insulation retrofit for pizza oven Getting Started Discuss insulation retrofit for pizza oven in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; For the cooking of the Pizza, I let the fire burn completely down before putting in the pizza. Unless you're ...

[dmun]

For the cooking of the Pizza, I let the fire burn completely down before putting in the pizza.

Unless you're doing some seriously weird stuff like those chicago style casseroles you want your fire in the oven with flames licking up the side wall while you're cooking pizza.

[edschmidt]

To me it does not sound like an insulation problem, Its either the fact that you were not fully soaked with heat, Or you are not propperly dried out. Having no insulation will reduce your ability to have multiple loads of bread, or roasts, but should not limit the pizza ability. If you have an IR thermometer, I always have the hearth in the 800deg range, and with a lot of coals, and 1 piece of wood rolling fire accross the top. If you still have arm hair/eyebrows you need to turn it up a notch. If the bottom of your pizza's arent cooking right rake the coals back over them until the get back up to temp.
Good luck
Eddie

[gjbingham]

Perhaps rushing your oven's curing cycles hasn't done any damage. I would continue having your wife cure it now according to the currently accepted regimine. I'm wondering what intense heat would do to relatively new mortar joints in a dome. If the bricks were pretty tight, hopefully you'll be in good shape.

At least your floor seems to work well. Cure the dome and let us know how it works. I'll bet your in good shape two weeks from now.
G.