OctoForno

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Oh, you are going to be so glad you dropped weight prior to finishing your oven

Dino,

You are so right about this! All through the oven build I have been thinking about all the weight that's gonna mysteriously appear (pizza, bread, cookies, souffles) But a cook has to maintain a minimum of quality control, right?

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Dennis,
I too read about soapstone being too efficient as a heat-radiator and not suitable for baking bread. Then Jay (Texassourdough) here said don't worry about it: build your fires to heat-load your oven accordingly, the dome and floor are independent. Don't worry, be happy. I now think this is practical thinking, that 500F is 500F like Jay said. If not, I'm prepared to go with aluminum bread trays.

If you look at Post #35 on this thread, you'll see that I cut the soapstone to be 'easily' removed in the event it cracks, although if it does it will still be functional. Warning, though. This stuff is insanely heavy. I tried to pry up the front of the slab next to the arch so I could widen the arch about 1/8" (to save it from crcking if the soapstone expands) and I ended up lifting the entire dome off the firebrick 'subfloor'. I was just lucky I had beveled the front edge of the soapstone or it will never come out. My ingenious plan to remove it (if I ever have to) is to pry the middle piece up and slide a piece of ice the shape of a freezer bag and about 1/2" thick underneath and slide it out. Same with the remaining two pieces.

At the rate I'm going, if you do install soapstone in your oven, you'll be finished before me and can tell me how it works! The reports from the 81" commercial oven thread on this site report that the soapstone floor works mahvelously...

John

[deejayoh]

Re: OctoForno

John -
I have been thinking about laying down 3cm of soapstone like you have done here. Did you set this up so that the soapstone is removeable? I have been calling around looking for a vendor that has some scrap, and figured if I had them cut quarter circles + the landing as a 5th piece, I could remove the soapstone if say, I wanted to bake bread and thought it retained too much heat.

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Hey John,

I agree with Dino...nice work on the diet. I can't say that I have lost much weight since Christmas but I just bought a new treadmill 2 days ago so maybe I will be able to give a different report in a few months.

So Easter huh? That is not too far off but I think you should be able to do it. I will keep a close eye on this thread to see how you finish off this beautiful oven. (And yes I know having two kids in college, especially one at USC, is VERY expensive. Good luck with that!)

Nate

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: OctoForno

Oh, you are going to be so glad you dropped weight prior to finishing your oven

I've been on a diet (lost 13lbs) since Jan 1....Keeping my fingers crossed for pizza at Easter...
John

Pizza weight-gain should be an official hazard warning on a sticky thread somewhere between flying brick chips and cement burns on the hands

Seriously John, congratulations on the diet, and can't wait to see pizza picts in that beautiful oven.

-Dino

[Laurentius]

Re: OctoForno

What, fingers?? John!

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Nate,
My sincerest apologies, but there are plausible reasons for the endless delays... really! Excuse #1: If I didn't have one kid in college (UCSD) and a second committed to USC in the fall, I'd have enough money to have my stainless entryway floor and flue fabricated and paid for the normal way. Excuse #2: I'm still waiting on my brother to fabricate these for me, for free. Excuse #3: I've been on a diet (lost 13lbs) since Jan 1 and got so hungry the other night I woke up and ate my fingers so I can't mortar anything until they grow back...
With any luck I'll get my steel in the next couple of weeks and can go cut on some bricks. Nate, you're right - I've had so much time to think about outer arch design that I think I could do it blindfolded.

Keeping my fingers crossed for pizza at Easter...
John

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Hey John,

I am still amazed at how much thought you put into this before hand. Truly amazing! Your approach is definitely something to consider as I plan my build. To be honest I am not sure I want to move forward with ANYTHING until I see how you do your entry arch. How long are you going to keep us all in suspense?

Thanks again,

Nate

[aceves]

Re: OctoForno

That's just beautiful, John... Superbly awesome job!!

We wanna see more pics!

Aceves

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Hi Nate,

Thank you for your kind compliment! Yes, you are right - the first two courses are perfectly vertical (the bottom course as you look at it from the outside is actually the firebrick floor (underneath the soapstone).

I didn't use an indispensable tool, rather I just loosely used a template that was vertical for the first 4" or so. This is what I really liked about going this route. It allowed me to customize a dome profile that has more vertical w alls, more aggressive 'shoulder' and flatter ceiling than a true hemispherical IT-made dome. Here's a really wide-angle shot of the interior that kinda shows this.

John

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Hey John,

I was feeling the need for some serious inspiration so I just had to come back and read your build thread. Once again I am amazed and in awe of your amazing oven. Just looking at your pictures gives me goose bumps. As I was going through the pictures I noticed that it appears that you went just straight vertical for your first 3 courses, put in a little shim and then started curving inward. Am I seeing that right or am I just making that up?

Thanks again for all your help.

Nate

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Hey Nate,
My original design had a 1" gap that I was going to fill with Insblock 19 I had leftover from insulating the floor. Then I read tscar's post saying an air gap is just as acceptable as a heatbreak so am going with it. The ceramic rope is literally the last design mod I've made to the entryway.
John

[Pompeii Nate]

Re: OctoForno

Hey John,

I was looking at your thermal break for your vent and noticed that you have ceramic rope in there. I was wondering if you thought about stuffing a piece of thermal ceramic blanket in there? Would that work or are you purposely trying to go for the little air pocket?

Nate

[Cheesesteak]

Re: OctoForno

Thanks Cheesesteak. I was just checking out your latest pics and its easy to see why the counters, oven and entire kitchen is a hit. Beautiful! Good-looking pies too. Is that OO flour in the crust? What temps did you cook the pies at?

John

Thanks John - No, it's not the 00 flour. I waited so long for our new Whole Foods to open (it did this week) and I went to pick some up and they told me they didn't carry it.

So - I just ordered a bunch of Tipo 00 Antimo Caputo Flour - really looking forward to seeing how it performs.

Temps? I have no idea other than to say HOT. I still toss a sacrificial pie crust in the oven first time around - to let that burn. Kind of like tossing a virgin in the volcano I guess . . .

Boy do I like making pizza . . .

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: OctoForno

Thanks Cheesesteak. I was just checking out your latest pics and its easy to see why the counters, oven and entire kitchen is a hit. Beautiful! Good-looking pies too. Is that OO flour in the crust? What temps did you cook the pies at?

John