Clay Ovens

[TimB]

I was just watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's latest show and they made a pizza oven.. The Mrs (who's not bushcrafty at all) wants to build one... no probs... pretty easy to find some clay etc..

My question is .. How long would it last after the first burn if exposed to the elements (rain etc?) would it last for?

Has anyone made clay ovens?

 

[Mike Ameling]

It all depends upon your climate and materials.

Clay bake ovens exposed to rain don't last long. The outside just doesn't heat/fire hot enough to seal it from rain. Some people have added an outside "stucco" type layer of clay mixed with cement/concrete. That layer does a lot to repell moisture, but needs constant touch-up/repair of all cracks to maintain that seal. But the constant heating/cooling causes expansion/contraction of the oven - which leads to cracks, especially in any HARD outer layer.

Most people tend to build a roof over their bake oven. This keeps the rain off. This can be as simple as a tent, a shed roof, or a more substantial structure. They also build up the foundation under it - out of stone or concrete/cement. This keeps the foundation dry and deters shifting. Just like a house, keep it's head and feet dry. So, a HAT above, and a solid footing that won't shift in the weather underneath.

Any clay bake oven will need periodic care/repair. It's just how they are. But the better you protect it from the weather, the less repair will be needed.

Just my humble thoughts to share.

Mike Ameling

p.s. You just won't believe how good bread baked in a clay bake oven tastes - hot out of the oven - with fresh butter!!!!!!

 

[TheGreenMan]

I’ve never made one, Tim, (there isn’t really room for one on the balcony of my flat/appartment ) but I have a very good book about making clay ovens:

Build You Own Earth Oven by Kiko Denzer
ISBN 0-9679846-0-2
Handprint Press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Earth-Oven/dp/0967984602

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[TimB]

Cool, thanks for the link Paul. You could probably make one on the balcony! It wasn't all that big.

The one that Hugh made was a fairly simple process from what I saw.. I'll try to explain...

1. Collect Clay (3 buckets approx) and mix with builders sand till you have a good sticky clay / sand mix
2. On a solid surface (like a concrete slab) make a dome of sand big enough to be able to get a fire going inside and also to allow room for bread / pizza etc...
3. cover the outside of the dome in damp newspaper then start building the clay around the dome of sand.
4. Mark and cut out the enterance to the oven and wait 24 hours for the clay to harden.
5. Remove the sand from inside the oven and get a small fire going, building it up over an hour or so.
6. To cook simply move the burning embers to the sides to give you space in the middle to cook on..

Were going to have a go at making one sometime. I'll take some pics :O)

- Mike, like the idea of making a concrete mix to add.. and i guess keeping under cover would be a plan!

Does anyone know how to make a glaze which might give it some protection?

 

[g4ghb]

Not a clay oven but along the same lines are mud ovens

I've made plenty of 'mud' ovens in the past...... simply cover a tin box with mud and build a fire undeneath it - works great and have cooked all sorts! Roast dinners, pizzas and cakes
Apppart from needind a 'tin oven' there is a pertty inexaustable supply of mud I have found pretty much anywhere
a couple of piccies..... - first an oven (won't bother to explain how its made as it's pretty self explanitary)



and then the 'result' Mmmmmmmmmmm

 

[TheGreenMan]

Cool, thanks for the link Paul. You could probably make one on the balcony! It wasn't all that big.

The one that Hugh made was a fairly simple process from what I saw.. I'll try to explain...

- Mike, like the idea of making a concrete mix to add.. and i guess keeping under cover would be a plan!

Does anyone know how to make a glaze which might give it some protection?

You’re welcome, Tim.

And I’ve got to say that Hugh’s oven sounds doable (thanks for that), although the larger of the two balconies is covered with firewood at the moment, and the space occupied by the aluminium furniture isn’t helping. That said, the balcony furniture isn’t earning its keep, so if I sling it, there would probably be room for both the firewood and an oven.

On the sealing of the surface of the oven with materials like concrete and glaze (like a fired ceramic glaze?), here is what Kiko has to say about it:

And this about protection of the clay:

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[TheGreenMan]

Beautiful oven, Graham. I'm feeling hungry!

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[TheGreenMan]

...
p.s. You just won't believe how good bread baked in a clay bake oven tastes - hot out of the oven - with fresh butter!!!!!!

The thought of the bread has got me drooling, Mike, but how's the pizza?

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[Mike Ameling]

Sorry, I had forgotten about the moisture inside needing to get out when heating/baking with the oven. The outside coating was just a thought to keep the moisture out. Use a roof of some sort to shelter your clay bake oven.

There are a growing number of pizza places making/installing wood-fired bake ovens to cook in. Some are using fire brick, some high temp clay, and the luxury models are made from hand-cut/fitted volcanic rock from Italy.

Whatever you use, the benefits are the constant even heat - without the hot spots that you can get with gas or electric ovens. Those rely on thick iron plates to even out the heat. And that mass of material holds the heat longer when adding new things to the oven.

And cooking a pizza on stone/clay just seems to do the crust right - that balance of toasted but not burnt. You can duplicate some of that in your kitchen oven with a Pizza Baking Stone. It is a round flat pan made from fired clay. To use, you pre-heat it in your regular oven while you make your pizza - roll out the dough, add the sauce and toppings. You then slide your pizza onto it and let it bake. That pre-heated stone evens out the heat, and bakes/crisps up the crust without burning it or drying it out too much. It's almost like it was baked in a professional pizza parlor oven. The better kitchen supply places carry them.

Ah, PIZZA - the one food that combines all the major food groups required for survival! Add some beer and it makes life worth living!

Mike Ameling

 

[TheGreenMan]

Sorry, I had forgotten about the moisture inside needing to get out when heating/baking with the oven. The outside coating was just a thought to keep the moisture out. Use a roof of some sort to shelter your clay bake oven...

Well, I thought that some sort of sealant on the outside surface of the earth oven that you and Tim mentioned was an attractive idea, and the product of a logical ‘train of thought’. It wasn't until I flicked through the book that I realised it might have disastrous consequences.

And moisture inside an oven during baking is not such a bad idea. The best book I have on bread baking recommends humidifying the interior of the oven to aid with ‘oven spring’ (this allows the bread dough a final stage of expansion when exposed to the heat of the oven, because the moisture prevents the crust forming too early and preventing that last little bit of expansion, and that last bit of expansion opens up the texture of the bread a little more). But as the illustration above shows, moisture inside an earth oven causes the roof of the oven to collapse eventually.

...There are a growing number of pizza places making/installing wood-fired bake ovens to cook in. Some are using fire brick, some high temp clay, and the luxury models are made from hand-cut/fitted volcanic rock from Italy...

Wish they were doing that in my part of London, Mike

...And cooking a pizza on stone/clay just seems to do the crust right...You can duplicate some of that in your kitchen oven with a Pizza Baking Stone...

Interestingly enough, the bread making book mentioned recommends the use a baking stone for the bread baking too.

...Ah, PIZZA - the one food that combines all the major food groups required for survival! Add some beer and it makes life worth living!..

Amen to that!

Cheers,
Paul.

PS: The bread baking book is:
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press

 

[Voivode]

I’ve never made one, Tim, (there isn’t really room for one on the balcony of my flat/appartment ) but I have a very good book about making clay ovens:

Build You Own Earth Oven by Kiko Denzer
ISBN 0-9679846-0-2
Handprint Press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Earth-Oven/dp/0967984602

Best regards,
Paul.

I'll second that book. I bought it for my mom for Christmas a couple of years ago. She's pretty gung-ho to build one this summer.

 

[Biddlesby]

Haven't made one myself - but have eaten rice puddin' cooked in one. Delicious .

My next door neighbour is wanting to make one though, so will watch the thread with interest.

By the way what time is hugh on telly?

 

[TheGreenMan]

I...She's pretty gung-ho to build one this summer.

Cool

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[TheGreenMan]

...By the way what time is hugh on telly?

Dunno, Biddlesby, but the next 'Build & Bake' is apparently on 25 June, if you. or your neighbour, have the inclination and way with all...

http://shop.rivercottage.net/rcv2/shop/event_display.jsp?shop=events&filter=rchq&cid=44

Best regards,
Paul.

 

[Pompeysie]

I see Hugh was using his lovely oven to bake bread on the TV program last night. Very smart. I made one and you can learn how to build it on my blog here:

http://clayoven.wordpress.com

Have fun - they are awesome!
Simon