OT - Who has a brick oven, Any recommendations?

rtt121

Thinking I might bite the bullet and build a brick oven out back.  Most likely going to use the Forno Bravo Pompeii plans.

Anyone have any experiences they would share with someone like me?

stevesails

wont the egg accomplish the same thing?

 

Mickey

The Egg is a brick oven.

clbegis

I have had a printed copy of their plans for a few years and read hundreds of their posts.  I would love to build one as well.  Just have not made that leap.  Be sure to read up on their cheater tool.

Good luck and share lots of pics.

rtt121

Mickey said:

The Egg is a brick oven.

I have 2 eggs.  Its just not.

I have made 1 truly great 900 degree pizza in hundreds of attempts... I have come to grips with it is just to hard to have a ~700 degree stone and ~1000 degree above the stone temps.  I have tried it all.  I want consistency.

When I made the great ONE, the next one was too hot 5 minutes later.

2 eggs and a brick oven it will be.

NPHuskerFL

Brick ovens are a cool conversion piece but, unless you put some serious thought into engineering it has a lot of limitations. We were going to go with a full blown brick oven / outdoor kitchen but, after putting pen to paper the investment was not worth the trouble. We bought the Large BGE and have 0 regrets. BGE is extremely versatile and an enjoyable cooking and eating experience. However, if you are hell bent on the brick oven idea here's a pic of one I was gong to copy. This one allowed for smoking or direct cooking. It also had misters for adding in moisture, a stainless steel sink, a warmer area, a double rotisserie 120 volt and had front and rear access to fire box for ease of cleanup. This one in the pic is tattered and old and needs a lot of TLC. Do the math and BGE will win hands down. Good luck to you :-D

Canugghead

I hear you.  I have three eggs but still want to build a tandoor 

NPHuskerFL

No doubt I can picture a corrugated roof with exhaust, flat screen etc etc but, budget is a major factor inmaking a beast with this many tricks :-P. I'll stick with my BGE.

rtt121

@NPHuskerFL

That is a lofty outdoor kitchen!

I realize they are limited in ways, for me the XL and the M is enough to cook almost everything.  The brick oven would only be used for pizza. And maybe bread, but the egg is fine for bread too.

rtt121

I will post pics of the process, if and when I do it.  (would start now but I have a chance at a much better paying job, in which case I would sell this house and move a little closer)  I will know by Thanksgiving.

I think I can make the Pompeii for >2500

caliking

check out the bbq-brethren.com site for some WFO builds. Folks have built some very cool ovens for themselves. Many have posted step by step progress pics, so you can get a good idea of what the process entails.

You may have already seen this suggestion, but when you lay the firebricks for the hearth, try and lay them diagonally to the direction of loading pizzas. That way the peel is less likely to catch on the edge of a brick in the hearth when you slide a pie in.

The forno bravo site is of course a wealth of information. 

rtt121

Thanks @caliking I will check out BBQ brethren.  Not a site I frequent.. yet.

rtt121

clbegis said:

I have had a printed copy of their plans for a few years and read hundreds of their posts.  I would love to build one as well.  Just have not made that leap.  Be sure to read up on their cheater tool.

Good luck and share lots of pics.

Cheater tool = Awesome.  Thanks for that!

caliking

Here's one thread I just found: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153650

Note how he laid the hearth. 

There's a search bar  at the bottom of the page on that forum. Search for "oven build" etc. 

DMW

My neighbor is planning a WFO for pizza, pizza is his thing, have learned heaps from him. Showed him my egg and tried to convince him an egg is the way to go. He has now convinced me that the egg is great as its so versatile, but for a dedicated pizza oven, a real WFO that can turn put 90 sec pies is the way to go. Now I want an outdoor kitchen with BGE, WFO, and a tandoor. Not sure it will ever happen though.

caliking

@DMW: The egg is a great cooker, and if I could have only one grill/smoker I would probably stick with it. But devices dedicated to a specific type of cooking are likely to beat it... for that specific type of cooking. The egg comes close to being a tandoor, but I still prefer the results from my tandoor (I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to Indian food. I'm Indian, so it's allowed ). If one has the space, time, money and inclination, its kinda fun to have a variety of  cookers.

BTW, if you want to build a tandoor out of a 55 gallon drum let me know and I can walk you through it. I built one several years ago and have been very pleased with it. It won't be pretty, but the food  it  puts out will beat the pants off anything you have eaten at a restaurant this side of the Atlantic.

caliking

@1310monster: because tandoors are generally not available for that price. I built mine for about $300 or less, but have never seen one for $400 in Chicago, Iowa, or Texas. Which is why I built my own. You're lucky to be able to get them at that price!

bearcat

Last fall I built a mud oven with the expert help of a neighbor. It cost 600 + in materials. My neighbor has built lots of them and has written books and taught classes about bread making, ovens etc... His blog is called breadhunter's blog - if you go back to last November you can see photos of my oven being built.

On completely the other end of the spectrum check out Maine Wood Heat - amazing products!!!!

As far as using the oven there is a definite learning curve. I am still very much a beginner. Pizzas are really fast. Be prepared to char a few and some hair or eyebrow...

smokeyj

I was also wanting a brick oven. That's how I found the big green egg years back. The wfo is out of price range. I recently just bought a Blackstone pizza oven. It is gas but you can bake pies in 60 seconds or up to 2 to 3 minutes, depending on type of dough you are working with. I highly recommend it. http://www.blackstoneproducts.com/prodinfo/pizzaoven.html

henapple

@Caliking... I'm Indian, so it's allowed....

I didn't know you were native American. I'm part Cherokee.

Eggcelsior

Serious Eats' Slice has some threads on DIY ovens that are pretty good. Pizzamaking.com is a nice resource as well.

Eggcelsior

henapple said:

@Caliking... I'm Indian, so it's allowed.... I didn't know you were native American. I'm part Cherokee.

Uhh...hmm

caliking

[OP - apologies for my OT responses, but you know how @henapple gets when theres more PBR inside him than outside of him ]

Funny (true) story - Lived in SC as a kid. I was the only Indian kid in school those days. One day walking out to the playground for recess, another kid says to me " I was talking with my grampa and told him there was an Indian kid in my class. He said that Indians lived in tribes, so what tribe are you from?" He wasn't being mean or anything, it was an honest question, and I didn't take offense at all. But I  didn't know where to start explaining. Recess would only last so long. So I just looked at him and said "Cherokee".

How was I to know that decades later I would find out that henapple is kin. My brotha from anotha motha. 

Federalist226

I have similar ambitions. A BGE does not do what a WFO does. I wonder if the semi-portable FB ovens aren't the way to go. When/if you move, you can take it with you. Plus, those Pompeii ovens look like a major project in terms of time and money. Keep us posted.

fishlessman

have you tried even hotter, i can get a blue flame to hover over the stone at 1200 degrees dome temps so with the flame above the stone i believe the stone is actually cooler. 1200 dome seems to be as high as i can get without a fan
pizzas cook in 53 seconds, i need to work on dough because i only have tried store bought at high temps but i do believe its possible, only down side i see is opening the dome
)

rtt121

Thanks for all the responses.  No worries for going off topic.. its an off topic post to begin with!

Portable sounds like a decent idea but I don't want to half ass this and I need to read up on them more.  The electric is cool... just not my style I guess.

I am ok with spending some money if I can get what I want out of it.  And the project part is half the fun for me!

rtt121

I haven't gone hotter than about 1100 on purpose and I did this with a wok and sand.  I wasn't able to achieve the blue flames I have seen in your pictures. But even if I could I imagine I will only get 1 pizza before temps fluctuate.  Not to mention the fact that its about $15 bucks worth of lump just to achieve that 53 second slot that I might miss.

I don't use store bought dough and I am quite sure I have my dough where I want it for what I am trying to make.  It is on the soupier side of the dough spectrum.

fishlessman

rtt121 said:

I haven't gone hotter than about 1100 on purpose and I did this with a wok and sand.  I wasn't able to achieve the blue flames I have seen in your pictures. But even if I could I imagine I will only get 1 pizza before temps fluctuate.  Not to mention the fact that its about $15 bucks worth of lump just to achieve that 53 second slot that I might miss.

I don't use store bought dough and I am quite sure I have my dough where I want it for what I am trying to make.  It is on the soupier side of the dough spectrum.

one thing i do notice with the big wood fired ovens that you cant do with an egg is to start the pie way in deep were its hotter, then start pulling the pie out to the front were its cooler

rtt121

Agreed.  Watching the pro's and there WFO's.  They are always keeping the pizza moving.

DMW

You also can't "dome" the pizza at the end to finish it in the egg like you can in a real WFO. My neighbor is planning (saving) for one of the Frono Bravo non-permanent models. I think he has it down to one of the Primavera models, leaning towards the 70 last time I talked to him.  

rtt121

I think I can build the 42" pompeii for cheaper than the 28" primavera