Precast Oven Advice

[furry]

Hi,

Im new to the forum but ive done quite a lot of background reading over the last 6 months and im hoping someone could help me to edge in the right direction.

We're about to move to a house with a garden, primarily so that I can have a pizza oven!.. That said I will have a great deal of other chores to complete which are probably more pressing to my dear wife.

I dont want this summer to come and go without the oven, but being realistic, im not going to have time to build one this year, so im considering a precast.

There seems to be absolutely loads on the market with a huge variety of prices and im at a real loss as to whether there is a real quality / feature difference.

Ive been looking mainly at:

wood-fired-pizza-ovens.co.uk

www.jamieoliver.com/wood-fired-ovens/oven-range/dome-60

www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk/our-ovens/

Then there are loads on ebay and amazon, and some with more 'modern' designs at

www.blisteringwoodfiredovens.co.uk

littlebritaly.com/sales/index.php

Does anyone have any experience of any of these products?

Im quite keen for the oven to be mobile (by that I mean not fixed to a permanent base) for a year or so, then I may look at siting it permanently and possibly insulating it further for slow cooking and baking, if it needs the extra insulation.

The alternative would be for me to get a builder in to construct it for me. Has anyone ever done that? Im guessing its quite costly as it can't be done in a couple of days.

Any feedback would be massively appreciated, its a lot of money so I need to get it right first time, or certainly have the option of improving it.

Im based in Newcastle.

Thanks for your help and sorry for so many questions!

[ducky]

Hi furry

I guess your decision will come down to budget. I was a little bit like you as I wanted to build my own oven but time is scarce at the moment so I opted for a modular oven. I did however build the base so that I can change the oven at some point in the future with a self built one ( my build is on here). I bought an oven from etnaovens.com purley on cost as I managed to get an ex display one from them. The oven is one complete cast structure so is portable ( weight could restrict this though). 

[mike44]

Hi I've decided to go for a precast unit. I have found a company in portugal www.lojaartiforno.com who import to the UK. Had a price of about £600 1000 x 1000 door spit roast tools and delivery to uk.
My only concern is I can't find anything about them any where does anyone know anyone who has had an oven from www.artiforno.com/ (same company as above) If so any thoughts how good they are

Also I see lots of different tools you can get what are really the main tools you need eg pizza peeler brush etc

Any help would be great thank you

[oblertone]

Regarding tools, you need a fire management tool and a pizza management tool, the rest are 'nice' but not strictly necessary. For fire management I've found nothing better than a roofing strap from any builders merchant, a meter long with a 15cm right angle bend at one end. A long handled peel is a must and if you only get one, get a round one made for turning the pizza as it can always be used to introduce the pizza too. Once you get more expert at stretching larger bases you may need a bigger squarer one, but to start with the round one will cope with the strange shapes you produce.



There are varying views on brushes, mainly due to the fear of leaving a brass bristle in the oven which could be picked up on a pizza. I've used a brass brush for all my pizza making and it's never happened, but I try to be vigilant. If you manage the embers with a tool, some find that flapping a peel will lift the dust enough for it to be vented up the flue; others favour a damp mop, but I've never tried it due to heat loss concerns.

Hope this helps.

[nabs]

I have just ordered a mezzo from stonebake oven company....expecting delivery tomorrow...very excited