Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Eric: your 1st pizza pics look fantastic thru your arch. I'm glad your wife is a wfo taskmaster . I've got the opposite problem: Mike is forcing me (not really ) to make pizza tonight and I'd rather be working on the stones as late as possible. I guess wfo construction can also be lesson in balance and patience. I pulled out the "beer-can-chicken" cooking in it last night after I got home from work and it immediately splattered the un-sealed concrete counter with grease . I guess I have to seal it fast or cover it.

Thanks for kind words everyone. Nikki, me too, I can't to take evening pictures. Should look good. Thanks all, Dino

[eprante]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Dino,
The stonehaus is looking fantastic. You are really close to finishing this thing- I am so jealous. I lit my first wood fire tonight, cooked up 6 pizzas, drank a little Zinfandel- now I have to get to finishing the cosmetic part of the oven. I am experiencing the I need a break, now that it is functional stage. Cathy is having nothing of that- we have a party in 3 weeks...

Your oven is looking fantastic. Great work

Eric

[SCChris]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Beautifully done!!

Chris

[bbell]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Now that's a great looking oven!

[Modthyrth]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

It looks spectacular! I'd love to see a picture of it at night, with that fabulous built-in lighting.

[mfiore]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Dino, your stonework looks great.

No summer here yet. We've had some great weather at times, but it's going to drop into the low 30's again tomorrow with a chance of snow.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Here is some progress. It's going so slooooow for me. Mike and I are in semi- "oh boy it's summer, lets go places" mode and I feel like I'm ignoring my child.

Also, I've never inserted an actual picture in a post, I've always done thumb-nails to click on but after reading dmun''s instructions to Nikki, I had to try prove to myself I could do it. I feel so tech-y -Dino

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[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Thanks for compliments and encouragement. I still feel so slow, especially when people like Raffy start and almost finish an oven in weeks .

Raffy: those are gray granite flat stones left over from a patio I did under a gazebo. I needed to level that area in front of the oven before a pool party so I set them in the brown decomposed granite (temporarily-initially) and it's turned out to match really well, so I'll keep.

RE: sourdough starter: I made mine last year with my own grapes (they're organic and had a nice white bloom of dusty yeasts on their skins) and hung them in cloth in a jar of rye flour and water for a week. Then I removed them, re-fed and re-fed the starter with regular flour and now I have the strongest started I've ever had.

There are so many people on this forum with GREAT info on bread baking. Jay (texassourdough), Rossco, Splatgirl, Elizabeth have all be so helpful and I can't remember half of them. Here is 1 thread with their discussions and pictures of starter:

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f10/interesting-dough-experiment-11954.html

Lots of forum members have had dough discussion regarding books by Reinhart and Hamelman and I've searched those words to get to some good forum discussions on bread baking.

Thanks, Dino

[Millstone Man]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Great looking stone work. It really is a work of art as well as a practical use.

[Raffy]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Hey Dino,

It must be a relief to be so close to finishing your oven. Your oven is looking fabulous. What type of stone slabs are those in front of the oven? I'm thinking of putting stone slabs in the ground around the oven instead of brick tiles for a more natural look.

I'm really interested in learning more about baking bread. Can you tell me more about starters and how to make my own? Would really appreciate it. Or if there is any internet literature I can read please point me in that direction. I tried to google it and I mostly get topics about car engine starters hehehe

Thanks!

Raffy

[eprante]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Dino,
Looking very nice( the oven, you look the same)!! You are close to the end, then you will be like Dmun, Les, and Mark- hanging around and giving advice to all of us in the midst of our build.
Eric

[trockyh]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Hey Dino, you are quite the craftsmen! Your oven and enclosure are beautiful. I wish I had citrus in my yard, but too cold here for most.
Looking forward to see what color you end up with. I know it will look great!

Cheers,
Tom

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

I got some of the hardest brick pieces on the enclosure front done last weekend. The stone cuts up easy on the wet-saw for the angled pieces against the roof eave and to customize some stone on the entry arch. Once I finish the front peak, it'll go much faster since it wont be as important to have the stones that "look right" on the front of it.

The fascia boards I painted wood-primmer-gray is really detracting from the stone. I was going to paint it one of my 2 house colors to "bring it in" or attach it to those colors but some suggested using a color from the stones themselves, let the wfo stand on its own. I'm going to buy some paint and start experimenting.

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Eric, I fed the starter and he's happy again. I think I'll bake bread Sat while I work on the ovens facade stone. Just have to keep the flour and type s mortar apart .

Thanks Dan, and I'm looking forward to seeing your your 1st fires.

Hi Gary and welcome to the forum! I had the same experience when I found this site. I would have been so lost without the fine people posting here. This has been a wonderful building experience for me and I've enjoyed every bit of it.

Your outdoor kitchen will be great with a real Pompeii style oven built into it. You'll be so glad you did it this way. Make sure to ask questions as you're going thru peoples threads and I look forward to seeing your own work soon.

Cheers, Dino

[aussiepizzaman]

Re: Dino's 42" Pizza Oven Starts

Hi Dino ,
New to the FB forum and have been looking at variuos WFO for ideas and inspiration.Spent the last few nites reading your entire thread and must say everything you have tried seems to work so well.Must say I like the way everyone shares ideas and info and encourages new builders.
I was going to build a small WFO from a home reality show but after stumbling on this site and seeing the great work that yourself and others have done , may I say I have the bug. I have gone from just a wfo to an outdoor kitchen and entertaining area.
great work Dino and all other members.

regards Gary