Karangi Dudes Barrel Bread Oven

[Chach]

Doug, that oven is thing of beauty! Very clean lines you do some very nice work there sir.

Ricky

[Karangi Dude]

Thanks Ricky,

It's something I am very passionate about, I have been building ovens for a while now and also helping others with their builds and worked as a consultant on quite a few other builds.
I have cooked in many different ovens they all have their differences, I hope this oven will stack up against the rest.
It is a design that has been floating around in my head for a few years, it is sort of a hybrid oven a cross between a barrel and an igloo, but you don't know how it will work until you fire it up

Cheers Doug

[oasiscdm]

Hi Doug

haven't been the site for a while. now those last couple of pages and photos bought back a few memories.
great build. I love watching perfection in the making.
looks great.

Mine I have completed base but not getting much further currently. I have not done anything since April. planning wedding, marrying, weather, work closing down. has been hectic.

Done base ready for oven table base. but want to complete the rendering of base first. weather keeps interfereing over last 4 weeks.

love your build though great work as usual.

Colin

[Karangi Dude]

Thanks Colin,

Good to see you back congratulations on your wedding the photo looks great a fine looking couple.
I had a look at your base pics its looking good

Doug

[Karangi Dude]

Finished curing and brought the temp up for a quick cook up, we had some of the family over for lunch so I cooked 5 pizzas for them and then later cooked up a couple for my wife and I along with some garlic prawns and pita bread

[CrabbaDabbaDoo]

That looks delicious!
Ive got a build happening right now seeing as kids are on school holidays here in South Australia and keen to help. My base has been built for 18 months now, sort of got busy with life and put on back burner (5 kids keeps things busy).
Initially I was going to do the 'dome' style, but have now decided on a barrel style. Ive got an old barn where we entertain so the build will be happening inside the barn with the flue going out through the roof.
As your an Aussie as well Doug your probably familiar with the old galvanised rainwater tanks that were built on concrete stands when you were a kid? Well thats the look I'm after. My base resembles that, and Ive got an old rain tank that will slip over the top of my oven when complete. So all you will see will be the red brick arch opening in front of the old rusty tank (Hopefully my flue will run up the inside wall of the tank and out the top. Once its all in place I will stuff the inside of the tank with a combination of old insulation and soil (or something like that). Anyway after reading your post I've been inspired again to get off my butt and continue my build. Im sure ill make plenty of mistakes that need correcting along the way, but hey, thats life!

[UtahBeehiver]

Doug,

Congrats of the first fire on build number 3. That oven is huge!!

[Karangi Dude]

Thanks CrabbaDabbaDoo,

Sounds like you have a good plan in place I believe WFO's work better when indoors out of the elements. I have built three ovens over the years for myself and worked as a consultant on many more builds I have also cooked in many of them they all performed well with there own characteristics. I decided to build a barrel oven this time as I like to do a lot of baking and I will also be running WFO workshops and cooking classes, we ran the same thing when we lived in Coffs Harbour with a 48'' dome oven that performed really well but the footprint of the circular floor is not as practical as a barrel for backing especially bread.
As you can see I have build this oven the same way you would a dome insulation wise and the tapered entrance etc. this oven when fully cured in a few months will heat up in a couple of hours and will retain heat for multiple batches of bread
CDD I worked as a consultant on an oven you might be interested in it is covered in a water tank the corrugated iron was new he then treated it to get the old rusty look

Cheers Doug

[Karangi Dude]

Thanks Russell,

I think it appears a lot bigger than it really is I only had a small fire going as you can see I hadn't burnt off all the carbon.
Russell I was not happy with flue gallery design so I have rebuilt it, it works a treat now, I wasn't thinking clearly when I built the first one it didn't draw as well as I would have liked.
I have been on a lot of medication with this terrible condition that I am suffering

Cheers Doug

[UtahBeehiver]

That type of "S" flue gallery has become more popular over the past couple years. If I were to do another oven I would do this as well. Hope you are finding some relief for your ailments.

[Karangi Dude]

Russell, because the oven opening will be indoors I wanted to make the flue gallery as big as I could to avoid any smoke issues but mainly for a good draft as the atmosphere is different inside a closed building.
The first flue gallery was ok but not as good as I wanted so it was better to replace it now rather than after I build the front decorative arch.
My condition is slowly getting better I now have an injection every 4 weeks and it seems to be doing me some good, thanks for you kind thoughts.

Cheers Doug

[Karangi Dude]

Finally I got the top on, it is made out of two sheets of checker plate steel 1800 x1200mm making it 1800 x 2400mm (8' x6') welded down the middle rolled to suit the curve of the oven then trimmed down to 1600 x 2030mm
I put on 4 layers of 25mm insulation blanket tied that down with some tie wire
I had to make up a ramp to slide the sheet up on to get it over the oven, it was to heavy to lift up the three metres that it needed to go, two men could lift it but not to that hight it turned out to be a three man job.
I had a sheet made with a fold at the bottom to suit the base I then sat that in place and marked out the curve and cut it to suit. I had welded some cleats on the curved top so that I could fasten the back on with tech screws. The whole top is screwed down (I didn't want to weld it) it is now water proof.
The flue area of the oven will be insulated and the rendered and the whole thing will then be painted.

[UtahBeehiver]

Wow, what you have accomplished in 4 months. Have you started promoting your WFO cooking seminars yet? You still going to use Karangi's Kitchen?

[Karangi Dude]

Thanks Russell,

Things have been slower than I would like as I am still hampered by this condition that I have, and I have the weather to contend with as well, as it is winter here and we have been getting some good rain that we all need, but it is coming along pretty well considering.
We haven't started promoting the classes yet we still need to build the actual room that will be fitted out with work benches and kitchen area, I hope to be ready later in the year.
Yes we will be running under the Karangi Kitchen name we have quite a following on Facebook etc.

Cheers Doug

[Karangi Dude]

Decorative arch is being made out of very old bricks that I was lucky enough to get my hands on, they are 100 year plus old bricks that were made here in Thoona right next door, the old Thoona Brickworks was situated where my neighbours house is and between our properties there is a big hole (dam) that they dug to get the clay out of for the bricks, it is now filled with water and once used by the local Fire Brigade for training it is now just place for water birds etc.
I did a dry run first to see if the bricks would work with the granite entrance that I had made and decided that they were perfect for the effect that we wanted, we are going for an old rustic charm look.