bread ovens

tamatik · #1 07/16/13, 04:19 PM

spent the last few hrs using the 'search' tool to look up outdoor ovens and noticed that alot of the posts are very old.. some, many yrs. still, great knowledge but i was wondering if anyone has built one recently or if those that did, "a few yrs ago", could post their successes and failures and add pointers to us newer types.. curing times, etc. recipes for mortar, or cob. I will be using clay/sand and maybe some refractory cement for the first layer above the oven. then clay/sand/straw mix with portland for the external walls with a 1 " space for vermiculite.. Or , should I mix vermiculite with portalnd and have the 1" space filed with that.? so far, I figger the walls will be 8-10" thick.

i have the base made for mine as well as the firebrick oven floor built.. today am building the roof to keep it dry, while I searched for suitable, local, clay. finally found some but it will be a harrowing trip by boat and then filling buckets, and coming back to the boat launch.
by boat, sure beats hauling wet clay up a cliff.

suggestions please..

7thswan · #2 07/17/13, 06:39 AM

Look on U-tube.

Sanza · #3 07/20/13, 10:52 PM

I've posted about the one I built a couple years ago, and it's still used quite often. The only problem is that I built a 2' X 3' rectangular oven thinking it was big enough - I can fit 2 large roasters side by side with space all around, but I now wish I would have built one double that size.

tamatik · #4 07/21/13, 06:04 AM

yep read your build.. I had thot of barrel type, but the more I read, the more I went for the igloo. lucked out yesterday when i drove by a chimney tear-down. stopped and asked and was given permission to salvage from the dumpster. ended up with 450 bricks. easy to clean.. not sure I,ll use them in the igloo, except for the door frame. spoke to the bricklayer
(he mentioned they were gonna build an indoor pizza oven) asked him if he used refractory mortar for the pizza oven..nope.. just masonry.

watching lotsa vids on youtube. watched one where they put sand, then a layer of cement board, then sand, under the fire brick oven floor. I did that. then posted on forno bravo and everyone came back and said
"sand is not an insulator" .. confuzzled now.

finally manged to find clay locally and after getting one more load of sand this morning, I will begin the form and first layer today.

7thswan · #5 07/21/13, 07:54 AM

I hope you are takeing plenty of pictures

JoePa · #6 07/21/13, 09:18 AM

I'm just wondering - why are you guys building outdoor ovens - don't want to heat the house in the summer? - just wondering - thanks

tamatik · #7 07/22/13, 02:28 PM

7th swan.. yes lotsa pix ..have them on the camera but so far havent figgered how to get them online.. a friend is helping with that.. too old to figger techy stuff.

joepa. the outdoor oven is to use if the power goes and if i run outta propane.. I cook with propane now , but, I always wanted to bake alotta bread at one time.

today I put up the stringers for the roof and the arch for the doorway.. tomorrow, hopefully, build the sand mould, and git to mudboggin.