Outdoor Oven: The Parker Family’s Adobe-Style Stucco Cupola

Step 1 of 8

A Bare Corner Becomes a Block Base

The oven went into an empty dirt corner past the pool, below a desert garden of agaves. A new paver patio went down first, then cinder block walls for the base, with two open bays left for firewood.

Step 2 of 8

Forming and Pouring the Hearth Slab

Wood forms and braces went across the block base, with side counter returns built into the same pour. A rebar grid went in on chairs, then the concrete was troweled in and left to cure in the forms.

Step 3 of 8

Laying the Firebrick Cooking Surface

Once the forms came off, the hearth had a recessed pad for insulation under the firebrick cooking surface. The firebrick cooking surface went down inside a brick frame, centered on the slab.

Step 4 of 8

Casting the Oven

With the firebrick cooking surface in, the Mattone Cupola foam form went onto the hearth, and the oven was cast in castable refractory right over it. Once it set, the Mattone Cupola foam form came out through the arched door, leaving a smooth inner ceiling and a square shell.

Step 5 of 8

Chimney and Insulation

A stainless chimney went on top, then the whole oven was wrapped in ceramic fiber blanket and wire mesh. That blanket is what keeps the heat inside the oven instead of soaking into the stucco.

Step 6 of 8

Stucco and Talavera Tile

A first coat of gray stucco went over the mesh, and a band of hand-painted Talavera tile went along the front of the hearth. Then came the first small fires to cure the oven.

Step 7 of 8

First Bakes at 976 Degrees

The infrared thermometer hit 976.9°F inside the oven. Pizza went in beside the fire, and a cast iron skillet followed once the pizzas were done.

Step 8 of 8

The Finished Adobe-Style Oven

The final coat of tan stucco gave the oven its adobe look, with a bronze sun medallion over the door. Firewood fills both bays below, and concrete side counters give room to work on either side.

BeforeFinished

Drag across the photo (or just move your mouse) to go from a bare dirt corner to the finished outdoor oven.

The Look

What Makes It an Adobe-Style Oven?

Traditional adobe ovens, called hornos, are built from sun-dried mud brick and plastered smooth. They have been baking bread across the Southwest for centuries. You can read more about that shape in our beehive oven build story.

The Parker family got the same look a different way. Their oven is castable refractory, wrapped in ceramic fiber blanket and finished in tan stucco with soft, rounded corners. The Talavera tile and the sun medallion finish the Southwestern style.

Good Questions

Outdoor Oven FAQ

What is an outdoor oven?

An outdoor oven is a wood-burning masonry oven built outside, usually on a stand or base with a hearth in front. The thick walls soak up heat from the fire and bake pizza, bread and anything else you put inside. The Parker family's outdoor oven is a 28" Mattone Cupola finished in stucco.

How hot does an outdoor oven get?

Hot enough for fast pizza. The Parker family's infrared thermometer read 976.9°F inside their oven. A well-insulated 28-inch Mattone Cupola bakes faster than the size of its firebrick cooking surface suggests, because castable refractory holds heat and the ceiling is low.

What is an adobe oven?

An adobe oven, or horno, is a rounded oven built from sun-dried mud brick and plastered smooth. It is a traditional Southwestern oven for baking bread. The Parker family's oven gets the adobe look from tan stucco over a castable refractory oven.

Can you cook more than pizza in an outdoor oven?

Yes. The Parker family cooked in a cast iron skillet right beside the fire after the pizzas came out. Once the fire dies down, the stored heat is great for bread, roasts and vegetables.

Do you need to insulate an outdoor oven?

Yes. Ceramic fiber blanket goes over the oven before the stucco, like the Parker family did. Without it, the heat soaks into the outer shell instead of staying inside to cook.

How long do you cure a new outdoor oven?

Plan on about a week of small, gradually bigger fires to drive the moisture out. Skip it and the oven can crack. See our pizza oven curing guide for the full schedule.