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Post by ruralidle on Feb 26, 2012 20:32:48 GMT
I promised to update you when we had taken delivery of our oven - so here goes. It arrived today at about 12:30 pm and was unloaded by Bernard and his son, Dan very quickly. It took 2 of them because we had selected on over sized oven "just in case". Within 15 minutes the first fire was burning  Here is the first pizza being cooked  The last of four pizzas in our first firing (my shaping will - hopefully - improve with practice)  Then we roasted our lamb shoulder joint (cooked and resting when I took the photo) and veg for our evening meal!  So what do I think of it? Well it cooks brilliant pizzas! I made long ferment sourdough bases using Caputo 00 Pizzeria flour and the taste was excellent. In fact, they were the best pizzas I've eaten (and the smoked mozzarella was a tasty variation). I am not sure how the oven will bake bread because I let the fire almost go out before I loaded my bread so it didn't rise too well whilst the fire re-established itself. I suspect that the oven warms up quickly, using only a small amount of wood, because it has a comparatively low thermal mass so it probably cools quicker for the same reason. Next time I will keep a bit more of a fire going. Overall, very pleased so far! |
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Post by turkey on Feb 27, 2012 8:29:10 GMT
it looks excellent, as does the pizza :-)
welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your pictures, we do love flaming oven shots here.
does it have a door? Perhaps for bread cooking a door or object could be used to try holding in the heat. Does the outside get hot? If so another layer of insulation wouldn't hurt to keep the heat in.
likewise if there is no insulation under the base or its getting hot some fiber board or similar might well help.
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Post by webbaldo on Feb 27, 2012 11:41:31 GMT
Looks canny, different design to my smaller bernito.
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Post by benjibong on Feb 28, 2012 16:40:46 GMT
Nice size. I would love to know more about this oven like temperature readings you get inside and how it might be improved with insulation. If it works as good as a Pompeii build then why go to the bother of building? If it is not as good as a Pompeii then in what areas does it miss?
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Post by ruralidle on Feb 29, 2012 9:48:27 GMT
Hello Just to answer some of the questions - Turkey - it does have a door and Bernard insulated it at no extra cost but when the oven was put on the stand on my (old farm concrete) "patio" it must have moved a little and the door (which is two steel sheets sandwiching the insulation) was just binding slightly. Bernard took it away to grind about 3mm off and it should be returned today. - as for the outside, it remains surprisingly cool when temperatures inside are around 300C, even the underside was barely warm to the touch but this largest of his ovens uses a thicker base insulation board than the others in the range. My teenage daughter was very wary about the heat of the dome and she touched it very gingerly - her look of bemusement at how cool it was said it all! I don't know how hot it will get if you are firing the oven at 400C and upwards for a few hours at one stretch but Bernard has, apparently, sold some ovens for successful commercial use (this size he deems "commercial"). I think that even at pizza temperatures of 400C ish we were getting external dome temperatures of only about 37 to 40C. benjibong - the oven on its stand with a door, a metal and a wooden peel, brush, thermometer and cover is about £1500 to £1600 delivered and working. I can't be more precise because, as we are only about 10 miles from where the ovens are made, we got a reduced delivery cost. A friend of mine spend £1000 on materials alone for his (smaller) brick oven. Personally, I cannot do diy because of a disability so the labour cost for even a smaller brick or modular oven would make it way more expensive. The only area I foresee potential problems is the lack of thermal mass. This may mean keeping a small fire going in the chamber to bake bread or roast/grill things whereas a brick oven would retain more heat (but take far longer to get to temperature - this one was hot enough to cook pizzas in about 30 mins - half the time of comparable modular ovens). I might have got grief from our town planners over obtaining permission to build a wfo (no permitted development rights in my house) but a wfo on a stand with wheels will not be something that they can concern themselves with  Sorry to ramble on. I will let you know how things progress, particularly the bread baking. |
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Post by tonyb on Feb 29, 2012 17:48:28 GMT
As I'm sure you are aware, the normal method of baking bread in a wfo is to clean out all the fire materials and let the oven come to steady state temperature. You may struggle to bake bread whilst still firing the oven as there is quite a lot of temperature differences: floor, ceiling, side nearest the fire, side away from the fire. One thing you might try is to put a screen (bricks, insulating firebricks?) between the dough and the fire to prevent the side nearest the fire burning.
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Post by ruralidle on Feb 29, 2012 21:49:54 GMT
Hi Tonyb You have hit on why I am still unsure as to how well the oven will bake bread - because of its comparatively low thermal mass, I am not sure if I can achieve a steady state with a small fire (but after one firing I am still at the bottom of the learning curve). I usually bake - at least initially - with steam so I plan to put my steam pan between any fire I still have and the bread. I'm am fairly confident that I will get it to work OK in the end - it's just a matter of trial and error . |
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Post by cannyfradock on Mar 3, 2012 15:04:40 GMT
Ruralidle
Many thanks for posting those lovely pics of your oven.....and that tasty looking pizza.
I think Tony's comments on bread baking are spot on. (when the door comes back)....take your oven beyond the temp needed to bake bread...empty and clean the oven, then wait for the temp to come down a little before putting bread in. I have found with experience that baking bread with a modular oven, needs a slightly hotter oven than normal when putting your first batch of loaves in. Even if they are well insulated, modular ovens seem to lose heat quicker than a decent home built one.
Trial and error is a wonderful testing media......please let us know how you get on.
Terry
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Post by ruralidle on Mar 4, 2012 21:28:08 GMT
I will let you know how things go - the door is back but now I'm worried that it has been "eased" too much  . Given the "Countryfile" weather forecast for the week ahead I may not be using the oven this week (I don't fancy running outside when there is a stiff breeze and single digit temperatures - I know, I should be more dedicated  )! PS: Terry - I've noticed that I've posted into the archive part of the forum  . Can you move the thread to the 2012 section? |
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Post by cannyfradock on Mar 9, 2012 17:25:41 GMT
...thread has now been moved (hope It worked..I normally ask Turkey or Calaf to do the complicated bits)
...shame about the door....how about using some of that asbestos type rope for a snug fit.....it's not asbestos, it just looks like.
Terry
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Post by muddy4x4 on May 21, 2012 16:41:51 GMT
Hi, I too have a Bernito oven, and posted on the old forum. I am still over the moon with ours. Still learning but having fun ! Recently did 60 pizzas for my god childs birthday and it went swimingly well ! Since getting our oven, it has traveled over 2000 miles to friends homes for pizza parties. The 2 things that I least like is the door and the floor of the oven. We have learned to manage the oven floor and keep it clean. I notice your oven floor looks tiled ? Did you go for the tile-corderite floor ? What size oven is yours ?
I do think a lot of people don't understand or appreciate the cost versus quality equation.
For the money, I find the Bernito excellent value. If it lasts 3-4 years of use I will be ecstatic !
I know I do not have the DIY skills to build a decent one from scratch, and the basic kits are twice what my oven and stand cost.
Whislt not perfect by any means, I am very pleased with mine !
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Post by cannyfradock on May 21, 2012 17:58:29 GMT
Good to hear you guys are getting the best out of your modular oven (hello Muddy, nice to see you on the new forum)...
Terry
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Post by turkey on May 21, 2012 19:05:29 GMT
re bread usage, you could always throw a few firebricks inside whilst firing, then pull the fire out and arrange these bricks round the edge, they will act as additional thermal mass. On their own I am not sure how long it can keep warm, I am sure you could get 4 per side in easily and with a door to keep the hot gas in I think one batch of bread should be doable. It will probably take a linger firing to make sure these are properly soaked in heat tho.
or with a very small fire and go the dutch oven route with a cast iron pot with the dough in to cook, very similar to the way you cook the now famous no kneed bread. This would probably allow a small fire or load of still warm embers to be kept without too much issue.
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Post by slowfood on May 21, 2012 20:31:11 GMT
Lovely looking oven, Do you know what it is made out of?
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Post by webbaldo on May 22, 2012 7:48:10 GMT
Lovely looking oven, Do you know what it is made out of? Cheese and chopsticks judging by some peoples unhappyness with bernito ovens seriously though, fibreglass outer, some insulation board and silicon carbide slurry |
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. Given the "Countryfile" weather forecast for the week ahead I may not be using the oven this week (I don't fancy running outside when there is a stiff breeze and single digit temperatures - I know, I should be more dedicated 
)!
. Can you move the thread to the 2012 section?
