You may have a piece of ancient history in your kitchen without even knowing it. Masonry Ovens (aka Brick Ovens, Stone Ovens, Ceramic Ovens, Beehive Ovens etc.) have been around for a long time. Ancient Egyptian tomb scenes show the usage of brick ovens over 4,500 years ago. 

Sy Syms, famed off-price clothing retailer, used to say, “An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer”. As ChefWorthy’s salute to Sy, and to announce the addition of our latest reviewable product category, Masonry Ovens, here are some facts to help make you the best customer. 

Masonry Oven Vaults/Chambers come in one of two shapes: Dome & Barrel

Dome

The classic cupola shape (think igloo) that most people associate with Italian style masonry ovens. Ironically, it was the early Greeks who first gave masonry ovens their recognizable shape.

• Tuscany – A “general-purpose oven” that can be used to prepare a variety of dishes. The dome’s height is half of its diameter, which enables you to cook in large pottery or even Dutch ovens. 
• Neapolitan – Designed for high temperature cooking, Neapolitan style domes feature a flatter, lower vault ceiling designed specifically for cooking  pizza. 

Barrel

Barrel shaped vaults are, wait for it…shaped like a barrel and feature a rectangular oven floor as opposed to a round one. Imagine a barrel cut in half, lengthwise  The walls are typically thicker than those of a traditional Dome oven, which makes the thermal mass significantly higher. Additionally, the opening typically has 60% of the vault’s dimensions. Barrel Ovens can also make use of a front side door during the baking/cooking process to help retain heat.

If your primary focus is on baking bread, barrel ovens are the better choice. Barrel shaped vaults are also more fuel efficient & easier to clean than traditional dome ovens. As always, your menu, budget and other factors will influence your purchasing decision.

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Pizza Bar Bet Winners

• US
  • An estimated 350 slices of pizza are eaten second in the U.S. That’s 100 acres per day. Or if you prefer, 75 Football fields worth.
  • Connecticut has the most pizza parlors per capita – 3.65. Now you know why the film “Mystic Pizza” was set in CT.
  • 36% of Americans eat pizza as a breakfast meal. Doesn’t specify if the pizza is hot or cold. Me? I’m a cold slice guy. No patience.
• Norway
  • Norwegians (Yes. Those Norwegians – all 5.5MM of them) eat a total of 47 million frozen pizzas annually. Compare that to the one billion frozen pizzas sold in USA. That means the average Norwegian eats about three times as many frozen pizzas as the average American. A full 50% of the frozen pizzas eaten in Norway are Grandiosa brand. Grandiosa pizza is so well-known in the country that 20% of the population said they consider it an unofficial national dish.