DIY Mobile WFO?
I've seen mobile ovens in searching here, but didn't find quite a topic such as this.
I've about a dozen neighbors who regularly eat and enjoy my bread. The general consensus is that they'd really enjoy buying bread from me (and given our neighborhood cohesiveness, it's not unreasonable to conjecture for more once word gets out) and as we also have a strong farmer's market with a serious locavore scene, low entry costs, it's another possible outlet.
I've opened several businesses, including restaurants. Just an FYI that this is not meant to be a real moneymaker - the headaches of developing financials and putting together a financial and operating plan is way beyond me, physically badly shot and mentally burnt to any new ventures of any real consequence.
So, enough to cover materials for a very modest weekly schedule is fine, for the foreseeable future.
I'm thinking of something like the small masonry oven Daniel Wing shows in The Bread Builders, or mud oven serving the same purpose. We rent and selling even a fixed small mud oven out back is proving difficult with our LL.
Anyone here built such an oven, mounted on a trailer?
Mike Zakowski has one. That thing is cool as hell.
CULT SONOMA // A Good Baker from Peter Berkley // The Art Dept. on Vimeo.
Here ias a link that might interest you https://www.fornobravo.com/product-series/mobile-pizza-ovens/
And these people TWO QUEENS sponsor a friends grand daughter and attend many equestrian meets and are very popular with the hungry riders and the support crews. some pictures of their trailer setups too https://twoqueens.com.au
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/22518066858882316/visual-search/?x=13&y=13&w=433&h=501&cropSource=6
regards Derek
Awesome, thanks guys. Yep, I agree, think it's a great idea. Somewhere Daniel Wing wrote an article on the special concerns, most especially safety concerns, of mounting an oven for travel. Worth the read.
Turns out my initial concerns re: LL were ill-founded. He's given the green light. Planning out sizes...the WFO books generally plan for a 32 x 36" oven. Tiny, in other words, lol. I already see bent green willow struts setting the frame for a 36 x 48 hearth....!
Cool idea. What does the logistic train look like for a mobile WFO at a local farmer's market?
What time of day/night would the:
- oven be transported to the market
- light the oven
- oven achieve operating temp
- load the first loaves
- remove loaves, reload
And what does the mixing, fermentation, shaping and proofing timeline look like, to support the baking? How many times per week/month do you anticipate this to occur?
Might as well be in this thread, it seems. Just a quick estimation, but a 32 x 38 Allen Scott oven - presumes concrete block, foundation slab, hearth slab, rebar/mesh, mortars and concretes, full-firebrick hearth, walls and dome, red brick elsewhere - the full masonry oven, not using mud: roughly $1800.
Using his plans for foundation, concrete block walls, needed hearth firebricks, and otherwise mud, est. $1300.
I'm wondering how easy it would be to demo the 1st option, to recover not only all firebricks, but concrete blocks as well - e.g., being able to recoup part at least part of that $1800 cost for another project...
-v-
...Pay 1300 (i.e., $500 less), with ease of knocking down mud oven at end, recouping some as well - firebrick, concrete blocks(?), etc.
In other words, would it be worth it to just go all in with a full masonry build, or spend $500 less, but it being only a mud oven on a masonry foundation and hearth. Any thoughts, to include the PITA factor?
Semolina, the WFO would not be used at the market - breads would be baked remotely and brought in. The benefit of the mobility would be for special events - pizza parties, etc. More than this, though, we will not be staying permanently where we are; so the ability to move a WFO at will is a strong one in the "pro" column.
The farmer's market firing, I anticipate, would be 1-2X per week (viennoiseries would take up their day as well as a once-weekly bread bake). The direct/neighborhood/cottage sell, once per week. So, in essence, half-time service.
OK, thanks for the clarification. I misunderstood the "mobile" aspect in the title. You don't mean mobile, as in mounted on wheels, but mobile as in it can be dismantled and moved to another house/yard. Correct?
No, it would be on a trailer, on wheels. This would allow it to be easily moved to various places for pizza parties or similar events, which would ideally be booked around the (stationary) bread and viennoiserie bake schedule above.