Happy Brick Oven Owner

[james]

I was talking with a guy today (ordering a 55lb bag of Caputo flour), who is so happy that he installed a pizza oven (they did it a few years ago). Among other things, he said:

"Having friends over to a brick oven party is the most joyful thing we do. It doesn't even compare with a grill party. Everyone is so happy and having so much fun."

"My oven makes me love my home so much more."

"It has saved me tons of money because I don't want to go away on vacation or weekends away as much."

"I can't believe how great the pizza tastes. We have lots of friends from Italy and we have travelled there a lot, and our pizza is a good as the real thing. I thought our pizza would be about half as good as real Italian pizza, but it might even be better."

You gotta love it. Conversations like that are so fun.

James

[mannextdoor]

Hi James

I didn't know where to post this Question. This looks like a good place. Has there ever been a survey done, on what the numbers would be. On how many people have a certain type of oven. Size oven that they have. If they had it to do over, would they build the same size oven or go bigger or smaller. Is there a size that is most popular?

Mannextdoor

[dbhansen]

mannextdoor,

I'm not sure which is most popular, but here are few threads discussing oven size:
36 vs 38 (36" vs. 38")
42 vs 48 (42'' or 48'' oven?)

[mannextdoor]

dbhansen

When I replyed. I thought I was sending a message to James. Sorry about the confussion. I pretty new to this and still learning the site. Thanks for the tips.

Mannextdoor

[dbhansen]

No problem! To post private messages, just click on the user's name in the upper left (like "dbhansen") and you'll get the option to send a private message.

I should have mentioned ... if you build your own oven, it seems that most people feel bigger is better, but going beyond 42" might be overkill if you're just planning intermittent family use. Of course, you have to consider the available real estate, budget, availability of firewood, etc. I suggest taking a tape measure and measuring out a 36", 40", or 42" circle to see how big it is and compare it to what you want to cook.

[mannextdoor]

Great idea. But I don't know anybody that has an oven, and have never used a WFO. I don't know how much space the fire takes up. Most of time we would have have around 8 poeple. But at least once a year we usually have a fish fry for up to 50 or 60 people. Some years I just don't have the fish. I thought a pizza party would be great. Might even have a couple big partys a year with the pizzas. Mannextdoor

[gjbingham]

A 42 inch oven should be able to manage 3 pizzas at once - others, please correct me if I'm wrong. Managing them while they're in there is another problem entirely. Regardless, say for 60 people - I'd guess 45 Pizza's max. Many people will only eat a piece or two, and 3 pizzas at a time times 3 minutes per batch, that works out to about an hour to an hour-and-a-half of cooking time in front of the oven, given a couple of breaks and moments when nobody has a pizza ready to go. I'm absolutely guessing here. It could be double that. You don't want to rush your guests, huh? James or some other party thrower can give you better numbers. You need somone to tend to the oven full time, and someone prepping dough for the guests, and someone refilling the empty toppings dishes.

[Xabia Jim]

Happy WFO owners....are there any other kind?

[mannextdoor]

GJBingham

Thanks for the info. What size are the three pizza's you are talking about. Are they 10", 12", 16". When I do the fish fry's, it is about the same. I have a helper. And we drop fish for an hour or so. Every one gets their fill. Great time. Will the oven drop in temp after 45 pizza's. Is that what causes you to stop? Can you add more wood and keep the fire up?
Mannexdoor

[Xabia Jim]

Mine's a meter round (~39") and we do a dozen pizzas in batches of 3, no problema. size is about 12"... artesano shapes though

for bigger groups you can move the fire over if the hearth cools down or just keep it burning...it's generally good to have the flames licking over the dome for pizza.