Deck Oven Choices
hi, all... i'm about to begin a new adventure. i'm a geologist by trade- worked in the environmental industry for years. but i'm half italian, and i grew up learning how to cook and bake from my grandma and her sisters. i recently quit my geology job and went to a culinary school in rome for 3 months to learn how to make pizza al taglio, among other styles (wood fired, alla pala, tonda, etc.). a location has come up that i need to jump on, so i'm looking for some advice on setting up a bakery. this post is concerend with ovens and associated equipment.
we're starting very small (1200 sq. feet). and my plan is to develop a lunch business downtown in a medium sized city. pizza al taglio by the slice and "tortano" (italian loaf filled with meat/cheese cooked in pans). we'll sell the whole tortano loaves, as well as by the slice or "chunk". after we get that machine running, i'd like to add sourdough to the mix. i have a lot of confidence in my products. my pizza rivals any pizza i've had in rome and people absolutely love the tortano. i've mastered the sourdough, though not in commercial quantities.
we're trying to do this on a budget and my question is this... what kind of oven should i buy to cook the three different products? basically, an all-in-one solution. i've read tons of posts on here and am still having a hard time deciding. gas/electric? steam injected or not? size of decks? i want to have the option of baking the following:
-pizza al taglio cooked in large rectangular pans
-pizza alla pala cooked directly on the deck
-tortano cooked in rectangular pans
-naturally leavened sourdough (in pans or directly on the deck?)
in addition... in order to produce good sourdough (tartine/old world style, naturally leavened), i've gathered that i'd be disappointed if i didn't have a steam injection system. can i do this without spending $20,000?
should this be cooked on the deck or in pans?
can i bake good tortano in pans in this type of oven?
how high should my decks be?
any guidance on how to determine how many decks/size of decks if i really don't know how much product we'll be producing?
any advice on a baking schedule? pizza dough is fermented two days in advance, so i can make an assumption that the dough will be ready every morning. should i prepare tortano (labor intensive) the day before and store in refrigeration so it can go directly into the oven the next morning? if so, what piece of equipment is that?
lots of questions... any insights would be appreciated!
tom