Sunday, December 26, 2010

Making 3 Pizzas in the Wood Fired Oven

Christmas Dinner in a Wood Fired Oven

Bread in the wood fired oven, Christmas 2010.





Roasting beef bones for stock. Christmas 2010




Christmas Dinner 2010

NY Strip Roast cooked in WF Oven, Christmas 2010

Bread shot showing crumb. Christmas dinner 2010.

I work so hard to create those air holes.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Oven building this week

Last weekend, we painted three oven frames. The frames are scubbed with a detergent to remove any oil from the manufacturing process, then coated with Red Oxide Rustoleum Primer and then painted with Rustoleum Flat Black Enamel. A foam roller is used to apply the Rustoleum, except in the nooks and crannies where a small spray can is used.


We then proceeded to build 3 ovens.

Oven 1 is complete except for the final scrub, where we apply apple cider vinegar to the bricks, scrub lightly, and then hose it off. This removes any of the cloudy grout film that may be on the bricks.


Oven 2 is complete except for removal of the protective plastic and the final scrub, where we apply apple cider vinegar to the bricks, scrub lightly, and then hose it off. This will be done after we are sure the grout is dry.


Oven 3 has not been grouted yet. We like to wait overnight, so that the bricks have been stuck to the oven for a period before we grout.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Outdoor Oven Journal



It was late, so I didn't get a chance after dinner to post the results of yesterdays cooking. Here are some pictures:


Pizza coming out of the oven


Pizza ready to eat


Softer Sandwich Loaf



  




Sunday, November 28, 2010

Outdoor Oven Journal

In this journal, I will be sharing my experiences as I attempt to prefect the outdoor oven, and apply it to everyday cooking. Today, I will be doing several things:

  1. Gathering temperature vs time data for my oven
  2. Baking pizza
  3. Baking focaccia
  4. Baking a softer loaf of sandwich bread
Recipes are as follows:

Pizza and Focaccia Dough

4.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp yeast
1.75 tsp salt
2 cups water

Add all of the flour, yeast, and salt to the KitchenAid mixer. Mix for 1 minute with the dough hook on lowest speed. Add water all at once and allow to mix and knead until the dough is smooth. Do not worry about the dough until it has kneaded at least 5 minutes. It will eventually clean the bowl and become soft and smooth.
Put the dough into a bowl with a damp towel over it and allow to rise at room temperature for about 4 hours. In my case, room temperature is approximately 68 degrees today. I made 2 batches of pizza and focaccia dough today.

Soft Sandwich Bread Dough

4.5 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp yeast
1.75 tsp salt
2 cups half and half
2 tbl honey

Add all of the flour, yeast, and salt to the KitchenAid mixer. Mix for 1 minute with the dough hook on lowest speed. Add half and half and honey all at once and allow to mix and knead until the dough is smooth. Do not worry about the dough until it has kneaded at least 5 minutes. It will eventually clean the bowl and become soft and smooth.
Put the dough into a bowl with a damp towel over it and allow to rise at room temperature for about 4 hours. In my case, room temperature is approximately 68 degrees today.