I know there are experts on this Bored -- wood-burning ovens!

kirk wallace

kirk wallace
This is not time sensitive, but one day in the not so distant future I hope to be able to have space for an outdoor, wood-burning pizza & bread oven on the west coast. From what i have been able to tell from a few friends and the interwebz, both Mugnaini and Forno Bravo have some very reliable options -- i am thinking the install on-site versions, not the "assembled"/pre-built ones. Do any of you serious, or even sometime, bakers have experience with either of these firms' ovens, or other providers in the CA/PNW region?

(now as the dotster used to say, back to your regularly scheduled beaujolais (or Zin & crawfish) drinking.)
 
If what you want is described by "wood-burning pizza & bread oven", then Big Green Egg qualifies well. And, when used to its full capabilities, it's MUCH more than a toy. If by "esthetics" you mean visual appeal of the oven, then it might or might not qualify depending on individual sensibilities.

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
I know there are experts on this Bored -- wood-burning ovens!This is not time sensitive, but one day in the not so distant future I hope to be able to have space for an outdoor, wood-burning pizza & bread oven on the west coast. From what i have been able to tell from a few friends and the interwebz, both Mugnaini and Forno Bravo have some very reliable options -- i am thinking the install on-site versions, not the "assembled"/pre-built ones. Do any of you serious, or even sometime, bakers have experience with either of these firms' ovens, or other providers in the CA/PNW region?

(now as the dotster used to say, back to your regularly scheduled beaujolais (or Zin & crawfish) drinking.)

Kirk - generally bread and pizza ovens have different designs as you might imagine, given the different temperatures at which they operate. I'm guessing you could fully burn wood in a pizza oven that has a front door and then when the surface reaches the desired temp bake bread. Most outdoor wood oven designs I've seen are clearly intended for pizza.
 
Mark, that (pizza then bread when the oven is cooler) is exactly what I was thinking about and wondering about precisely your implicit question. They both have traditional Italian dome and front door designs. They both advertise their ovens as being good for 2 or 3 loaves (or more for the bigger ones) -either after you've finished with your pizzas and the oven has cooled down, or if you simply don't fuel up the oven to get to full heat. They also say you can roast meats etc and get the flavor of burning hard wood. But even if I used it only for pizza, I was wondering whether anybody had experienced any material differences between the two companies' products.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
Mark, that (pizza then bread when the oven is cooler) is exactly what I was thinking about and wondering about precisely your implicit question. They both have traditional Italian dome and front door designs. They both advertise their ovens as being good for 2 or 3 loaves (or more for the bigger ones) -either after you've finished with your pizzas and the oven has cooled down, or if you simply don't fuel up the oven to get to full heat. They also say you can roast meats etc and get the flavor of burning hard wood. But even if I used it only for pizza, I was wondering whether anybody had experienced any material differences between the two companies' products.

I don't really have enough experience to answer, but I have seen both operate many times up close. The bread ovens are generally not domed but have a lower roof and always have a large rectangular door. The spent wood is removed before baking bread and the oven retains the temperature for a long time.
 
that makes compete sense. and i bet one can add pan(s) of water (or not) depending on what sort of crust you want and what your dough is and its hydration level.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
that makes compete sense. and i bet one can add pan(s) of water (or not) depending on what sort of crust you want and what your dough is and its hydration level.

No need in the wood oven. There is much higher humidity and you get a great crust. Gas deck ovens for bread usually have steam injection for that purpose.
 
originally posted by mark e:
originally posted by kirk wallace:
that makes compete sense. and i bet one can add pan(s) of water (or not) depending on what sort of crust you want and what your dough is and its hydration level.

No need in the wood oven. There is much higher humidity and you get a great crust. Gas deck ovens for bread usually have steam injection for that purpose.

Ah. very helpful. I was thinking of my efforts in my gas and electric ovens. but the crust has been better in the dutch oven-Ken Forkish approach even then. Glad to hear that it will be even better in the wood-fired dome!
 
Kirk, Nope...charcoal should NEVER be used in BGE. Only charwood which is wood.

Sorry! Just trying to be helpful!

. . . . Pete
 
Mark, I just copied/pasted the headers for the video links. Usually the links are not all caps.

Wow...extra effort and good intentions go awry in two cases!

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:


Wow...extra effort and good intentions go awry in two cases!

. . . . . Pete

Well, I appreciate your good humor and pleasant attempts to provide useful info. So keep it up if you can endure the teasing.
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Mark, I just copied/pasted the headers for the video links. Usually the links are not all caps.

Wow...extra effort and good intentions go awry in two cases!

. . . . . Pete

i believe he meant the guy screaming in the video.
 
originally posted by Bill Lundstrom:
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Mark, I just copied/pasted the headers for the video links. Usually the links are not all caps.

Wow...extra effort and good intentions go awry in two cases!

. . . . . Pete

i believe he meant the guy screaming in the video.

I did.
 
Thanks for the clarification!

And, yes, the yelling was very off-putting and needed to be skipped. However, speaking with a modicum of knowledge, I can vouch for the worthwhile substance of his ensuing tutorial.

. . . . . Pete
 
Kirk,

Both of those brands make great products and you'll have no problem baking bread in a "pizza" oven (aka a round oven), but baking pizza in a vault style oven is much harder. "Bread" ovens (vault style) are designed to hold a much higher thermal load, so they're traditionally fired to a lower temperature for a longer period of time. That allows a baker to make multiple sets of loaves from the residual heat that the oven puts out. Pizza ovens are quicker (but still not super fast) to head up and are traditionally fired at higher temps. A round of breads is totally doable, but unless you refire after that, the temps can be a bit tricky to manage. Still, unless you're planning on baking a ton of bread (well more than you can eat), just get the round oven.

One thing I might consider, if I were you, is building a earth/sand oven (not straw) first, to get a handle on what you're looking for. I know part of the reason that you're inquiring about these ovens in particular is that you probably don't want to build your own, but assuming you build the base properly (or have it built) you can re-use it for your refractory oven once you buy one.

The advantage of starting off with an earth oven is two-fold. They fire quicker (and at a slightly lower temp, to be fair) but mostly it would allow you to figure out what size oven you need, for a very low cost.

Oven size is one of those things that depends entirely on your cooking habits--there's not a best size, really. Bigger ovens look great and can hold a lot for parties, but they also take longer to fire. If you want to use your oven often, having a smaller oven that can get up to temp quickly might be better than a larger oven that you can only use on the weekends. On the other hand, if you work from home/entertain a lot, then a bigger oven would let you do more with a single firing and would really be a workhorse at a party (ie you can crank out pizza and some other things all at the same time).

There are some great instructions on building clay ovens out there (river cottage produced one which is helpful) if you go that route. It looks to be pretty easy, though the labor is spread out over several days, so there's that.

Hope that helps and good luck!
 
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