David's responses or threads, but I can't find it anymore.

[david s]

I use a similar system so moisture in the insulating layers can find its way around the flue pipe. The attached pic tells the story. The moisture finds its way out between the two terra cotta collars, the lower one having a larger inner diameter than the top one. I seal the top collar to the pipe with high temp silicone.

Be careful of rendering directly against the pipe or its expansion will crack the render (seen lots of that). if you wrap the pipe with some cardboard around 5mm thick, render up to it, then remove it when the render has set, the space can be filled with high temperature silicone, provided it is high enough not to be affected by flame up the pipe.

[AndreasP]

David,
Thanks so much, that was what I remembered seeing.

I assume you fabricate the terracotta parts yourself?
Does the upper terracotta collar sit right up against the vent pipe or are you also using high temp silicone for that part? I assume silicone?

Thanks again for your help.

[david s]

Yes I make them myself using a press moulding technique and firing them to 1150C in the Intergalactic Explorer see here.

https://community.fornobravo.com/for...kiln#post14564

The top collar is sealed to the stainless pipe with high temp silicone.