2024 Neapolitan oven build

[UtahBeehiver]

Each time you fire you find out more about the nuances of your oven, nice leopard pattern crust.........

[daidensacha]

Heating oven over consecutive days to cook pizza - Day 1

Starting yesterday I’ll be cooking pizza for 3 consecutive days. It’s the first time I will reheat the oven the day after baking pizza, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much wood and how long it takes to reheat the oven. My ovens retained heat is usually around 360C the day after I cook pizza, and my target heat will be: dome 480C, floor 430C. This will be interesting,

I‘ve also been making use of the retained heat when the oven drops to under 200C by putting wood in the oven so its totally dry for my next fire. It makes a huge difference when lighting the fire as the wood lights up really quickly. These next days it will be too hot to put wood inside as it will ignite, but the retained heat should also help with getting the next fire up and going.

Made 4 pizzas last night from a menu I am working on.

Pepperoni - pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, caramelised onion, oregano, sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil


Maurizio - mozzarella, parmigiano regiano, fresh rosemary, sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil


Salsiccia - pizza sauce, roasted fennel, mozzarella, salsiccia sausage, parmigiano regiano, sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil


Pera - provolone cheese, freshly sliced pear, smoked pancetta, fresh thyme, extra virgin olive oil


I nailed the oven heat for the first time, and it made me happy . Took just under 2 hours to heat, dome 480C, floor 450C. It was just the right temp so the pizzas didn‘t stick to the floor, or the bases burn. Gave just the right time for the tops to cook without burning the crust. Now I just need to learn to replicate it. I will do 6 more pizzas this afternoon, and curious how long it takes to reheat the oven still hot from last night.

[daidensacha]

Giovanni & AJH, I'm interested in the new RFX wireless meat probe from Thermoworks. The wireless probes are reported to easily retain connections through high temps in all cooking situations. Sounds like the probes would be ideal for WFO roasting & baking.

That sounds really interesting. I had looked at a different brand available here in Germany but it only withstands temps up to 257C. The brand you mentioned withstands up to 1000F, or 537C. It could be really useful, if I can get it here in Germany.

NOTE: I found another brand available here in Germany, Meater Pro, and Meater Pro XL. It withstands temps up to 550C.

[SableSprings]

Giovanni & AJH, I'm interested in the new RFX wireless meat probe from Thermoworks. The wireless probes are reported to easily retain connections through high temps in all cooking situations. Sounds like the probes would be ideal for WFO roasting & baking.

[Giovanni Rossi]

Really came together nicely. I'm excited for you as you start to reap the benefits.

Something you might want to consider is getting a BBQ meat thermometer probe to monitor temps without needing to take off the door.

Second using a wireless probe when roasting, though I have been unhappy with the accuracy of the one I bought. Anyone want promote one providing good results?

Hmm... maybe a video feed too...

[AJH]

I'm getting very similar performance on my oven. Something you might want to consider is getting a BBQ meat thermometer probe to monitor temps without needing to take off the door. Most are rated to handle heat up to 375C, so if you wait till morning after pizza, you can open the door once to clean out the oven and put in the probes to monitor temperatures wirelessly till you hit your target for the next cook. I have an older wired thermometer that I used on my last cool down. I found it reads a little low, but it was easy to calculate an adjustment factor and then use it to plot a temperature graph. I'm still working out things to cook with the residual heat. Planning on doing a chicken or a turkey sometime in the next month, maybe a roast with carrots and potatoes...

Pulled pork was fantastic at 120C. Season it, place it in a pan to catch all the drippings, stick it in the oven before work, and have perfectly juicy pulled pork after work

[daidensacha]

Oven performance

I dreamed about having my oven for years, all the concepts I had have been blown away, in a good way. The oven is far beyond what I could have imagined. Amazing how powerful it is, which I totally underestimated and consequently had some burnt pizzas to begin with.

I‘m still finding the balance of knowing how fast and how long to preheat the oven, but I‘m just being scientific with it experiment and find what works best. On my last bake on Monday, I had set up my kindling tower, and put extra wood in the oven while the oven was still warm from the last bake. The wood was dry and warm, and lit really easily. Burnt faster too, which is ok because it build up the bed of glowing coals. After 2.5 hours, I moved the coals to the side of the oven, and had to remove a bucket full as there was just to much. The dome and floor were both at 500C, so I wiped the floor down with a freezing wet cloth to cool it a bit, but that only took 10C out of the floor. I still had to wait a bit before putting my first pizza in the oven to save burning the base. When I did put the pizza in, it was my best to date, perfect crust full of air, very light to eat, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy inside.

Even with the oven at 500C, sometimes over 550C, there is no heat reaching the outside of the dome. Also, the chimney is cool on the outside, with no heat on the outer wall. My insulated double walled stainless steel flue gets to 10C on the outside. I thought it would get much hotter, but with the arch, vent and schamott flue being the first 1.5 meters above the vent, that takes the heat and is well insulated with ceramic fibre and perlite.

Day 2 after baking the oven is consistently around 300C, with day 3 around 220C, and day 4 170C. Using this retained heat I have been baking bread, and tried some ribs which were the best I ever had. Using the ovens retained heat, and having to open it up to measure the temp wth the IR thermometer, I understand now the advantage of installing a probe thermometer to be able to know the internal temp without having to open it. Knowing that they all fail at some point, i will install one eventually, but in such a way with a sheath that I can easily replace it when needed.

Finally put my light on the front of the oven last week, and added a double power point under the landing, along with 6 more power points alone the back wall of the terrace. You can never have enough power points is my view. I ordered my granite benchtop, but that won‘t come for a few more weeks, and then I‘ll only install it when the temp is warm enough.

[daidensacha]

Walled city and don't know any better, went there in the fall before the Xmas market around Octoberfest so the market was not going yet. I also use a SS blow pipe to clear the ash off the cooking area as well as a bellow to get added wood flaming. Like David said, need to be a little careful and put something on the blow end of the pipe so you don't chip a tooth.

Ah yes, the walls from the old times. Most of the cities i have seen still having remnants of them out grew them long ago. Augsburg near us has a big one, or parts of it with the big old entry arches.

Nördlingen not far from us, is one of the few cities in Germany that still has the full wall from the old times. The city outgrew it and now surrounds it, but you can walk around the wall, it‘s impressive.

I got a 10mm stainless steel pipe this arvo, only 1 meter and I think I might need to get a longer one to reach in the oven. Pizza tomorrow, so lets see how it goes. I‘ll put a piece of hose on the end so it reaches, and protects my teeth.

[UtahBeehiver]

Walled city and don't know any better, went there in the fall before the Xmas market around Octoberfest so the market was not going yet. I also use a SS blow pipe to clear the ash off the cooking area as well as a bellow to get added wood flaming. Like David said, need to be a little careful and put something on the blow end of the pipe so you don't chip a tooth.

[daidensacha]

Yes, I have one of those rubber chair leg tips fitted to the pipe, with a hole drilled through its centre, for exactly the same reason.

I googled a bit yesterday, and will check out the hardware store this morning as I need to buy some materials to put power points in the terrace.

Have you tried a foot bellow pump connected to the tube? I would need one about 1 to 1.5 meter long so I‘m interested to find out how much lung power is needed to blow the ash through such a tube. I‘ll give it a go.

[daidensacha]

The Christmas Markets is on my A list to see sometime, especially Regensburg.

I‘m curious what draws you to Regensburg?

That’s a bit under 2 hours from us. Nuremberg supposedly has really nice Xmas markets (on my bucket list), which is not far from Regensburg. Keep that in mind if your ever in the neighbourhood. Thierhaupten, where I live wins the vote for the best local Xmas markets, although its more social than anything, as a life time of people who ever lived in Thierhaupten always come to catch up at the Xmas market.

My favorite is Salzburg, also just a couple of hours away. I always have such a good time there. The ambience of Salzburg with the old buildings is so beautiful.

[david s]

Just a quick caution on a blow pipe. In my rush to use one for my first pizza party, I fashioned one of proper length and went at it. I worked from the front to back while sliding the tip of the tube side to side. While I made sure to not have any floor bricks stand proud such that a peel would catch when sliding front to back, there are still joints. The pipe snagged one of those joints and I'm still not sure how I didn't crack a tooth! Now I have a 2" piece of rubber hose snugged on the end as a cushion.

Yes, I have one of those rubber chair leg tips fitted to the pipe, with a hole drilled through its centre, for exactly the same reason.
Apart from clearing away the ash, the blowpipe also works really well to give the fire on the side a blast if the flame dies or some assistance if you have trouble starting the fire. It’s an essential tool in my view.

[UtahBeehiver]

The Christmas Markets is on my A list to see sometime, especially Regensburg.

[Giovanni Rossi]

Just a length of thin stainless pipe about 1I 0mm diameter, Mine is only about 500mm long, but my oven is small a larger oven would need a longer pipe. I made it from a disused drying rack. Just make sure you blow, don't suck.

Just a quick caution on a blow pipe. In my rush to use one for my first pizza party, I fashioned one of proper length and went at it. I worked from the front to back while sliding the tip of the tube side to side. While I made sure to not have any floor bricks stand proud such that a peel would catch when sliding front to back, there are still joints. The pipe snagged one of those joints and I'm still not sure how I didn't crack a tooth! Now I have a 2" piece of rubber hose snugged on the end as a cushion.

[daidensacha]

Baking dishes…

Yesterday I put an enamel baking dish in the oven that was 300C with some ribs, and it held up well, and was relatively easy to clean, but I‘ve been looking at options to have dedicated baking dishes specifically for the wood oven.

Cast Iron
Cast iron was my initial thought. I do have a big pot and lid, which is brilliant and will be used in there at some point. Also some cast iron fry pans that will also be useful. But its heavy, and I was wondering it there is something else.

Carbon Steel
I got my self a 40 x 30cm carbon steel baking dish, which I think will be handy, and and comes in bigger sizes too, 50x35cm, 60x40cm. I‘ve also been considering at some point getting a 40cm carbon steel frypan with two loop handles.

Hotel pans…
This morning I was googling and came across a webpage of a woodfired oven company which I found very informative. They mentioned hotel pans as a really good option, giving pros and cons of the various possibilities. Steel, easy to clean, dishwasher proof, heat resistant, come in various sizes, and are very affordable. or example, 6 pieces 33 x 53.7 x 9cm for 60 Euro. Says food can be heated up to 932C in them.
For the family Xmas dinner this year I will do 2 ducks, and have been considering what is the best option to use for baking dishes. Also after cooking ribs yesterday in my oven baking dish, I need something better.

Anyone used them in the forno bravo ovens?