Backyard WFO number 2
So we are starting planning for a new house, with a hard requirement that it must include a backyard wood fired oven. This will be our second WFO, having just moved out of a house where we built a DIY kit version in 2009. We averaged 1 to 2 uses per fortnight, and are keen to continue.
The first oven, as mentioned, was a kit DIY build on a steel frame. The oven was a barrel vault design, with a hearth area of 700x920mm. The oven had only the one chamber, with the chimney rising from the high point of the chamber. The results were wonderful for pizza for a family, or a medium gathering, but we struggled with maintaining enough heat to do breads, or roasts and the like. In fact after a large, long burn the night before, it was already fully cool by morning.
This has led to us considering the options for our new oven. With our lessons learnt, we set about prioritising the requirements:
- Ability to bake full loaves of bread - if I can make a couple of loaves a week that are half as good as the Flute from Maison Drap in Lyon, I'll be happy :-)
- Ability to roast large meats/poultry without a need to enclose in a heavy pan
- Can do up to two pizzas at a time
- Can stay warm over night, so we can use it again in the morning for breakfast, or at worst require a small firing in the morning. Our ultimate goal would be to have one whole weekend (Friday night to Sunday night) where everything we eat comes from the oven
- Slightly smaller than the last oven - we never used the whole interior at one time.
Similarly, we worked out what wasn't important to us:
- Heat up time - 3--4 hours is not a concern
- Weight/portability etc...
Based on that, and the kind sharing by janij, we have settled on the 24x30" Alan Scott design. We've had the Bread Builders from before the first oven, and always thought this to be the pinnacle of what we had seen.
Does this make sense, or have we misjudged based on our needs?