[CanuckJim]

Generally, I agree with James. It can be done, but it's not as easy, to bake pizza in a rectangular barrel vault oven like mine, because it is not designed to have flame licking up to the dome for pizza baking. I'll be doing it this weekend, so trust me. Is one superior to another across the board? Humm, don't think so, and I've used and installed both. Both will bake a huge variety of foods, from bread to fish. Don't know where you got the info that there is a wide temp variance across the floor of a rectangular; it's not so if it's properly built and well insulated. Any wood fired oven will be cooler near the oven mouth, though, and hottest at the back wall. The former can be a good thing for some dishes, calzone for example.

The choice depends on intended use. I can get more loaves per bake in my oven than I could if it was round, hearth bread or pan bread, sheet pans or pita, and that's why I chose the design. For me, pizza is secondary, bread primary for my bakery. If I wanted an oven for general use, I'd probably opt for a round design. If my primary intent was pizza, I'd definitely go the round route.

From a speed and ease of firing stance, I'd use a white oven for a commercial setup, though they can be difficult to find and tricky to build (read expensive). Alf, the builder in England, could guide you there. For traditional look and feel, I'd go with a fire in the oven design. One of the larger, commercial FB Ristorante ovens might be what you want.

The most important thing about any design is to build it carefully and insulate to the point that you retain as much heat as possible--and beyond. There's a wealth of insulation information on this forum. Whether it's modular and purchased, brick by brick and hand built, round or barrel, these things don't change.

To answer your question directly, both styles of oven will retain heat for a very long time (how long depends on construction) if they are properly built. A poorly built oven, no matter the orientation, will not.

You haven't told us what the primary use will be; that will affect orientation choice. After that, either one will perform flawlessly for general cooking and baking, so long as the provisos above are kept in mind.

It's important not to get hung up in the many, many, many contentious opinions out there about superiority of one over another. The French don't use a round design and bake awesome bread. The Italians don't, generally, use a rectangular design and bake awesome pizza. Point is, either one is good, works well. The choice is based on intended major use--and somewhat simply on historical tradition.

Contact me directly by email if you want to discuss details further.

Jim