Brick wood fired oven: building with everyone

'Masterly' wood fired pizza oven, (page 1 of ... a few.)

'Masterly' brick pizza oven construction. Building plans for making your own wood fired pizza ovens at home.

Here is a next oven I call Masterly wood oven with a nice brick decorations and brick laying technique purposely for people who never laid a brick before will find this very easy way - calling for imperfections visually effective - even by the eye of experienced bricklayers.

The oven has revolutionary dome design I put immense work into- structurally strong, spacious, easy to form into any desired size but in contrast with most ovens here is nearly no need for cutting firebricks! This will be the thing for you guys/girls who seek building such practical object on your own- for hobby, counterbalance of the fast live we live in or simply a business need.

Dome internal size: 34inch x 40.5inch (870mm x 1035mm). 2 inches wider! Logical compactness".

With Mike and Annette (owners) we were looking for some nice - preferably terracotta - material to cover the chimney and for other parts of the oven. We had a few ideas for the ground surrounding of this oven and landscaping, and now this involves a stone wall to the left hand side of the oven, clay paving, railway sleepers, native plants, etc. As you sit behind your screen at the moment, turn side-wise and imagine on the floor rectangle of 1.6m x 2.1m, (5' x 7') why? That's actually the ground slab surface area the oven is put on. When you compare it with size of the room, not quite a big job isn't it ?

Spacious dome, concrete cladding and outside skin brick wall.

Oven has an immediate firewood storage section in the front just under the entry and a major storage under which is accessible from the back. There is a cavity in the middle in between this rear main and the front convenient storage into which ash is being collected after it's been raked to the ash drop. On the left side of the oven is an opening through which the ashes can be taken out after 20+ firings - no mess or dust and this is being emptied less often. The ash with the charcoal then should go into the garden to improve the soil.

Rising the chimney to it's brick decoration level.

Oven fits well into this bushy environment thanks to Annette's good eye and suggestion for terracotta features on the oven. It's quite close from their house and heaps of free fire wood is just laying under trees everywhere around, it's an endless supply of fuel as gums are dropping limbs constantly.

And again, as there are the plans (workshop) for the 'Swishy wood brick oven' building, I have ready big number of pictures to build 'Masterly ovens' also. two MTo designs that is, not just one. These will be available for you although at first I need to process and label them so they all fit on one CD in order and in 8 groups, then finish lists and diagrams. It's a bit hectic on my end at present, I'll need some time to do this. OK, for those of you who are less patient (like me when it comes to hobby matters ;o), you can have it posted raw on two Cd's right now. But mind you, this is the exceptional stuff from me equal to mind-blowing and I may enjoy your desire posting me what 'you' do well, can spare, think has an equal value- no money for the 'Masterly wood fired oven' building workshop on CDrom(s). It's about a lot more then that, forget conventionalism or conservative principles all around us.

Some idea on brick oven chimney outside decoration.

Chimney brick decoration, ZigZag effect around the chimney. To cover it we were not able to come across some kind of terracotta clay pipe of a larger diameter. Two options we thought of; using remaining roof tiles to form the cap in the A shape or make an arch out of bricks. If you happen to have any good idea please mention it in comments field in the active form below, thanks buddy. On the picture there were temporary bricks placed on top of the chimney to prevent smoke to mark the surface that should stay clean for a future bond with mortar, purposely only for dome drying time

Terracotta clay roof tiles in place, painting and chimney cap next.

(added on 2nd of August: chimney finished with a brick arch on top using remaining 10 red clay building bricks)

Chimney cover formed out of red clay bricks.

Picture below shows first short drying fire helping to remove last traces of water from the dome or back up heat insulation - water soaked into firebricks, water used for mixing of the concrete for cladding and the hearth slab or the heat insulation. I will post a new page on this with pictures even though it's not anything too extra ordinary. I also took new photographs on how to shift continuous cooking fire easy to any chosen side inside your fired dome chamber or how to remove the ash from 2 or 3 firings out from the dome - this is in addition to the tutorial on how to fire a wood burning oven.

Wood burning oven decorative brick arches.



First small drying fire in 'Masterly Oven'.

I couldn't wait my self to finish the area around the oven to post few pictures in the gallery.

All that's missing is a ground work and permanent outside furniture.

Two pictures from yesterdays meal preparation and early wood fired roast dinner.
(Chicken yesterday. Turkey, vanilla and almond cakes today :o)

Roasted vegetables in a wood burning brick oven.

Roasting took approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes in not too hot oven. The taste of food from these ovens is so much different, for it's different cooking heat radiation. I don't know why I enjoy doing it so much, could be because it is better.

Best are those days when you have family members coming over to spend a longer time with you, this is not a problem the oven is the magnet and gets everybody together, food is being made, eaten and brains are drifting causing captivating conversations (I like those which capture technically or scientifically oriented topics).

Where was I ? ... aha here ... sorry Mate ... basically I never collect firewood (considering my location is not in snowy climate) so my nice 'wood oven oriented day' starts at before 6AM by going out to the closest forest park to pick up few fallen tree branches. I don't know if people who do not look for firewood are aware of how many of them lay around. For one day you will need only a small amount to fire a family wood oven.

It takes only a half hour to get back home, I think of this the night before sleep. And there is another reason, it's a mug of good tea I have just after I lighten up the kindling wood in the dome. Best if everyone else is still in their beds :o) I like to be alone and quiet for at least 30 minutes with this mug.

Never mind, that's not important. Preparing better food for you and those close to your heart is more important and the activity accompanying this mission are so enjoyable and so easy to manifest!

Roasted whole chicken in a wood fired brick oven.

Thank you for visiting.

Enjoy.