30" Pompeii in Minneapolis

[RandyJ]

I have not ever had good luck with my own frozen dough, but I am sure if you use the right kind of yeast it is not a issue. Do you pick them up at there location, and how many do you have to buy at a time? Also if you don't mind how much are they? Could be nice if you were going to have a big party.

Randy

[gastagg]

Randy, they have 5oz or 6oz balls for 10"-12" pizzas (and larger too...) and they charge $1 per ball. I think 6 is the minimum order. I've ordered 12 and 24 at a time so far. And let me tell you, this stuff is so easy to make a crust with. They have proofing instructions and instructions on how to press out and make a pizza crust. We made a batch of homemade dough for 24 balls using the Pizza Quest recipe last week to try it, and honestly, there is no comparison in ease of use, taste, etc...these frozen balls are superior. They use Caputo flour and the texture is great. I've done 2 parties of 20+ pizzas so far, and these dough balls have really performed well. Take them out of freezer into fridge 2 days in advance. Take from fridge to counter 2 hours before using. They also sell 2# and 5# sauce buckets for cheap, and it's great sauce.

[RandyJ]

Wow that is not a ad deal. I might have to look in to that. I don't mind making the dough but sometimes I don't have the time to do it and that would help. I use the neo neopolitan recipe from American Pie. It stretches very nicely and has a very nice mix of soft but chewy. Do you have to call ahead or can you just show up and get the dough from them?

Randy

[gastagg]

If you want to get exactly what you want in the quantities you want, call earlier in the week 3-4 days in advance. They occasionally have stuff on hand, but not always.

[gastagg]

Uncovered my oven today for the first time since November...have damage from freeze/thaw cycles. I think I need to rebuild my entrance. See the pics. I can move the arch and it is visibly separated in one spot and when I push on the top of the arch, I can see where it is separated from the right arch support.

Some ideas:

1) completely rebuild entry with brick, cover whole thing with stucco, which I should have originally done.
2) completely rebuild entry using cast refractory concrete and then cover with stucco (this is my preference)
3) repair and strengthen current entry arch, and cover with stucco

Thoughts, opinions, wise cracks?

[RandyJ]

Hey George sorry to see that you got some damage from the winter. I am no expert but I would say your #2 idea is the best and longest lasting. I would worry that there might be other cracks in places you can't see, so fixing this one is not a good idea. I would also worry it if you rebuilt it the same you might have the same problem again. That is my thoughts.

Randy

[gastagg]

Thanks Randy. Good to hear from you. I was jealous reading your posts of cooking over the winter. I spent a few hours looking at Iron Pony and purplehaze last night and determined that a cast entryway would be the best too. Then I started wishing that I had made the whole thing cast...but that was fruitless. I've always liked the stucco look and not been so keen on the enclosures, but I could have spent some more time planning and designing to come up with an enclosure plan that would have fit and looked good.

I made a new friend over the winter who just installed a cast FB oven into a back yard patio project and stuccoed the entire thing top to bottom of stand. It looks very nice. He hired it done .

[UtahBeehiver]

George,

Your friend can't say "I built it myself" though.

Looking at the pics closer, I am not sure it is winter damage, could be, but thinking it may be more due to a semi arch with vertical walls that have no additional reinforcement for the lateral horizontal loads of this type of arch. A full arch transfers the load down. Semi archs loads are down and out. That said, the small masonry chimney vent and SS chimney is not a huge amount to support.. If is possible to do a repair but add some reinforcement to the vertical walls. Here is a picture I took in Athens a week or so ago that I wanted to show how the real Old timers built arches. Notice the vertical wall reinforcement.

[gastagg]

Very cool Russell! Thanks for the pic and the advice. You're right in the lack of vertical wall support, which I thought would be a concern. There was no damage prior to first thaw. I actually checked it after the first freeze and it had happened way back in Nov. What happened is that the tarp I had covering was not completely waterproof. Water dripped down the chimney hole (chimney removed for winter) and into the landing bricks. Water seeped down, got a piece of the CalSil board wet. The water between the bricks and the water in the CalSil board frozed, expanded, and pushed the landing bricks apart and up along the middle. The "up" was not the problem, but the "out" was as it pushed my poorly reinforced walls out, creating a space for the arch to drop. Now, I can push the upper part of the arch back and forth as there are two breaks in the arch support.

I think I could make a repair, but I'm still going to deal with water issues with bricks in the opening. I'm already working on a plan for the cast landing and entry arch. I think it will greatly reduce my worry.

Thanks!

[deejayoh]

The way the arch split I am betting the mortar was never very well bonded in the first place. Look how the entryway brick split broke the brick, the other one broke at the seam.

[gastagg]

The pics are a little dark. All the breaks are along seams. I didn't mortar in those landing bricks...which was another problem.

[gastagg]

there might be other cracks in places you can't see

Randy

Randy, uncovered yesterday and examined more thoroughly....there are quite a few cracks along brick and mortar.

[david s]

Starting on my cast entry arch and vent. Here is a pic of the foam form I'll use to build the full form around. Quick job with a 1 1/2" 4'x8' sheet of foam board from Home Depot. Snowed today...next week is supposed to be above freezing. Hopefully get some work done outside next week.

George,
The casting will be stronger if you eliminate sharp edges and corners. You can then make your casting thinner. It will also improve the flow of the smoke.
Dave

[gastagg]

Thanks Dave. I'll make the adjustments. How thick should I make the casting? Here are some pics of the teardown of the old entry arch. It was in about 6 pieces. You can see the ice in the pics.

[gastagg]

Dave, what is the recipe and ratios for refractory concrete? I've seen (3) sand, (1) lime, (1) portland, (1) fire clay, but that's the same I used for the mortar. Also saw that I need to add some stainless steel needles or something like that. Thanks for the help!