The Pizza Oven

Sanders on KI - Pizza Oven

In the same way the kitchen is the heart of a home,  

in Tasmania we found our pizza oven was the heart of our outside world so 

Graham was very keen to build our new pizza oven here in Kangaroo Island.

Memories from Our Tassie Pizza Wall of Fame.

It was so much more than being fabulous for cooking all sorts of things - pizza of course, Montreal style bagels, roasts, stews, deserts, and of course our annual Christmas Pig in the Pizza Oven. 

Just watching the fire flicker, or the gentle glow of coals not only provided warmth and ambiance 

it kept us outside in all seasons.

THE PROJECT

The location was not all about the view. Graham considered where the predominant winds came from and the best angle for the oven, then once the decision was made, the collection of rocks started.

Then he prepared the land for the base.  He measured the footprint, dug out the ground, and spread gravel and sand, to prepare for the pavers.

And the kit for the dome arrived

We went with an Alfresco Traditional - Midi.  The next size up from the pizza oven we had in Tassie.

He made a wooden frame for the base with treated pine, and dug holes for the posts

When he was happy with the depth...

He concreted the posts in

Now for the rocks

Periodically I'd look up and see Graham pushing the wheel barrow, as he wandered about selecting rocks.  And we have LOTS of rocks on our property to choose from. 

It kind of reminded me of shopping.  

He filled in the base leaving the inside open for tools/wood storage

Then sheets of Hebel were added for the top

And our neighbour Lachie came to lend a hand with the lift

Graham made a 4 corner lift frame which the dome rested on to use to manoeuvre it. 

However, the tractor made it so much easier

Then a discussion on placement

Lowering the dome off the lift frame was done manually

so it slid over the floor insulation and refractory bricks snugly without damaging them

The front is added

Then sheet insulation is laid over the top, covered with foil,

 and then wrapped in chicken wire

The chicken wire keeps it all together while the render is added

The first layer of render goes on

You can see the chicken wire also gives the render something to grab onto

Nothing like a little old fashioned manual labour to mix the render. 

The last layer of render has the colour

As it dries, Graham kept an eye out for cracks, and squirted and smoothed any that appeared

Then a coating of concrete sealer.

Next he covered the Hebel top with tiles and add the flu

Then 16 hours of tempering, starting at 150 C going up to 200.

He added a wooden finish for the edges

And a few more cosmetic touches, "et voila"

And of course, our memory picnic table was put in place.

We ask our guests if they would like to carve a little something into the table when they have pizza with us for the first time, or to mark a special occasion to be remembered.

Preparing for pizza, the wood is stacked, and the fire is lit

Once the oven is heated, the fire is pushed to the side. 

This allows the flames to flicker across the top for more even cooking

Who doesn't enjoy watching a good fire?
Click the arrow on the video and it should activate it and work.

Finally, the first pizza went in

It didn't take long to cook, but we stood there mesmerised just enjoying the moments

Thank goodness, as it felt like forever since we'd had pizza

It just seems to make it feel a little more like home with Graham's Pizza Oven project completed

And of course Elwood agrees