It’s not too late to get started on your own backyard wood-fired brick oven. By mid-summer, you can be making delicious bread and pizza in it too.
Daniel Wing and Alan Scott are a pair of experts who authored The Bread Builders, filling it with their knowledge on building ovens and baking bread with it.
Have a look at what Gary pulled together a few summers ago after reading The Bread Builders. He took a lot of pictures that you can look at in a gallery that he created.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave one below, or email gary@BrickOvenBaker.com. He likes to talk about his oven with interested folks.
If you think you’ve been bitten by the bug to build an oven, then get a copy of the book because it answers lots of questions and will pass a lot of expertise on to you.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I just started building my brick oven I hope this works I welded a frame of 3 inch I beam It is 48″ x 72″ set on five 3 x 1/4 inch square legs. 30″ long. I poured the hearth incasing the I beam. with 8″ of concrete. Is it best to use fire brick set on a level mason sand base then build the walls from there.
Thank you
Jim
Jim,
Yes – put your base firebricks down on the long edge with a fine sand base. Build your firebrick walls on top of the base firebricks. Make certain that you use some fireclay in your mortar.
Gary
Thanks Gary I have a lot of old red brick, I plan to use fire brick for the hearth, but can I use the red brick for the Walls, and dome. It is old brick but never used so there is no cleaning. Thanks again I sure appreaciate the help.
Jim
I would advise against anything other than firebrick. Common brick cannot withstand heat and will fall apart in time. You will have pieces of brick to chew on in your pizza. The dome of the oven will reach temps of 800 + degrees while the hearth is at 300 – 400. Use your red brick for the facade and chimney, but only firebrick inside.
Good morning Gary I will use fire brick Thanks for the help I will have other Questions. This is great to have someone like you to ask. I will keep you posted on my progress.
Thanks Jim
I’m sure I read in the Reader Digest mag. some “years ago” about how to build a pizza oven ….
out of refractory brick or lava stone. I meant to build it…but,.. you know the rest of the story. Now after reading these posts and all this and all that, how come no one mentioned the R D article? At that time it seemed to me to be a project I could handle. Could some one who has knowledge of the
article let me know, please. I’m very clumsy: can not even make bread with a bread machine! Cesar O.
Is this what you’re thinking of?
Build an Outdoor Oven
There are lots of sources of information on how to build an oven. The Bread Builders is the bible as far as we’re concerned. But if any set of plans that meets your needs, and you’re level of abilities that gives you results your happy with… great.
Read the Bread Builders front to back and visit Rado Hand’s website http://www.traditionaloven.com for a picture by picture building of his oven style. I am building an outdoor Kitchen and wood burning brick oven http://picasaweb.google.com/images2c/BackyardOvenBuilderBOB# that has taken me a long time to build, but I am enjoying every step of the way. If you enjoy cooking and entertaining this is for you. Get your materials at a cheaper cost thru newspaper ads, ebay, craigslist, garage sales. Be creative and Have fun.
Bob, that’s quite a project! You started it in 2007 and it’s still a work in progress… Wow. I look forward to seeing the images when it’s completed! Keep us updated!