WHAT CAN A ROUNDBOY OVEN DO?

I had an email this week with questions about what our oven can do? It seems there is some chatter in the wood fired oven forums about our ovens. I think it is great that a small company like ours is creating some chatter!
The forums seem to wonder what our oven can do? How could a wood fired oven that is inexpensive and and not as big work as well as the bigger expensive oven?
Well, it can! 
The Roundboy oven has all the right stuff. I am not a mason so I can't address all the technical questions you have. I am a wife, a mother and someone who enjoys cooking and baking for my family!
So I will give you my perspective on our oven.
A big oven of course can bake a BIG turkey.  I have baked our turkey for Thanksgiving the last 3 years in our Roundboy. I usually bake a nice big turkey breast because that is what we like. The turkey breast is delicious baked wood fired! Karl has no trouble keeping the oven up to the proper temperature. I am sure he does this a little different then you would with a big oven. He may add some wood through out the baking process and maybe he uses less wood to get the Roundboy up to temperature or maybe he burns the fire a little more or less to heat up the bricks. This is all just a learning curve. Every oven has a learning curve!

Now Pizza! Our Roundboy oven can handle one or two nice 8 inch pies at a time. We never bake two pies at a time. The pizza bakes fast at the high temperature you can create with a Roundboy oven.  You have to turn the pizza as it bakes and to do that with two or more pies is pretty tricky. We have hosted many pizza parties with guests ranging from four close friends to 30 close friends and no one ever leaves hungry. We bake one pizza at a time!
In my backyard I am lucky to have two wood fired ovens. The first oven, the oven that inspired us to create the Roundboy oven, is a beautiful brick and field stone creation of my husband Karl. The entire oven is made from brick. It is truly a masterpiece much like an oven from 100 years ago. The actually baking area is close in size to our Roundboy oven. We also have our Roundboy oven on a basic stand. We bake with both ovens and when I blog some times it is using the Roundboy oven and some times it is using our traditional oven. We have never used both at the same time. We have not found a need to.
We have grilled steak (never use my gas grill for steak), slow roasted ribs, baked delicious desserts, yummy soft pretzels, baked breads, made lasagna after baking pizza with the left over heat in the oven, roasted chestnuts and vegetables the same way. We have done all this in both ovens. Each oven has its own fire management and each oven was easy to learn how to manage.
 
The Roundboy oven can bake and roast and grill anything you want. Will you need more or less wood then the big oven? Maybe.
Will the shape of the oven or the insulating factor be different with a  Roundboy then an oven from another company? Yes. Will that have an effect on how you manage your oven? Yes.  Does any of this limit what you can bake in a Roundboy oven? The limit is only quantity or size. I feel both of those factors are minor.  So maybe my turkey will be smaller and I will do two turkeys for a large crowd. 
 The most important factor with a wood fired oven is how to manage the fire.  How long to burn the fire to heat up the bricks and how to maintain your temperature for a long bake or roast. Each oven is different and each has a learning curve. Once you learn your fire management for your oven the possibilities are endless. Wood fired ovens are fun! They create a whole new dimension to your baking and cooking skills.

I hope the chatter in the forums about our Roundboy oven continues. Buying a wood fired oven for your backyard is a big decision. You want to have the oven that is perfect for your needs and budget and the forums are are great place to learn from other people's experience.
 

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY WOOD FIRED TOUCHDOWN!

Sausage and mushroom fresh and hot!

Broccoli and mushroom for the vegetable lover!

For the half time show Roundboy wood fired hot wings!

 The recipe for Roundboy Wood Fired Oven Hot Wings. 

Pizza is not in a box anymore. Hot wings are no longer in Styrofoam. Both are hot and fresh from your Roundboy oven...

Ahhh January!

September to December is a fast pace at The Beauty Shoppe. When you add to that Holiday meals and entertaining, shopping and wrapping presents, attempting to have a clean house (usually on the bottom of the list) and decorating the pace becomes near impossible! Add to all that Amanda car shopping and it was a crazy end to the year!
Christmas day comes and all is forgotten. You are no longer tired and can relax and enjoy.
This year our gifts were especially thoughtful.  Amanda gave Karl a Leener's Cheese Making Kit (great blog material) and for K.C. she gave Rick's Picks and he will enjoy a different pickle each month this year. I surprised Karl with an I phone case by Lifeproof  that will save his phone from the concrete dust and construction abuse he puts it through daily.   Karl put a lot of thought into my gift and it is very special to me. I have been trying for the last year (with not much success) to organize my recipes and make a book for each of my children. Karl hired a friend to type, organize and burn to a disc my disorganized recipe collection for me. Amanda gave me a gift certificate to have the recipes made into a book! I can add pictures with K.C.'s gift (Adobe Premier Elements) and make a book for both kids!  
So December with it's fast pace and Holidays brought us together and gave us gifts.  We enjoyed everything and realized how blessed we are. It goes by quickly because of how busy it is and then comes January.
Ahh January! My favorite month. There is nothing to do and it is o.k. to do nothing.  I can waste a day away looking through my recipes and experiment with the hand written recipe notebook  filled with my grandmother's recipes ( my mother gave them to me to add to my recipe book). Most have no measurements just a handful or a pinch! I can try a different bread recipe or invite friends over for wood fired pizza and cards. It is o.k. in January to stay in and watch a movie or to cuddle up and take a nap on a cold day.  For me January is the month you step back and let the world go by...
Well it is February and I am just sharing this with you now! My January was not a time to let the world go by. My partner and I spent the month moving The Beauty Shoppe to a new location. With a beautiful new salon and some unseasonal warm weather maybe February will be a month to say Ahhh!

Our new location.

Amanda and her new Jeep waiting for some snow!

 

GOODBYE 2011!

It has been a great year! We launched our web site , updated our oven design and added a door and chimney cap. We made many new friends and they have shared their oven designs and delicious foods.
We want to wish everyone good health and a wonderful 2012 with lots of good times sharing your Roundboy oven with your friends and family.   To say goodbye to 2011 I will share the wonderful pictures you were kind enough to share with us! 
                                 HAPPY NEW YEAR!