index.md (5683B)
1 --- 2 title: "Build Your Own Budget Pizza Oven" 3 tags: diy tutorial food 4 date: 2026-09-14 5 --- 6 7  8 9 Everyone loves pizza, 10 and there's no better pizza than homemade. 11 12 The main barrier to making pizza at home is a hot enough surface 13 to quickly cook the bottom of the pizza, 14 giving it the crispy texture all good pizza needs. 15 **The best way to achieve this is with a dedicated pizza oven.** 16 The fire under the pizza surface heats it to over 700° F, 17 and pushes hot air over the pizza to cook it evenly all around, 18 while not burning the crust. 19 20 Luckily, a pizza oven doesn't have to be expensive, 21 you can build one yourself in an afternoon for less than $100. 22 Equipped with what is essentially a stack of bricks, 23 you can make your own pizza which easily surpasses any chain brand, 24 giving you another reason to be elitist about pizza. 25 26  27 28 If you don't have outside space to build an oven, 29 using a pizza stone in your kitchen's oven gives you a close approximation. 30 While it does not get as hot as an actual pizza oven, 31 leaving the bottom not as crispy as it should be, 32 it still makes great pizzas. 33 34 I built this pizza oven at the end of last summer, 35 unfortunately we were only able to use it a few times 36 before our landlord forced us to abandon it when they sold our house. 37 I wanted to document how to build it for future reference, 38 and save a record to help others build their own. 39 40 # Supplies 41 42 1. **Bricks** (42x) 43 - Just your regular old red bricks. 44 2. **Stone slabs** (2x) 45 - Total size of 24"x16" for each, but can be split into multiple pieces. 46 3. **Metal support bar** 47 - If your stone slabs are not one piece like mine, you will need a flat metal bar to support them. 48 4. **Bubble Level** 49 - Helps make sure your foundation is level! 50 5. **Pizza Peel** 51 - While not needed for the actual oven, you will need it to make the pizza. 52 53 ## Optional 54 55 4. **Grout** 56 - If the surface you are building is not super level, use grout to smooth it out. 57 - No grout is used in between the bricks. 58 5. **Laser thermometer** 59 - Measure how hot the surface is so you know when the oven is ready. 60 6. **Metal grate** 61 - Place under charcoal with small hole dug out underneath to improve airflow and help the fire stay lit. 62 63 # Steps 64 65 ## Clear out space 66 67 Find a 24"x14" size area of flat land, 68 far from anything flammable. 69 Preferably on a smooth easy-to-level surface, 70 like fine dirt. 71 72 If you are building on a rough surface 73 (gravel, rocks, coarse dirt, etc), 74 using grout is necessary to make the foundation even. 75 76 ## First layer 77 78  79 80 Start by laying out 7 bricks in a upside down U shape. 81 This is the first layer of where the fire will be made. 82 83 This layer is the most important since all other bricks will be placed on it. 84 Make sure it is as level as possible, 85 as any slight deviations will add up and cause problems later on. 86 87 Place each brick firmly in the grout, 88 use a bubble level in both directions to ensure it is as flat as you can get. 89 Spend as much time as you need on this step, 90 because otherwise you will have to redo the whole thing 91 (don't ask me how I know). 92 93 ## Second layer 94 95  96 97 Add 6 bricks on top in a offset pattern to add structure. 98 99 ## Third layer 100 101  102 103 Now 7 more bricks again. 104 105 I had an extra brick which was broken in half, 106 so I placed it underneath this layer and the two ends. 107 This is not structurally necessary, 108 it just makes it look more even at the front. 109 110 ## Pizza Surface 111 112  113 114 If your stone slab comes in multiple parts, 115 use support bars to hold the middle. 116 117  118 119 Now lay the large stone slab on top, 120 leaving a gap between the back wall for air flow. 121 Also place 3 more bricks on top of the back wall to complete the layer (not pictured). 122 123 ## Fifth layer 124 125  126 127 Next is the first layer of the pizza section, 128 where you will eventually cook the pizza. 129 Place 6 more bricks in the pattern above. 130 131 ## Sixth layer 132 133  134 135 You know the drill by now, 136 place 7 more bricks to form the next layer. 137 The bricks on the two ends will fall down until you place the next layer on top. 138 139 ## Seventh layer 140 141  142 143 The final layer of bricks can now be placed. 144 145 You can also add the support bar for the roof. 146 If your slab is in one or two pieces you might not need a support bar 147 since the roof slab will be placed on top of the back wall this time. 148 But because mine is three separate slabs I need another support bar. 149 150 ## Roof 151 152  153 154 Place your second stone slab on top to complete the roof. 155 156  157 158  159 160 # Conclusion 161 162 Congratulations, you now have a fully functional pizza oven! 163 164  165 166 Throw some charcoal on the bottom and light a fire. 167 Wait for the middle surface to warm up to 500-700⁰F 168 and slide your raw pizza off the peel into the oven to cook it. 169 After 2-3 minutes and the cheese has started to boil, 170 remove the pizza and enjoy the fruits of your labor! 171 172  173 174 If you have trouble lighting the charcoal fire, 175 I found it helpful to dig out a small shallow pit 176 and place a grate over so extra air flow can get under the charcoals. 177 178 Stay tuned for future posts where I share the best way to make your own pizza dough!