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Post by cannyfradock on Jul 23, 2012 17:19:29 GMT
Stevo........Brilliant!!!
I always enjoy seeing another finished wood-fired oven on the forum.(well...nearly finished)
The temptation is to fire it up on the first night of completion hotter than the devil's own festering arsehole, then bake a dozen pizza's.....Stop don't!!!......just a reminder to take it slowly with the curing fires.
Terry
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Post by turkey on Jul 23, 2012 20:00:33 GMT
not sure if you are using blanket insulation but if so I would leave it off for the drying fires so the outer edge of the bricks is exposed for evaporation etc...
it should dry pretty quickly I would guess with the current weather :-)
great to see how much you you have completed in such a short time.
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stevo
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Post by stevo on Jul 23, 2012 21:55:06 GMT
Cheers, the relief was immense - just got the decorative stones to go down on my path and thats all folks.
And you are totally correct, the temptation to fire it up straight away was huge - but i'll wait till wed/thursday to start the first one. Due to the scottish monsoon we're having at the moment i've got a tarpaulin over it to keep the rain off but enough air round it to dry.
Insulation wise, i've got a thermal blanket, and the mandatory verm layer still to go on - i might take a month off dicking around with cement and generally getting mucky!
This means i can advance on to the "food" section of the website, now thats something i'm actually good with in the start :-)
Cheers Stevo
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stevo
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Post by stevo on Jul 26, 2012 11:52:01 GMT
Now i know how prehistoric man felt. Just a wee fire for the first one, i'll do the same tonight then gradually make it bigger. Cheers Stevo Attachments:
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Post by turkey on Jul 26, 2012 15:56:20 GMT
for the small fires you can keep them running for a good while, like a good BBQ low and slow.
keep it and with this weather it should dry out very nicely.
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stevo
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Post by stevo on Jul 31, 2012 11:02:19 GMT
Had a week of wee fires, just kept them going for as long as i could - the wife isn't loving the smell of burning wood when i come back inside the house but she'll have to deal with it.
Going to test it out tonight with a bigger fire and i'm going to whack in a couple of pizzas.
Fingers crossed...
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Post by cannyfradock on Jul 31, 2012 13:49:09 GMT
Stevo
Once the oven is starting to be used you will see a vast difference in it's performance plus.....the initial smoke, until you get heat into the oven will also be remarkably reduced.
The trick is to keep as much damp out of the oven as possible .....and use dry seasoned hardwood.
Couple of tips......once you think enough heat is in the oven, spread the embers over the whole of the hearth and leave for 5/10 mins. Push the embers to the rear/side of the oven giving you enough space for the pizza peel. Use a piece of copper pipe flattened on one end to gently blow any ash to the rear of the oven. Roll the pizza dough out as thin as you can (if you're doing your own).....leave the pizza for 40/50 secs before turning. If you overload the pizza too much and the base is cooked before the top, simply lift the pizza up to the roof of the oven for between 6 and 8 seconds.
Good luck
Terry
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stevo
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Post by stevo on Aug 1, 2012 12:15:13 GMT
Alrighty, Tried the oven for the first time last night before the rain. Managed to get a 2.5 log fire going which we placed at the middle of the oven, it went ok but it wasn't a burning inferno so we then moved the fire forward and then it started to burn really well so we pushed it around the sides of the oven and thought about cooking. I got my mum to make me dough ;D which was pretty good!! I don't have a peel yet (arrives tomorrow) so i went for a double fish slice approach...interesting. The bottom of the pizza cooked properly but there was nowhere near enough heat to cook the top so i had to finish it off in the house grill. I also think that the dough was too thick. Lesson learned though, i need a beast of a fire to begin with then i think the technique i used was good enough (minus the fish slice). I think i should be ok for my bbq on saturday - everyone will be told not to expect anything amazing but it'll be edible. Tasted bloody good though Cheers Stevo Attachments:
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Post by tonyb on Aug 1, 2012 16:30:17 GMT
You do need to get a substantial fire going to clear the roof of soot before cooking pizza. I've found that I need to maintain a good fire at the side whilst cooking ie flames lapping to the middle of the roof to ensure that the pizza top cooks well.
Can't be sure but your topping looks quite thick, I suggest max 3 toppings spread thinly. My personal view is that pizza is mainly about the 'bread' with the topping there to add 'hits' of flavour and not to overwhelm the bread.
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Post by faz on Aug 1, 2012 18:33:25 GMT
My personal view is that pizza is mainly about the 'bread' with the topping there to add 'hits' of flavour and not to overwhelm the bread. That's the opposite view to some of the family members I cooked for at the weekend, who stuck every single topping available on the same pizza so the top was about 1.5" thick !! It took a while to cook
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Post by tonyb on Aug 7, 2012 11:26:56 GMT
Yep, I've had the same problem but I now do the toppings for them. Nothing wrong with deep pan pizzas but they generally need to be cooked differently ie lower temps and longer times to get the best.
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stevo
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Post by stevo on Feb 18, 2013 11:15:31 GMT
Morning guys, not been on for a while due to work / holidays... etc
I've had a look at my oven at the weekend to see how it's baring up to the harsh scottish winter/rain. I've not finished the insulation layer so it's been covered over with tarpaulin. The only exposed section is the floor at the front.
I've noticed that the cement mix at the front under the floor is a bit crumbly, i think this is due to being exposed to the elements. I'm planning on getting it watertight soon but i was wondering if anyone thinks that this would be an issue?
Cheers Steve
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Post by cannyfradock on Feb 18, 2013 18:18:40 GMT
Hey Stevo
I missed the last post with the pizza picture.....looking good!!
The crumbling of mortar under the front bricks could be many things. My guess (looking at a picture of your oven) is that the lip from the bricks to the face of your sq. opening probably holds water. This could eventually creep back under the front hearth bricks. With our severe winter frost may have entered the lying water....when the frost thaws out it expands so it could have caused the mortar to crumble.
I would scrape out the loose mortar and clean thoroughly. Paint a solution of uni-bond and water (1 part uni-bond to 3 parts water) into the gap and half way up the face of the brick. It will look white, but when dried will be clear. Fill again with mortar with a little lime added. It would be a good idea to "flaunch" the mortar...i.e....fill the area at the base of the bricks to leave a triangular piece of mortar which is about an inch up from the brick base to the edge of the face of the front masonry (if that makes sense). You can always pass a sponge over the mortar, once it has crisped up a bit to tidy it up. This may be a good idea to do on all 4 sides.
Terry
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stevo
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Posts: 118
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Post by stevo on Apr 16, 2013 14:30:31 GMT
Right, after hibernating over this cold wet winter in my garage (with my main passion, MK2 Ford Escort) and having a baby - i'm now getting back into the garden and inspiring myself with some photos of last years "Big BBQ" I've already finished the thermal blanket and wire mesh layer, and i'm going to crack on with the vermiculite covering (weather permitting). Stevo Attachments:
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stevo
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Posts: 118
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Post by stevo on Apr 16, 2013 14:31:20 GMT
Me and my just about finished product. Attachments:
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