So far I've cooked pizza, roast chicken and lamb. All rather satisfactory. I'm still learning how it works so here's how I am managing for now. Firstly the fuel: for now, mostly charcoal. Its available cheaply locally. Basically I light a number of small fires near the entrance, I spark up the charcoal and (occasionally) wood with kerosene. Once its good and going (i.e. charcoal has a grey ash over it) I sweep it inside the oven. Same if its wood. Normally about 3-4 of these fires is enough to heat it up. Occasionally an additional fire is needed later on.
1. When the insulation layer or main layer is still damp, the oven loses much of its heat to the water, which evaporates. Hence, early firings are not good for cooking.
2. The principle of the oven is to store heat in the 6 inches or more of sand and mud mix to radiate back down into the cavity to roast. So far, this has not worked for me. For my cooking, basically I sweep the coals and wood to the back and sides of the oven, and place the baking tray in the middle of this. Once its totally dry I might get a stored heat effect.
3. Using the door tends to limit oxygen into the oven, so can actually cool it rather than keep it hot with the air going in.
4. Do not light fires in the oven, especially if you are using kerosene! It will make the thing stink and stick to the inside of the oven. Includes: plastic or any other crap you may be thinking of burning. Light the fire outside, and sweep in.
5. Prep time: 2 hours for firing and getting your food in. Then sit by it and smell the smell of home mud roasting!
Pizzas: 5 mins, chicken: an hour and a half, lamb shanks about 2 hours.
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