Steps on how to build a dry stack wood-fired pizza oven comfortably in one day!
Step 1: Build your base
As with any construction, your base (or foundation) is the most critical element. Ensure your stacks are on firm ground and that they are level or your oven will not be! The centre column of blocks is needed to ensure there is no sag in your oven floor.
Your chosen height will be dependent on both your block size and also personal preference. Being tall, I like a working surface of 90 – 95 centimetres.
Step 2: The cooking base
This layer of bricks allows air to circulate beneath the flames and also is essential in building and retaining the heat needed for great pizza and bread.
Step 3: Constructing the oven walls
Ensure you use a running bond pattern for your bricks or your walls will lack stability. The double layer is also a stability factor as well as a much better retainer of heat.
Step 4: Adding the dry-stacked brick roof
Your oven won’t get hot without a way to trap the heat. Since heat rises, you need sufficient mass above the flames to trap and retain the heat. That mass is heavy, hence the need to use angle iron to support each layer of bricks.
Step 5: Find your favourite pizza and bread recipes and start cooking!
A quick search is going to find lots of great recipes you can cook in a wood-fired pizza oven. Pieces of bread and pizzas are just the start. Try roasting your vegetables and meats in an oven like this and you’ll be hooked! Check out a few of the recipe ideas in our food blog called Food, glorious food!
Because there is no thermostat to regulate the heat in your new pizza oven, expect to go through an initial ‘trial and error’ period until you work out the right combination of time and heat. It won’t take long and then you have years of gastronomic enjoyment ahead of you 🙂
Thanks to our friends at Fix.Com for allowing us to share this great project.
Paul Corsetti is a landscape designer and design consultant. Paul holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architectural Science, a diploma in Landscape Architecture, and years of experience in the landscape construction field. He is an avid gardener and outdoor enthusiast and believes keeping close to nature will sharpen his skills as a designer.
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