The Scoop on Wood Fired Pizza Ovens

When I was a little girl, I watched as my old Sicilian grandfather built my mom an outdoor wood pizza oven brick by brick. This incidence, unfortunately, is a happy byproduct of my heritage. Most of you are probably unable to enjoy the outputs of outdoor wood fired pizza ovens without the intervention of pizza professionals like your local parlor. This is pretty bleak, seeing as the average person eats nearly fifty pieces of pizza a year and even low-level pizza eaters consume at least one piece per month!
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably gotten wise to the fact that it’ll be more economical (or certainly better for encouraging more interesting, lengthy family dinners) to have your very own outside pizza oven. Fortunately, whether you’re going to buy or build, the modern world has you covered, no first generation immigrant grandfather required. But first, we should probably learn a little bit about the science…
How does the Italian wood fired pizza oven work, anyway?
Your typical pizza oven is igloo shaped and made of clay or a special concrete blend that is up to the task of sustaining high temperatures for long periods of time. Some have just one door, but most have a chimney as well. The shape and the openings allow for a D-shaped convection current that evenly heats the pizza.
How much does your average DIY pizza oven cost?
The cost varies greatly, but a solid average nowadays for pizza oven kits and do-it-yourself attempts seems to be about $700 not including the cost of your labor.
What is your stance on various wood fired pizza oven accessories?
If you Google the term “wood fired pizza oven accessories” right now you’re probably going to feel like you got lost in the “silly” aisle of William Sanoma. There’s just a lot out there and some is more necessary than others. If I were on a wood fired pizza oven accessories desert island and had to choose only a few tools as stand-bys, these would be them:
-An aluminum pizza peel (for getting the pizza off the brick). Aluminum can also withstand high temperatures without heating up to a million degrees.
-A pizza bubble popper (for when your crust starts to look like Violet Bulregarde from Willy Wonka).
-A hard floor brush with an extended arm (for all that stubborn ash)
-A cast iron roasting pan and/or vertical hanging roaster (for when you want to branch out and use your pizza oven for things other than pizza)
Just remember, if you actually do end up building one of these amazing, deliciousness-inducing things — invite us over!