Wood-fired brick ovens and pizza have been with us since the dawn of civilization. Both have been discovered in the excavations of virtually every ancient civilization, with the brick oven reaching its modern form in ancient Rome. The brick ovens uncovered in ancient Pompeii and Naples are in wonderful shape, and could start baking today with only minor renovations -- the Pompeii Oven is named in their honor. When you have a minute, take a look at our ancient Pompeii Oven Photographs.
In modern Italy, the basic Pompeii Oven design is used to build the brick ovens you see in pizzerias and private homes and gardens. The oven is great for cooking pizza, roasts, focaccia and bread. It heats up quickly and is efficient at holding the high heats required for cooking the perfect three-minute pizza. The Pompeii Oven is also very efficient with wood fuel and at holding heat. If you are interesting in reading more about the theory behind the Pompeii Oven design, read our Why Round page.
There are literally millions of round wood-fired ovens in Italy, putting you in very good company should you decide to build a Pompeii Oven at your home. The brick oven is as common in Italy as the BBQ, and our goal is to bring these great ovens into the American and British mainstream. Today, thousands of Pompeii Ovens have been built in America, Britain, Mexico, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, the Philippines, France, Sweden, the Virgin Islands, and Thailand -- and more Pompeii Ovens are being built every day.
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