FITZPATRICK WINERY'S WOOD-FIRED OVEN

In February of 1997, we were finally ready to build our wood-fried oven. I had discovered an expert on a trip to Maine to support our wine sales there.

Several fine restaurants (in Portland & Rockland) offered exciting menus prepared in their wood-fired ovens. All these ovens were built by Patrick Manley who lives in rural Washington, Maine amongst the birch forest. Plans were made and we flew Patrick out to add a most significant feature to Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge.

The weather was very cooperative last year and with all hands on deck, supporting Patrick's lead, we built the oven in 14 days. Our lifestyle has changed forever since we incorporated our wood-fired oven into our bread baking and catering services.

Things take a little longer but it feels good, smells good and tastes great. The way life should be! Wood, wine and fresh-baked bread. I know many of you have admired this oven and would love to have a wood-fired oven too.

So, I thought I'd share with you a step by step (minus a few here and there) pictorial of wood-fire oven construction with the master, Patrick Manley. Don't be deceived with the Southwest looking facade. This is a European  bread oven  enclosed and highly insulated to hold oven temperature for many hours.We surrounded the thermal mass of the oven with 3" of foam glass underneath and vermiculite all around the sides and the roof. I can fire up the oven the night before and bake without a fire the next morning. If I super saturate the thermal mass of this oven with the heat of several fires Friday and Saturday, I can baked bread without any additional fire all day Sunday and bake the family dinner Monday evening (almost 48 hours later). As you can see, this oven wasn't cheap and rightfully so. This oven is a gift to this generation and many to come.

Click on thumnails to view larger image

Come for the wine and stay for the Ploughman's Lunch (with our fresh-baked bread) sometime and uncork the magic of Fitzpatrick's.

Starting April 15th (El Nino permitting), Fridays at Fitzpatrick's will never be the same. From 5-9 p.m. we'll be offering wood-fired oven pizzas and fresh salads to enjoy on the deck while enjoying a most spectacular panorama of the foothills. Secure your reservations by calling starting Monday of the week you want to come -530-620-3248. Fitzpatrick wines, assorted beers and soft drinks are available with dinner. Hope to see you there!

A Burning Story That Had To Be Told

an article in Sierra Foothills Vine Times / Summer issue

Part Two

by Brian Fitzpatrick

I know you're anxious to learn how to build a wood-fired oven. So gather round and I'll share with you my experience working with a master. But beware there are details and skills that are best left to a master.

Before I started our oven, having done quite a little homework, I felt confident that I could accomplish adequately about 60% of the oven construction. After working with the master (Patrick Manley), I would feel confident that I could be proficient with about 80% of the oven construction. So please realize that I can move you farther along on your quest to build an oven but there comes a time when you're on your own. Master oven builders, like master bakers, chefs and winemakers have talents and senses not easily shared over a couple glasses of wine.

First, you decide on the internal size and height of the oven floor. We chose 48"X 48" oven floor, 48" high. But in order to fully enclose the working oven with insulation, we built the outer block walls 72"X 72". Start, of course from the ground (actually a concrete slab) up using 8X8X16 block (have plenty of block on hand). At 36" high we poured a structural slab with 3" angle iron as the base to support the oven (lots of weight to support). From this point up, the perimeter walls were built of 4X8X16 block to allow more space for insulation. Atop of this structural concrete slab lay 3" of foam glass as the insulating barrier below the floor of the oven. So remember as you build to think and plan extra space for insulating your oven on all sides.

Now think heat. Think thermal mass. The wood fire will generate the heat but the thermal mass will absorb and hold onto that heat and re-radiate that heat back into the oven slowly and evenly (the key to the best wood-fired bread). So we poured about four inches of concrete above the foam glass as the base to hold the fire bricks and the beginning of the thermal mass. Meanwhile keep building your outer wall (4X8X16 block) as you go up. On top of this slab you lay your high quality fire brick using a special cement instead of ordinary mortar (ordinary mortar has too much water which will expand and evaporate under the high heat of the oven - not good).

Now it's time to build the internal oven walls and ceiling. Using high quality fire brick, build up one brick short of ten inches. Now this is where the Master comes in with careful detailing of the curved ceiling (16" high in the middle) and two steel braces running outside along the 10" side walls connected across and tensioned with steel threaded rods. An arched roof is made out of Masonite and wood to temporarily support the #1 arch fire brick as the ceiling is being built. When the ceiling is complete, the temporary support must be dismantled from within the newly built oven into small enough pieces to fit out the 26" wide by 11" high arched doorway (a bigger trick than you think unless you've done it before). And of course we built in an opening in the front of the ceiling for the flue. We used 12" square flue tile cemented together with the same special cement as the fire brick.

Then we trowel on about 3" of concrete around the outside of the oven to build up; you guessed it, more thermal mass. Build up those outside block walls. Fill in the space inside the walls and the outside of the oven with vermiculite (insulation). We then built a dome roof out of free form concrete to shed any rain water.

The oven is basically done but don't dare build a roaring fire right away. Why? Because all the moisture trapped in the mortar between the block and the concrete thermal mass would turn to steam and literally blow apart the oven. Have patience and wait about two weeks (a month if in winter) and then start with small fires to dry out the oven before you really fired it up.

Check out our new web site and see detailed oven construction pictures at www.fitzpatrickwinery.com

Next time let's talk Bread - from basic French to Jewish Pumpernickel. Now the fun begins.