The oven has been in service for about 8 years. Click on image for an enlarged view. Bread is the starting point . The starting point for oven building should be the bread. Alan advocates a switch to a more appropriately scaled economy and lifestyle, and his oven designs and his bread reflect this.
Pizza ovens use a continuous fire in the oven during the baking.
This same style of oven is used for middle eastern food such as pita, matzoh, etc. Bagels are also done this way. Using this type of oven is labor intensive and requires a lot of skill. Storage capacity is not really required in this type of oven, and castable refractory is an appropriate material. The breadbaking revival .