32 replies to this topic

[Ron Johnson]

I am building an outdoor kitchen as part of a new patio/backyard project. I am going to install a wood burning pizza oven. I am leaning toward the artigiano model from Forno Bravo. Does anyone have one of these or some knowledge of them?

[Rail Paul]

That's great, Ron.

I've been researching a new outdoor pizza / bread brick and stucco oven, and have found the Alan Scott Ovencrafters guide books to be wonderful. There's a lot of discussion about the shape, height to width ratio, fuel considerations, etc

[Ron Johnson]

That's great, Ron.

I've been researching a new outdoor pizza / bread brick and stucco oven, and have found the Alan Scott Ovencrafters guide books to be wonderful. There's a lot of discussion about the shape, height to width ratio, fuel considerations, etc

Thanks RP. That's a good site.

[GG Mora]

I'm waiting for my husband to build one. It's in the 10-year plan. Trouble is, the 10-year plan is always 10 years.

[Suzanne F]

I had a tour of the Wood Stone factory a few years ago, and was very impressed by their craftsmanship. They make tandoors and rotisseries, too, so maybe you could get a volume deal.

[Ron Johnson]

I'm waiting for my husband to build one. It's in the 10-year plan. Trouble is, the 10-year plan is always 10 years.

send him over the Forno Bravo site. They have detailed plans and modular oven kits that make the project seem very doable.

[bigbear]

I believe Paul Giannone, of Paulie Gee's, built his backyard oven from plans on Forno Bravo.

[Rail Paul]

The NY Times has an article today about Donatella Arpaia, the restaurant owner and (maybe) chef. In the Dining Journal column today, the author talks about the construction of a specialty oven.

Indigenous volcanic mud, a low dome, constructed to maintain an 869 degree temperature. I'm guessing this will be a gas fired oven. I don't believe NYC is issuing any coal burning permits.

Pizza must cook from 60 to 90 seconds only — “to achieve the proper softness and lighteness,” Mr. Coccia said. The center of the oven must be 869 Fahrenheit (465 centigrade) — “no higher, or it burns,” he said. But the oven must accommodate a different temperature for the center interior, “where the tomatoes are,” a feat that he said required indigenous volcanic-mud bricks.

He declined to answer most questions about how he will build the dome — the right thickness and the correct mixture of “sand from the beach that absorbs the heat,” he said. And he forbids photography of that part of the construction.

He did allow that the oven “coupola” — the dome — will be more compact than most, “since the heat needs to be concentrated,” Mr. Coccia said. There is the relatively small mouth of the oven — a third the diameter of a garden-variety oven — to keep the heat from dissipating. Only the most skilled pizza-makers can push pies (no more than four at a time) in and out of the constricted space.

Five ton oven

[Ron Johnson]

The oven I bought was made in Tuscany from bricks as well. I read that these ovens perform better than the ones made from a single composite material.

I actually bought mine yesterday, and it will take two weeks to get here, which will give my contractor time to get foundation built, etc.

[Lippy]

This is very impressive.

[Ron Johnson]

Some guys buy a boat, others go for a Porsche, but my mid-life crisis is a wood burning oven.

[Anthony Bonner]

Some guys buy a boat, others go for a Porsche, but my mid-life crisis is a wood burning oven.

Did you have to find a specialist mason?

[SLBunge]

The oven I bought was made in Tuscany from bricks as well. I read that these ovens perform better than the ones made from a single composite material.

I actually bought mine yesterday, and it will take two weeks to get here, which will give my contractor time to get foundation built, etc.

I'm really jealous. What size did you get?

A backyard oven my list of future projects. The oven jockeys for list position with a backyard sauna.

[Anthony Bonner]

The oven I bought was made in Tuscany from bricks as well. I read that these ovens perform better than the ones made from a single composite material.

I actually bought mine yesterday, and it will take two weeks to get here, which will give my contractor time to get foundation built, etc.

I'm really jealous. What size did you get?

A backyard oven my list of future projects. The oven jockeys for list position with a backyard sauna.

see if you were really ambitious you could do an all in 1.

Yeah I have a wood fired oven at the top of my list once I actually get my summer house situation settled. That and a Pool although I have been told the pool is a non-negotiable part of any plans.

[Ron Johnson]

Some guys buy a boat, others go for a Porsche, but my mid-life crisis is a wood burning oven.

Did you have to find a specialist mason?

yes, I found the only one in this area who has experience installing these. I was lucky. Installation is 90% of the game with these ovens. You can't trust it to someone who has not done it before (kind of like brain surgery).