Timo's Oven...Because I can!

Just About Final Look

General — Posted by timo @ 14:28

This is just about the final look of the oven. I might wash the dome in a darker shade, but I have always loved orange, and right now it's in season.

It is more waterproof now, but not entirely. I still have lots of wood in the storage area below and want to keep that dry. The walls have a washed orangey-brown, mottled look to them and a texture that's both smooth and rough. I like it a lot.

 

Hard to believe it's been over 6 months since I started this project. I broke ground on May 2nd, and just hammered on it really hard. Now the real fun begins with all of the great breads and pizzas to be making in it. I haven't had the chance to make much of anything lately, but I believe next week I will be making some pizzas and bread. I have the makings for some multi-grain breads and I want to make a rye lavash.

 

Here's a picture of the very beginning.

All I can say is...wow! What a big difference.

By the way, I went to the doctor and looked at the scale and it looks like now that I am done with the heavy lifting, I better start running again.

Next week is the Bears game, but it doesn't start until 7:30pm, so maybe I'll have some neighborhood people over before the game for pizzas. We'll see...

PS. Here's a nice picture of Alex and Tate on the trails at Starved Rock.

 


How to Stretch a Dough Ball...

General — Posted by timo @ 03:37

Here's a post about shaping pizza dough. I am including a couple videos so guests can get an idea on how to stretching their dough, without adding dirt to it.

 

The first one is from Tony Gemignani. Remember, in this situation gas is your friend :)

 

Here's one a bit tamer.

Here's the Visa Pizza commercial. This guy is crazy good. Remember, you don't have to be this good to make a great tasting pizza with a brick oven and some decent ingredients.

If you want to have some fun, you can play the Visa Pizza Tossing commercial music, Mambo Italiano! The song is 3 minutes long, about how long it takes to bake your pizza in the brick oven.

 

Download song Here.



Bread and Pizza

General — Posted by timo @ 07:03

Here's some pictures of the loaves of left over pizza dough from this weekend's neighborhood pizza party.

The light colored ones are the left over pizza dough. The other ones are 5 grain loaves. They turned out really nice. Nice flavor and texture.

I mixed about 30#'s of dough in the Kitchen Aid mixer. It lost a bolt and the main locking pin almost fell out, too. I won't be mixing that much dough again for a while.

I don't have any pictures of the pizzas, but all had a great time, well, except for Mr. Klein. Gary, please don't sue me.  I hate that wooden deck and the sooner it's gone the better. A concrete patio is much  better.

 

I am going to try and freeze some of the loaves, too.


Mini-Loaves, or Buns?

General — Posted by timo @ 15:01

Not too sure what to call these just yet. I have a sourdough, a sourdough rye, and a sourdough-rye/wheat combination. I learned that the oven has to be heated enough to soak the firebricks well, so when the flame is gone the retained heat will do the baking. I was very close with these, but the temp should have stayed 100 degrees higher for longer.

I have a bunch and sent some home with Dennis and Nancy. The sourdough flavor is just right: You can taste it, but not overly powerful. The rye flour is good, but the wheat/rye loaves have the most flavor. A nutty, slightly bitter flavor with a nice crunchy crust on the bottom.

The steam released after ten minutes was tremendous, so I think I have learned a bit about how wet to make the dough.

 

Here's one more:



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