Okay, so I’ve always wanted one of those cool brick pizza ovens in my backyard. You know, the kind you see in those fancy Italian restaurants? Well, I finally decided to just go for it and build one myself. I mean, how hard could it be, right?
First things first, I needed a spot for this thing. I picked a nice corner of the yard that was far enough from the house but still convenient. Then came the fun part – digging! I spent a whole afternoon digging out a foundation. Let me tell you, that was some serious exercise. I’m pretty sure I pulled a muscle or two.
After the hole was ready, I poured in some concrete to make a solid base. I’m no expert, but I watched a bunch of videos online, and it seemed to turn out okay. While the concrete was setting, I started gathering bricks. I managed to find a bunch of used ones from a guy online, which saved me a ton of money and gave the oven a cool, rustic look.
The next step was actually building the oven. This was definitely the trickiest part. I started by laying out the bricks in a circular shape for the base, then slowly started building upwards, forming a dome. It was like a giant, 3D puzzle. I had to cut some bricks to make them fit, which was a pain, but I got the hang of it eventually.
Here’s a little tip: make sure you use firebricks for the inside of the oven, where the fire will be. They can handle the heat much better than regular bricks.
Once the dome was done, I added a chimney and a door. The chimney was just a smaller version of the oven itself, and the door was a metal one I found at a scrap yard. I had to do some welding to get it to fit, but it worked out in the end.
- Digging the foundation – that was tough!
- Pouring the concrete – not too bad, actually.
- Finding the bricks – score on those used ones!
- Building the dome – who knew I was a bricklayer?
- Adding the chimney and door – almost there!
After letting everything dry and cure for a couple of weeks, it was finally time for the first test run. I built a small fire inside, just to make sure everything was working properly. The fire burned nicely, and the oven heated up like a champ. Success!
The Pizza Making
Now, for the moment of truth – making the pizza. I invited a few friends over for a pizza party. I prepared a bunch of dough and set up a table with all sorts of toppings: cheese, pepperoni, veggies, you name it. Everyone had a blast making their own pizzas.
We slid the pizzas into the oven, and within minutes, they were ready. Crispy crust, melted cheese, perfectly cooked toppings. It was seriously the best pizza I’ve ever had. And the fact that we made it in an oven I built myself? That made it even more special.
So, yeah, building a brick pizza oven was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. Now, every weekend is a pizza party at my place, and everyone who tries my pizza says it’s delicious. If you’re thinking about building one, I say go for it! Just be prepared to get your hands dirty and maybe watch a few tutorials online.
