42" build in McPherson KS

[slschoming]

Nice to see the dome clear. FYI, if you want to brown the top of the pizza more without cooking the bottoms more, do what we call doming, slide the turning peel under the pizza and raise it up towards the top of the dome where it is really hot, it will be like an oven broiler and carmelize all the top in quick fashion.

I still haven't perfected the doming technique apparently... I tried on multiple pies on Friday night but the crust would actually ignite before my cheese would melt.. Maybe I went too high in the dome? We have been using large chunks of mozzarella. Maybe we need to grate the cheese instead, or get it out of the fridge a little sooner so it's closer to room temp when we put it on the pizza?

[UtahBeehiver]

Like Pat Morita (Karate Kid) says..........patience grasshopper.

[slschoming]

G’day

Disposable Oven Doors.

Yep like the infamous disposable baking tray it’s posible to have a disposable oven door.
1.You need a small 6mm sheet of ply
2.a roll of aluminium cooking foil
3. 2 x bricks
Cut the ply to fit the revel of your oven.
Wrap in 3 layers of aluminium foil. ( no more you’ll need the extra when the first bit gets tacky)
Fit the door to the oven after the fires out. Use the bricks to keep in place.
Try it... you’ll be able to put you hand on the outside of the “door” no worries.
Ugly... you bet.
Works... amazing but it does.

regards Dave

I've been using a piece of ply without foil, but have been waiting for the oven to cool to around 400 F before putting the door in place. Can you use the foiled door immediately after a pizza bake without burning up the plywood?

[slschoming]

Hey! Glad to see that you are in the cooking phase now...How big of a live fire do you have when making the pizzas? You want some but not a raging inferno...I've only had one catch fire so far but even with that it wasn't ruined...Quick question, have you been monitoring your oven temps during cooking? What's been your ideal cooking temp? Floor? Dome? etc....

I haven't been very good at monitoring temps, I basically wait for the whole dome to clear and that's when I push all the fire and coals to the side. We have only done pizza twice, (we've done a lot of other cooking / baking in the residual heat).. I had a small fire left on the side of the oven, but it didn't look like the flame was wicking across the top of the dome...it must have been, or I must've gotten a little too close because before I knew it my crust was on fire.. It went out immediately when I lowered it to the floor and the pizza was fine...

[cobblerdave]

I've been using a piece of ply without foil, but have been waiting for the oven to cool to around 400 F before putting the door in place. Can you use the foiled door immediately after a pizza bake without burning up the plywood?

G’day
well one definite way to find out I recon, try it with the foil. If it burns... Mer... build anothery

[Gulf]

It's a long story but, I'm getting away from using aluminum in or around my oven. But, going back to the Dave's post about the aluminum baking tray (they are thicker than foil.) Place a few layers of wrinkled foil between the baking tray layer and the wood. The random air spaces will buy a lot of time before the wood reaches a combustable temperature.

[mintee]

...but the crust would actually ignite before my cheese would melt..

I love that this is a problem! Great work sls. My progress has slowed down, but I'm still right behind ya. I love that you did cookies too! Get some more pizza pictures up, and yes as Russel said, patience. If you've never worked with dough before, it's 90% technique and timing and only 10% ingredients. Practice and patience is the key.

[slschoming]

I love that this is a problem! Great work sls. My progress has slowed down, but I'm still right behind ya. I love that you did cookies too! Get some more pizza pictures up, and yes as Russel said, patience. If you've never worked with dough before, it's 90% technique and timing and only 10% ingredients. Practice and patience is the key.

We lived in Italy for a year right after we were married and helped a friend open a restaurant. I got pretty decent with the oven by the time we left, but it's been 11 years and 3 kids ago so it's all a little foggy in my memory, haha...

A big part of our problem here is that it was raining on us both times we tried pizza so we were rushing around with everything and just trying to keep ourselves and our flour dry.. Next spring I am hoping to build a roof over the oven and extend my chimney so it's 3 feet above the roof.

We're going to do some more pizza on Saturday evening and so far the forecast says "Sunny" so we'll see how it goes.

[mintee]

Yeah, I've worked in a pro bakery, and been making breads since I was a kid, but sometimes things still don't work out they way I want. Doughs aren't as easy as riding a bicycle.

Are you happy with your terra cotta chimney insert? I'm at the point now of ordering mine, and I really want the shiney Duratech listed here on FornoBravo, but I just added it to cart, and with shipping it's going to run me about $550! Yikes!

[slschoming]

Yeah, I've worked in a pro bakery, and been making breads since I was a kid, but sometimes things still don't work out they way I want. Doughs aren't as easy as riding a bicycle.

Are you happy with your terra cotta chimney insert? I'm at the point now of ordering mine, and I really want the shiney Duratech listed here on FornoBravo, but I just added it to cart, and with shipping it's going to run me about $550! Yikes!

Yeah, so far so good! I got the 8 x 12 x 24 (outer dimensions) clay flue liner from Menards for around $13. My local Menards didn't have one, but I ordered online and had it shipped to the store for free.

david s gave me some good advice in post #172 of my thread to insulate the flue liner before firing it up and referenced a video of them cracking/exploding if the inside heats too much faster than the outside. I wrapped it in some scrap blanket insulation and haven't had any problems. I will eventually brick around the whole thing.

I agree on the Duratech... I wanted to go that route too, more for convenience than anything, but decided that I've been spending too much on this oven lately and that was one place I thought I could save a little. I will still probably use $30 worth of bricks to enclose the clay liner, but it still comes out to be quite a bit less than the duratech double wall...

[slschoming]

It's a long story but, I'm getting away from using aluminum in or around my oven.

Why is that?

[mintee]

Aluminum doesn't belong in my kitchen. It's not as stable of a metal as stainless, and can pit and leech out compounds when introduced into an acidic environment. Also it turns a godawful color if used in a dishwasher with a caustic cleaner.

Oh, and then there's the hydrogen gas. (Mostly kidding about this one.)

[slschoming]

Gulf and UtahBeehiver

Hey guys, I am hoping to start my stucco layer and I am not 100% sure what to do with the vent and have a few questions.

1. Gulf, before the site got hacked you shared an image on here that has since disappeared that explained how to interface the pvc and vent with the mesh before applying the stucco. Could you share that image with me again?

2. Can I place the vent so that the top of the vent is flush with the top of the surrounding brick veneer, or does it need to stick out a little higher? I am still having a hard time visualizing this. I don't want it to detract from the look of the rest of the oven but I also want a functioning vent for piece of mind.

Thanks!

[slschoming]

I spoke with a welder and sent one of my plywood templates and some measurements home with him. He is going to fabricate a stainless steel door around some leftover CalSil board for me.

[Gulf]

Here you go.

EDIT:

I think that this configuration is a 1/2" to 3/4" pvc bushing. (1/2" to 1" would work) You just need to size the electrical conduit locknuts to fit the male threads. I used 1/2" flooring splits for my "brick veneer". I'm not sure what thickness brick that you will be using. However, 2 locknuts (one on each side of the wire mesh) can be used to adjust the heighth of the bushing to place it flush with the outside of the brick. Just thighten them down so that the bushing can not turn.

If I understand your question (#2) correctly, I would not recess the vent. I use my vent year round. The vent cover is fairly small and it is hidden behind the chimney. So far, I haven't even had one person ask me about it. If you can not paint, stain, or otherwise camoflage the vent cover to your liking, take it out and cap the hole with a threaded plug after the oven is fully dry. After an extended period of unuse or you think that the oven has taken on some extra moisture, just remove the plug and reinstall the vent cover for a few firings.