Egon
Epic Contributor
One in my Back Yard would be nice and another one out at The Lake would be even nicer!
Brick oven
- Thread starter czechsonofagun
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One in my Back Yard would be nice and another one out at The Lake would be even nicer!
OP
czechsonofagun
Elite Member
Wow, old thread and it is alive
Thank you everybody for kind words, I have to admit, there is not too much of old country skills. If I remember correctly, I laid about twenty bricks when I lived in Czech. This oven is just another proof that I can do anything - except make big bucks and/or a career in a corporation
If you ever build your own, this is my experience after almost a year. The shape has a tendency to develop small, structurally insignificant cracks. I can live with it, and esthetically it is not a problem either. From what I have read, people separate the actual oven and the dome above it with aluminum insulation foil or a space filled with some sand or such to allow the dome of the oven to move without affecting the oven cover. There is a link somewhere here to real experts who do seminars and provide all the information you need. I considered it and went the simple way.
Second thing is the wooden support. Since the clay is very sticky, for the first 2/3rds of the dome you don't need the wood for support, only to give you a guidance where to lay the next brick. But for the top, this orange like support is not enough. If I wanted to do it again, I would make the wooden support look like a mushroom, where the top of the mushroom would be full wood carved from dimensional lumber or such to hold bricks in place and give shape to the fireclay filled spaces between.
And Rose, since those pictures I made wooden door from maple - just couple of boards with a handle to block the heat inside. It makes a difference.
Thank you everybody for kind words, I have to admit, there is not too much of old country skills. If I remember correctly, I laid about twenty bricks when I lived in Czech. This oven is just another proof that I can do anything - except make big bucks and/or a career in a corporation
If you ever build your own, this is my experience after almost a year. The shape has a tendency to develop small, structurally insignificant cracks. I can live with it, and esthetically it is not a problem either. From what I have read, people separate the actual oven and the dome above it with aluminum insulation foil or a space filled with some sand or such to allow the dome of the oven to move without affecting the oven cover. There is a link somewhere here to real experts who do seminars and provide all the information you need. I considered it and went the simple way.
Second thing is the wooden support. Since the clay is very sticky, for the first 2/3rds of the dome you don't need the wood for support, only to give you a guidance where to lay the next brick. But for the top, this orange like support is not enough. If I wanted to do it again, I would make the wooden support look like a mushroom, where the top of the mushroom would be full wood carved from dimensional lumber or such to hold bricks in place and give shape to the fireclay filled spaces between.
And Rose, since those pictures I made wooden door from maple - just couple of boards with a handle to block the heat inside. It makes a difference.
rox
Veteran Member
Hey I knew after running it for a whil you would figure out on your own that it needed a door. Do you have a long handled Pizza stick? You know at the end it is round to slide under the pizza to pull it out, and it has a long handle on it so you can step back from the oven. Thos Pizza "sticks" are sold all over around here.
Hello Prokop,
Great job on your oven, it looks like it does what it is supposed to do!
I have also built one, but not entirely from scratch, as I used the kit from LePanyol.
Have you enclosed the dome yet? If not, are you planning on it? The cracks in the dome are only superficial as you probably already know, but over time could potentially allow water to penetrate into the oven interior.
I have attached a pic of my completed oven. Nothing tastes quite a good as food cooked the 'old-fashioned' way.
Dale
Great job on your oven, it looks like it does what it is supposed to do!
I have also built one, but not entirely from scratch, as I used the kit from LePanyol.
Have you enclosed the dome yet? If not, are you planning on it? The cracks in the dome are only superficial as you probably already know, but over time could potentially allow water to penetrate into the oven interior.
I have attached a pic of my completed oven. Nothing tastes quite a good as food cooked the 'old-fashioned' way.
Dale
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czechsonofagun
Elite Member
Dale, You oven looks great and nicely finished, congrats.
The pizza paddle you use is metal or wood? I have to admit, I never placed anything directly on the firebrick bottom, what is your experience?
The plan for the cracks is to seal them with cement and eventually put a roof over the whole area - like an outdoor living room, since I would much prefer the rain not to touch the oven.
The pizza paddle you use is metal or wood? I have to admit, I never placed anything directly on the firebrick bottom, what is your experience?
The plan for the cracks is to seal them with cement and eventually put a roof over the whole area - like an outdoor living room, since I would much prefer the rain not to touch the oven.
Hi Prokop,
The paddle (aka peel) is stainless-steel with a wood handle.
The LePanyol ovens have food-grade clay 'tiles' on the base. For cooking pizza, once the oven as reached a high temp I move the remaining embers and fire over to the rear. I keep a small fire going to keep the temp up so that I don't have to use the door.
Traditionally, a clean mop or rag wrapped around a stick slightly damp with clean water is used to clean the ash from the cooking area. A little corn meal is sprinkled on the cooking surface and the pizza or bread can be placed directly on the oven floor. This method has not always worked for me when making pizza, but the challenges are more than likely due to my inexperience. Occasionally I will use a flat baking sheet or pizza pan to cook the pizza on, which eliminates any sticking of the pizza to the oven floor.
Until next,
Dale
The paddle (aka peel) is stainless-steel with a wood handle.
The LePanyol ovens have food-grade clay 'tiles' on the base. For cooking pizza, once the oven as reached a high temp I move the remaining embers and fire over to the rear. I keep a small fire going to keep the temp up so that I don't have to use the door.
Traditionally, a clean mop or rag wrapped around a stick slightly damp with clean water is used to clean the ash from the cooking area. A little corn meal is sprinkled on the cooking surface and the pizza or bread can be placed directly on the oven floor. This method has not always worked for me when making pizza, but the challenges are more than likely due to my inexperience. Occasionally I will use a flat baking sheet or pizza pan to cook the pizza on, which eliminates any sticking of the pizza to the oven floor.
Until next,
Dale
OP
czechsonofagun
Elite Member
On my oven it is for wood storage and to visually brake up the foundation block. I feel the arch of the opening compliments the arch of the oven gate - but maybe it's just me
Egon
Epic Contributor
Prokop cuts up and stores dry used wooden engine hoists under there!
scott_vt
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Good Mornin Dale,
Wow that is really nice !!! You guys are makin me awful jealous I dont have one !
BTW I did make an outdoor barbeque a few years back but nothing like what you guys have done !
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czechsonofagun
Elite Member
Yeah, I have that picture saved in Future_Projects folder on my computer
Howdy
@schmism: the lower section of my structure is for keeping the fuel dry. It seemed wasteful to build a completely enclosed foundation.
@scotty: thanks. That's a good looking bbq right there, a double-decker can be very useful. Looks like you've cooked a few things on it. Sturdy brickwork too, I like it.
@everyone: attached is a picture of an 'open-air' oven dome - similar to prokops - that I saw at a street festival in Seattle over the weekend. It is trailer-mounted, so I would assume that the owner keeps it parked under shelter for most of the time. I tried a slice of their pizza and it was fantastic.
The guys operating it had a hand-held infrared thermometer to keep an eye on the temps. They said that they try to keep it between 600 and 700 degrees F. Will cook a pizza in approx three minutes.
Later,
DTH
@schmism: the lower section of my structure is for keeping the fuel dry. It seemed wasteful to build a completely enclosed foundation.
@scotty: thanks. That's a good looking bbq right there, a double-decker can be very useful. Looks like you've cooked a few things on it. Sturdy brickwork too, I like it.
@everyone: attached is a picture of an 'open-air' oven dome - similar to prokops - that I saw at a street festival in Seattle over the weekend. It is trailer-mounted, so I would assume that the owner keeps it parked under shelter for most of the time. I tried a slice of their pizza and it was fantastic.
The guys operating it had a hand-held infrared thermometer to keep an eye on the temps. They said that they try to keep it between 600 and 700 degrees F. Will cook a pizza in approx three minutes.
Later,
DTH
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Egon
Epic Contributor
That really looks neat. There should be many more little food vendors like that out there.
Now the big question, how long before the legislators start question emissions, fire suppression control, contamination of food by unburned fire byproducts and of course food perpared to the proper temperature. Chances are California would not even allow it on the street.
There should be many more little food vendors like that out there. Now the big question, how long before the legislators start question emissions, fire suppression control, contamination of food by unburned fire byproducts and of course food perpared to the proper temperature. Chances are California would not even allow it on the street.
JB4310
Super Member
Prokop,
Been following your oven thread, where does the smoke exit from?
Had a house built in 1830 that had a dome oven as part of the whole chimney/fireplace masonry structure. They call them dutch ovens or bee hive ovens. they all have a little flue passage right inside the door that would allow the smoke to exit up the chimney.
JB.
Been following your oven thread, where does the smoke exit from?
Had a house built in 1830 that had a dome oven as part of the whole chimney/fireplace masonry structure. They call them dutch ovens or bee hive ovens. they all have a little flue passage right inside the door that would allow the smoke to exit up the chimney.
JB.
JB4310
Super Member
Good Mornin Dale,
Wow that is really nice !!! You guys are makin me awful jealous I dont have one !
BTW I did make an outdoor barbeque a few years back but nothing like what you guys have done !
Scotty,
That looks very functional.
I bought a 70 year old house that had a stone fireplace in the backyard that was about to fall down, a good portion of it was missing, everyone told me to just knock it down and I was ready to do it, but realized I could never reproduce one like this and since I can fix things much better than build things, I would repair this one.
There are 2 flues in it and when sifting through the debris we found an old cast iron door and realized it was set up as a smoker, with a door on the back, the door was broken but I found a smaller cast door for it. we do some cooking back there and a little smokeing as well.
Now to search my hard drive for some pics
JB.
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czechsonofagun
Elite Member
That's a beauty. You made the right choice, I wish I had one of those too.
captaincrab55
Silver Member
JB, Thanks for the Post & Pictures... I just realized that my house (built in the late 1800s) that I bought 17 years ago with an outside stone fireplace with 2 flues has a smoker built in.. Now I just need to get some new cast doors.....Scotty,
That looks very functional.
I bought a 70 year old house that had a stone fireplace in the backyard that was about to fall down, a good portion of it was missing, everyone told me to just knock it down and I was ready to do it, but realized I could never reproduce one like this and since I can fix things much better than build things, I would repair this one.
There are 2 flues in it and when sifting through the debris we found an old cast iron door and realized it was set up as a smoker, with a door on the back, the door was broken but I found a smaller cast door for it. we do some cooking back there and a little smokeing as well.
Now to search my hard drive for some pics
JB.
