new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

hi there dave .your oven's looking great mate , and the wet stuff is frustrating ...i moved the car out of the garage and layed out the bricks for the oven floor then cut them with a tile saw i got from trade tools $148.00 but well worth it . i also got the turbo blade for the angle grinder and that works well too.
i got the wifey to help with some of the work, especially some of those odd cutting angles and when that was done we numbered the bricks and moved them outside to the hearth then it rained , then cleared then rained , i covered up , uncovered etc then gave up...
i tried to put my pic's up to post but was told it was too big a file ,, any advice would be great mate
and i see you got a temp gauge on your door , i may have to look into that..

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Dear jas
Have watched the grand final a coupla beers so spelling mistakes are more than possible. Brough your self a brick cutter way to go. I started my WFO project with the possibility of using a mates but the blade was worn down and replacement was $260. Ive used one before to cut pavers the water cuts down the dust like a champ.
Getting the bricks wet wet at this stage dont worry cement is a chemical reaction rather than a drying out process so your better off cementing to a wet brick than dry otherwise the dry brick will suck the moisture out of the cement before the chemical reaction takes place.
Chuck a brick in a bucket of water and see what i mean those fire bricks suck up moisture prettty fast.
Imprested by the thermometer dont be... it was only the old meat thermometer that has been in our kitchen drawer for the last 25 years. child bride was Not impressed when she saw it but I'll certainly replace it as it only reads to 200F. check out the Aussie thread on oven doors I hope to find out where Paul got his from.
On posting photos hopefully one of the moderators can help. I download photos direct from my phone in JPEG and it seams to work. Perhaps you can convert yours to JPEG as i know it works? I also was warned you could not download more than 5 at one time. How knowns? trust me this is not my area I do better hitting things with hammers

great to hear from you
regards dave

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Hi Jas
amusing myself by watching the wheelbarrow fill with rain... trusty shovel rusting but the weeds look strong and green



Report has it no rain this wekend

Regards Dave

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

hi Dave , i have the same rusted shovel and full barrow too!!
it's been hard to sit back and not see any progress on the WFO , and allthough it is way out of our control i think we have had enough rain.....,the pool over flowed ,the garden beds are soaked and the dog is depressed, no walks in rain...so if it is clear this weekend i am going to get a lot done ,the domwill start finally.and i will have another go at these pics to show you too,
thanks mate ,
jason.

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

well hi all the rain has stopped finally..and i have made progress got the first soldier course and then the second , so happy for the fine weather this i getting exciting !!!the WFO is looking great! all i need is to post these pictures i got waiting so any advice would be very helpfull and please ,, the simple version,, i can handle ......

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Dear Jason
You have to be gutsie following my instructions but hear goes.
Download you photos onto your computer and put them somewhere you can find them easily like a seperate file rather something like My photos which could contain hundreds of photos. I just use the photos on my phone and download by cable
Click on each photo in your file by using the right button on your mouse the box that drops down highlite rename and give each a discriptive name. trust me do this as it makes things so much easier later.
Now to get the photos for your thread start a thread and make sure you print somthing in it. In the area obove the box is fonts sizes etc next to the smily face is a thing that that roughly looks like a paper clip.Click on it. you should get a new window open up.
Now click on Browse in this window and this will let you get to the file in your computer where you stowed the photos. double click the photos and the uplood window opens again. you have selected the photo but you have to upload it by clicking the upload icon watch the bottom as this will show you the upload progress as a blue bar When its uploaded hit browse again and get another photo up to a max of 5. close this window will allow you to go back to your original thread
Your photo are now in the paper clip icon if you click on it it will drop down with a list of names you gave the photos.
Double click one and it will appear as writing at this stage and when you finally post the thread the photo will appear in the text

hope this helps
PS print a copy of this its a bit long winded

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Hi Jas

Hows progress???

Regards Dave

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

yeah hi dave all is well i had to cover up the area i'm working in , got a bit hot !! this brisbane weather is crazy.
i managed to get the dome 3/4 built . one thing i didn't do is bulid the dome guide for the closing in , now i'm brainstorming to add this on so one thought is to use thin ply to flex to the dome shape and use many 1 1/2 inch wide strips to complete the closing in.
the blade for the saw is blunt so i got to get another from trade tools $28.00 tomorrow . how did you go with your WFO ? did it survive the change in weather?
i'm also going away this weekend so another delay awaits me in my build.

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Hi Jas
Love the photo, you have been a "bissy lad". Very neat looking piece of work.
Looks like that brick cutter was worth every cent. I had the offer of a loan of one but it was a huge pro job and required a blade costing hundreds not $28 bucks... lucky b@**&
Dome quide... I used a plywood one stuck together with a hot glue gun did the job. Like you have planned as it get close to the top I stuck more little strips so it supports instead of just being a quide. Worst part is actually burning it out took 2 beers and my wife egging me on to lite it. I can tell you the resulting fire was bigger than I thought. I was just waiting for that dome to crack thank christ I let it cure for a number of weeks. check the plans out if you have the sand you might consider using a circle of ply held up with bricks and shaped sand. Covered with plastic so the sand dont stick. If I built another Id try it.
Juction of the dome and the entrance arch ( looks great by the way ) you just wait the cut angles are brain killers. Cutting those blew my tinny brain but if I can do it I'm sure you can.
Like you I have to work this Sat But I have lite a number of small fires and kept the dome cover like a big baby if it looked anything like rain. Wheather permitting pizza this weekend.

Regards Dave
PS DId my instruction Help you with the photo?
Sorry no photos to date the blue tarp doesn't look to good in the photos

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Hi Dave yep so far it's looking good . I have had some mental moments over the last feww dry weekends and my wife who said if i don't get a little frustrated diring this project it will be a miracle !!
i like the sand form idea and may go with that cos' i've got a trailer load sitting there for something else so when i'm done with it in the oven i'll reuse.
i was also looking at 400x400 pavers for the outer ground area until i got the price $ 7.50 each and i need a few so i'm on the scrounge again ,ahh always something to do ..the weekend looks fine so i hope you can get some cooking done , there is a post in the aussie section about roast smoked flavoured chicken , now that looks nice he put the ckook on a rack and threw some wood chips in , awsome .
one more thing would you do all this again? i would but a smaller one and a mobile oven on rails to move about on a trailer for camping , just a thought.
thanks mate . jas.

[cobblerdave]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

dear Jas
Do it again yep I certainly would, some size? Seen some small wfo in Bunnings you would hardly have room for a fire and a small pizza in them. perhaps would go down to 32inch no smaller.
I don't find it a pain to flash up the wfo either ever tried getting a webber flashed up seams to take forever and cant stand the smell of those firlighters.
The thing that comes to mind now that i think obout it, I really like the smell of proper woodsmoke and to see the flames. I never really thought about it till now it but Ive always had a wood BBq for years to recent years and got a gas fired BBq with the house.
Had an experence last sat with a mates wfo was not a forno one had the chimney in the roof of the oven which seamed a waste of heat. He got it with the house he brought. taked him into putting a tile on the chimney and treated it like a forno one and it worked like a charm. recon someone didnt follow ther instructions to well when they built it. Everything else seems good built of firebrick seems insulated as the outside doest heat up after many hours. Wasn't round either was of a barrel design and took a big fire to get it to pizza heat and being so long was a pain as the fire in the back seemed so far from the entrance. Using me mates has made me realize what a good design the forno is.
Told many people your building a wood fired pizza oven? How about there reaction... everyone I talked to are rapped with the idea.. My pizza party list seems to get bigger and bigger better keep me trap shut.
Seen all the hype on flour and dough in the forum?. I havent seen any pizza flour in brisbane to date and have experemented with a few things
From the forum.. your old bread maker will get a new lease of life,dough making cycle takes about an hour about the same time as it takes to get the heat in the oven.
Plain flour makes great cakes and cake textured pizza bases. Bread flour mix makes great bread but real chewwy pizza bases. Mix 1/2 plain flour and 1/2 bread flour though works really well and makes a great pizza base.
Before I forget found any peels yet still havent got a proper one yet...

regards Dave

[The Goose]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

I havent seen any pizza flour in brisbane to date and have experemented with a few things

Hey Dave - re your flour, check the links. Some good info on local ie Aussie produce and readily available most everywhere. Most outlets stock the Lighthouse Bread and Pizza strong (high protein) flour.


Basic Pizza Base ? Pizzabase.com.au Forums


Pizza Base | Pizza Recipe | Pizza Dough | Make Pizza

[jas.]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Hi dave, sorry it took a while to respond to your message .
thats great about the response to our back yard projects isn't it ? when i tell people what i been doing on weekends they are totally surprised and i hpoe i can be finished soon too so i can have a few pizza party's ..
now the pizza flour search, i dont tell everyone but, after this it's out i guess , i was a chef for 20 yrs and alot of the time we used a soft grade flour , onr called caputo 000 grade flour you maybe able to get some thing simular at Fresh As at capalaba it is a deli fruit shop / fine foods . and you could always try to shop where the italians / greeks go , one is 'Penissi foods ' , black pearl epecure in baxter st fort. valley.
ther is one place to shop in bulk and that is cambells wholesale food supplies all you need is an A.B.N NUMBER and thats free on the net. Jimele dist. is another
and then there always google for suppliers in brisbane.
of you call in and have a chat to some one at some of these shops they may point you in the right direction.i will do some more research...
another piece of equipment i'll bee after is a bigger mixer , i've got a kitchen aid with dough hook but that too small , so i'll be heading off to the second hand hospitality shops where we get most of the equipment for cafes and restaurants ..cheeper too and you can see them and check there working order.
welll i'm away up north for the weekend so happy cooking and chat soon.
jas.

[BackyardPermaculture]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

Best pizza flour I've come across in Brisbane, based on other Aussie recommendations on here, is Allied Mills Superb Bakers Flour - it's really cheap in 12.5kg bags from P E Foods, which is a wholesaler at Acacia Ridge.

I've just finished my second bag - need to stock up this week!

[bris-pizza-oven]

Re: new guy wants to build a pompeii oven in brisbane

just found this post ...(ive been busy using my wfo) yeah the weathers been real bad in brissy lately which is a pain as im a shiftworker and rairly get the time to use it the way it should be

im mainly using mine for roasting on a sunday while mowing the yard its good to be able to use the set and forget type off cooking

last week we did a nice chicken tagine in the oven that turned out better than expected
mines a barrel vault oven but when i build another it will be a pomeii style

if you need anymore fire bricks send me a p.m i have a few left over and i live near claypave

cheers paul