Lockdown Project - Pizza Oven

As some of us went into lockdown it came with uncertainty but we also gained some free time, social media pushed us to learn a language, do a Tik Tok dance or 100 press-ups a day.

Option 4, build a simple little structure to bake the baddest pizza in the land. Naturally, with the end result being food-related I chose that option.

I spent a couple of late nights crawling YouTube for a guide. I had a basic idea of what I wanted to build, I just needed to make a start. As a self-confessed Steptoe, I knew I would have most of the materials needed stacked by the side of my shed.

I had pre-built a brick structure to waist height already so I needed to add the oven. With beautiful sunshine, the kids were entertained playing tag in the garden I decided to make hay.

I set about making a basic wooden form half-cylinder, wrapped it in cling film and sat this firmly on the brick stand. 

The magic ingredient was vermiculite mixed with cement to a sticky consistency. In a paper mache sort of fashion, you just pat it onto the form to about 2" thick. I added chicken wire between coats for extra stability.

A few days of drying and it hardened enough to render for some extra protection.

Time to enjoy, after a few light burns to dispose of the internal wooden structure we were ready to carb load on pizza for the foreseeable future.

The girls have had a lesson on dough making but I got to take the glory and add fire, we have all we need.

Fresh homemade wood-fired pizza ready and waiting for mummy to finish her shift.

Father, Teacher, Chef, Business owner, Pizza extraordinaire.