How to Build a Clay Woodfired Oven

1). Build the base for your oven. This could be anything from an outdoor kitchen countertop to a base built with bricks.
2). Place 6 inches of sand on top of your base. Spread and level the sand to the size that you want the inside of the oven to be. This will determine how much you will be putting in the oven when you use it.
3). Cover the sand with fire bricks. Be sure to level the bricks across the entire surface. Do not space the bricks away from each other.
4). Calculate the height of the oven. It should be no more than 1 or 2 inches more than half of the width at the base.
5). Place a pile of sand on top of the bricks. Form it into a dome shape in the center of the base. This will be removed later but will help you build the oven shape.
6). Cover the sand with plastic.
7). Mix the clay. Use clay soil that can be found in most backyards below the top surface. Mix it with masonry sand and water. When the clay mix can hold its shape, then you know you have made the correct mixture.
8). Pile the clay mix over the plastic and begin forming the shape of your oven walls. The walls should be 4-5 inches thick. You don't necessarily have to use a tape measure to measure this, but they should be pretty thick. However, the walls do need to be consistent in size. Let it sit for a full day.
9). Poke the walls of the oven. If the walls are wet to the touch and allow you to make a dent when you touch them, they are dry enough to cut the door for the oven. Use a simple kitchen knife to cut an opening in the clay. The door should be approximately 60 percent of the oven's height. Shape the opening with your hands so it isn't a perfect cutout.
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Allow the clay to dry for 2 weeks. If the oven is hard when you touch it, then you can remove the plastic and sand.
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Build a door for the oven. This can be made out of anything. A simple wooden door will work just fine, but do not use the door when there is a fire in the oven. Only put the door in place after the fire has been removed while the food is cooking to hold in the heat.