How to Build Your Own Pizza Oven

Everyone loves a bit of pizza, right?

But with the average cost of the lowliest Margherita running at $13.21, surely there must be a better way?

Besides, if you’re getting them delivered, they never taste quite the same as straight out of a wood-fired oven.

We know what you’re thinking … Who has a wood fired pizza oven in their backyard?

Following these simple instructions will give you that answer – we’re going to tell you just how to build your own pizza oven.

The all-important base

Just as with the pizza itself, it’s the foundations that are key. Think carefully before building the oven – once constructed, they aren’t easily moved.

Before you begin to build your own pizza oven, you need to find the perfect place for it to live. The ground should be level and firm, some recommend a solid concrete base, but in all honesty, that isn’t completely necessary if you ensure that whatever base you use, is solid.

Kits & Bits

Once the base is constructed, you have two choices for the oven itself; build your own from scratch or buy a kit for assembly.

Much of this will depend on your handyman skills. If you’re the type to “get a guy in” to fix a leaky faucet or put up some shelving, then maybe a kit is your best option. Be honest with yourself.

For the rest of you – the fun starts here.

A word of advice, though; don’t use standard red construction bricks for the inside of the oven.

Pizza ovens get hot – between 800 and 1,000 degrees when fully up to temperature, a red construction brick is likely to explode at that sort of heat.

Also, ensure that you’ve got the right gear to build it – one of these isn’t going to help you much.

Build your own pizza oven

The walls of the pizza oven are perhaps the easiest bit of the construction, depending on whether you’ve picked a straight sided design or something a little fancier.

Once the walls are done, it’s time for the dome! Remember that you need enough room in there to easily attend the fire and the pizzas.

We’d recommend making a simple template for the dome. This can easily be cut from a sheet of plywood. It doesn’t have to be 0.001″ perfect, just good enough to give you a guide.

Finishing

Once the basic pizza oven is finished, you can either keep it looking “rustic” with the brickwork on show, or render it with a suitable material than can sustain prolonged exposure to heat.

That’s the pizza oven done, all ready to cook some delicious pizza pie, but have you thought about fuel?

The really important bit

Aside from the basic design, the fuel you use is perhaps the most important part of using a wood-fired pizza oven.

The wrong wood will at best make your pizza taste … bad, at worst, it could poison you.

Avoid excessively sappy woods, pressure treated wood and manufactured ‘wood’ like plywood and of course, MDF. They are a big no.

The best woods are hardwoods like birch, oak, maple, beech and ash.

And that’s it.

For more great articles and advice, click right here. Follow us on social media? Oh go on then … you can do that  here.