Are you ready to build your own pizza oven but not sure how to go about it?

Different styles of pizza ovens are available, ranging from small clay ovens to larger scale concrete ovens. Making a decision to build a pizza oven depends on factors such as location, size of the oven and what you wish to cook. If you are dreaming of being able to enjoy the wood fire pizza crust anytime at home, then you have come to the right place. Here is what you need to know about how to build a pizza oven.

• 1. Location

Before you build your pizza oven you need to decide where to site your oven. Unlike a barbecue, a pizza oven cannot be moved around the garden once it’s built. Select an area with plenty of space around it as well as in full sunlight. Other factors to take into account are different weather conditions, governmental or council laws and regulations, fire hazards and aesthetics.

• 2. Constructing the pizza oven dome

When building a pizza oven, the shape of the oven can either be a rectangular barrel oven or round igloo oven dome. Most professional bakers prefer the rectangular barrel domes which give more space and allow making more pizzas at a time. Despite the dome style and size you choose in the end, all pizza oven structures share similar basic parts which include the foundation, hearth, dome, vent, flue and chimney.

• 3. Attaching the chimney and flue

The chimney improves airflow through the oven, provides an escape route to smoke and diffuses nearly a quarter of the heat in a brick oven. The height of the chimney depends on the size of the oven, ranging from 1 meter and above. The flue is the opening that allows heat, gas or smoke to pass through the chimney and should be placed at the face of the oven, in front of the door. 

An oven door may be installed to optimize heating, increase the time the oven retains the heat and maintain consistent temperature. Heat insulation is necessary for the oven dome and hearth to prevent heat loss and cracks when the pizza oven heats up. Vermiculite, perlite or fire blanket can be used for this. For a perfect oven, it’s advised to allow each layer to dry after construction. 

• 4. Wood-fired pizza oven

A traditional wood-fired pizza oven, is primarily known for pizza cooking specialty, but can also be used for baking bread, cooking steak and roasting meat and vegetables. It consists of a chamber made out of bricks, clay, concrete, stone, cob or ceramics. When making wood-fired pizza ovens, a door is not required.

• Where to go for pizza oven services and DIY Pizza oven products?

Contact The BBQ Store, Australia's largest online BBQ specialists, offering an extensive range of leading brands and competitively priced charcoal and gas BBQs, pizza ovens, outdoor kitchens, smokers, patio heaters, BBQ accessories and more. Our success is built on our solid reputation for providing innovative products, exceptional service and our 100% satisfaction guarantee policy.