Pizza maker
Wood fire since 2009. Five thousand pies and counting.
Son of a stone mason. Built the oven himself. First pizza cost a thousand dollars on paper — and launched a habit that now includes the dough.
09/08/2009
Brick Pizza Oven
I needed an outside summer project, and decided on a Brick Pizza Oven. It took more planning than building a new software release, mostly because I have never built a pizza oven before, so I had to think it out. Thankfully, many people shared their experiences online, so I was able to get some good ideas on a shape and style. Being the son of a stone mason helped somewhat, as I had an idea on how to build stone and brickwork.
First, I had to build a rectangular base in stone, and then level it for the base of the oven. Then, I had to make the oven floor out of firebricks. I made a mock-up of a pizza and a fire to make sure I had enough room for everything. Brickwork is harder to fix than software, so I only wanted to do this once!
The Arch
Laying out the arch was the hardest part. Arches are very strong, and were critical in ancient building techniques. Men who specialized in them were called “arch-i-tects.” With that in mind, he laid out the arch of the oven on a board to make a template for the wood arch supports, then built the form to hold the arch while it dried.
It took about a week to put the brick oven together. Luckily, brother Steve helped with laying the bricks on the arch — the hardest part of the project. Near the end: unshaven and tired, but satisfied. A time-lapse of over 100 photos collapsed into a one-minute video of the build, featuring Steve, son Dominic, daughter Sophie, friend Andy Sturtz, and dog Duke — who was wondering when the pizza would be ready.
09/15/2009
The $1,000 Pizza
OK, so I fired up the brick pizza oven this past weekend. It was all new to me so I worried about how to fire the oven and make the dough (by hand). I worked on the toppings to use and how close to the fire to put the pizza. I read a lot online at sites like Forno Bravo, and had a lot of ideas, maybe too many. But experience is a great teacher, and I got pretty good at making pizza in the oven after a few tries. Everyone who dropped by our house got a chance to make their own pizza and watch it cook in the brick oven.
As my son Dominic and I were admiring our first pizza creation, I joked with him that we were eating a $1,000 pizza. He asked me how this one pizza could cost $1,000? Well, below I have a tally of the costs it took to make that first pizza.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Oven Construction | |
| 250 fire bricks | $250 |
| 640 pounds (8 bags) cement and mortar | $100 |
| Wood for arch frame | $50 |
| Gloves | $20 |
| Wood for firing the oven | |
| 1/2 cord wood | $250 |
| Hatchet | $15 |
| Lighting torch | $25 |
| Cooking essentials | |
| 60" pizza peel | $110 |
| 60" fire poker | $80 |
| 60" whisk broom | $40 |
| Pizza ingredients | |
| Italian flour | $20 |
| Italian tomatoes | $20 |
| Cheese | $20 |
| Total for one pizza | $1,000 |
But it was worth every penny in the fun we all had.
Lyknss notes: a wood-fired oven since 2009 — more than 5,000 pizzas, dough included.
Same hands that shipped SpamSentinel
The oven is not a side gag — it's the same builder instinct: plan carefully, do the hard arch once, invite everyone to make their own pie.