Wood + Fire
What is it that makes a great pizza?

One of my attempts at making a pizza on my gas grill trying to bring some fire and smoke into the equation.
Every once in a while I end up being “wowed!” When that happens, it usually means I’m sitting in a pizzeria with a wood fired oven. There is something different that the intense heat, fire and smoke bring to a pizza. My crust is getting better all the time. I get good puff, some bubbles, and I even manage to get some decent char in my home oven. But, it’s not the same as when Tony Gemignani, Kelly Whitaker, or so many other amazing pizza makers pull a piping hot pie out of their oven.
So, one can wish. One can ponder. One might even go as far as I have and try to build a wood burning gas grill oven out of my existing grill!

Check out the gallery, you’ll see the engine lift I rented and heavy duty straps to lift this little monster onto the stand. It would be easy to do again, but the first time it was a little scary!
Yes, I got a new tool, or toy to play with. A rather large crate came to my door a couple of weeks ago. It had the words “Forno Bravo Primavera 60” stenciled on the side! It took some doing, which I’ll probably chronicle in the forum, but I can report that it is indeed now up and running!
I was champing at the bit, or chomping. I champed and chomped as a few loyal and brave friends came over to help me set this oven on it’s stand. Let’s get this baby set up, fire it up, and make some pizza! Well, maybe not so fast. I have made some pretty amazing pizzas in my home oven. I figured I could now just slide my pizzas into the Primavera and out would come my best pizzas ever.
Well, yes and no.
First I had to learn patience. It takes 5 days of building “low” temperature fires to finish curing the oven. As I began the process I remembered filming with Chef Jensen Lorenzen at The Cass House Inn in Cayucos, CA. Jensen and Peter were talking about his new oven that Jensen and his wife had recently installed. I remember Peter saying to him,

One of my curing fires. This took quite a bit of work and patience to try to maintain these lower temp fires. At the same time, it was a nice way to learn how the fire behaved in this oven.

Patiently waiting…curing…adding wood…waiting…

Another attempted version of my Gas Grill Wood Fired Oven!
Hey, I have a Wood Fired Oven, baby!
After 5 days of firing for about 8 hours, at low and rising temperatures each day, I was now ready to take this oven out on the open road. It’s like breaking in a new engine — you have to drive it slowly for some time before letting it open up. In this case, it’s just to get the water out of the mortar and make sure that it doesn’t blow up on you from intense heat creating expanding steam pressure within the structure.

There it is! I had let things go. I added more wood. I let the fire grow. I wandered over at one point and looked up in the dome. There she blows!
OMG I have a pizza oven right here in my backyard!
I’m going to cut this “I got a Primavera 60” chronicle off here and call this Part I. I will continue to tell the next part of my story as I figure out how to control this baby! Many of you reading here already have a wood fired oven and can probably relate and hopefully look back with pride and remember how you felt your first time. For those of you who haven’t I hope my journey continues to motivate you to pursue and push your own quests forward.

Thanks guys! From left to right: Erick, Sean, Brad and Kurt
Stay tuned for some more to come as I venture into this new arena. I can tell you now that an already difficult task of making pizza and simultaneously taking pictures will now be even more difficult! I may have to innovate!
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Just out of pure curiosity, do you have to do that 5 day long slow burn process ever time it rains and the oven gets wet? Just wondering.
I don’t think so. The curing is about getting the water that’s within the mortar from the building process. I think I did read that if it does get wet inside, then you should re-cure it though. I’m not sure if people cover them.
I will have to look into that on the forum.
I spoke with James Bairey at Forno Bravo and got some feedback and a link:
Answer:
No. Curing, or dry out is a specific process related to the water that is used to manufacture the castable material. It’s about chemical reactions and chemical bonds. Once you have done the curing, or dry out, the material in your oven dome is “done”.
With any ceramic material, thermal shock (fast hot to cold or cold to hot) is not good. And water is not a friend of any ceramic material that gets hot. That means that you should always give your oven more time to heat up at a more moderate pace after any period of not using it, or of rain. But you do not have to “re-cure”it.
http://www.fornobravo.com/blog/am-i-drying-out-or-curing-my-oven.html
Hi Brad – You may remember I wrote to you some time back about the Mugiani I have in my kitchen – I see yours is on a stand, by me experience, you’ll go thru a lot more wood and more difficult to hold the temp of the deck because of the surrounding air – Enjoy the ‘FIRE’, you may want to get a more substantial base of sand to hold the heat of the deck –
Take care
Marc
Hi Brad, once you have the fire burning how much space do you have remaining to bake your pizza?
Congrats, I am jealous!