I was gifted a metal barrel pizza oven a few years ago, which has been great to learn with. See photos attached.
But as I am doing up to 35 pizzas at a time (large family and big eaters), I would like to modify this to retain more heat and keep the temperature more stable.
As these family events can take up to 6 hours to finish the whole cooking process, I need to find ways to reduce the overall cook time.
I can get the oven up to 420 c, but I can't hold it long enough for consistency between pizzas, (Neapolitan mainly). I am struggling between the flame being too hot, or the base not hot enough, and vice versa.
I am not trying to get it to the same level as a proper brick oven, but just some consistency with the heat and whole cooking process, so I can concentrate more on making the pizzas, than constant fire management, and quicker cook times.
While using somethings I already have to keep the cost down, some ideas I was thinking of are:
- Remove the legs and make a new base, with 12 mm thick fiber cement sheeting, and a layer of concrete over this, and or silicate base. I already have a 2400 x 600mm fiber sheet.
- Remove the fiber blanket, and fill with refractory cement, and then put the fire blanket on the outside of the main dome, and cover with more cement or something else.
I have a very small yard, so I am restricted to a base of 1200 x 1200 mm, and it needs to stay mobile, so I can put it back in the garage when done.
Any expert advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard