Timo's Oven...Because I can!

06 Sep, 2009

First Pizza Party

General — Posted by timo @ 18:53

We had our first pizza party. The pizzas turned out very good. Everyone pretty much made their own pizzas. The dough was a bit wet and difficult to manage for most, so I did a lot of that. I don't think dough management is big with this group... Take it easy.

  This is the oven during fire-up stage. The soot and creosote builds up on the walls until the bricks reach about 700 degrees and then they go white and it all burns clean.

The oven is beginning to fire hotter now. I believe it is curing and the use of hard wood creates more heat. The chimney got hotter than ever before,, so too did the brick arches and the flue and, well, everything. It was a bit scary how this oven can behave.

Click the flaming picture to watch the video and see what these flames look like when they are churning away in the dome. For some reason most people mumble something about the flames...It's kinda scary sometimes.

Here's a focaccia with salt and rosemary on it. I sliced it and served it to the shower planning committee. It was gone very quickly. Everyone said it was good, and... I have to agree. It was pretty darn good. Plenty of oil and hot out of the oven. It was just nice to finally have a really good piece of bread come out of the oven.

As far as the other hearth loaves, let's just say I am still dialing in the art of artisan bread.

 

 So, I'll just keep trying. Usually the bread is better than what I will admit, but still not want I wanted. The dang oven was just too hot. The dough over proofed waiting for it to come down. Usually the temps fall quicker, but because of the heat soaking and curing, the oven just sat at 740 forever. It was amazing to swab the hearth with a soaked cloth and clean and steam it. Then the temp raced back up after the steam faded.

I'll toast them in the morning to see what they tatste like.

Another recipe that actually turned out were the stuffed mushrooms.

I thought I put enough oil in the pan, but the mushrooms soaked it all up,except for a little. I loved the taste of these so much I forgot to place some oil in a dish to dip the focaccia.

Not bad for the first pizza party though. There are no actual pictures of pizzas, though. I was manning the oven and not the camera, so...

Next time I will have to take pictures of the pizzas as they come out. The best ones were the ones that charred a bit. That meant the crust was crunchy and the char actually provides flavor.

That's all for now. I will take a break from the oven for a few weeks after tomorrow. Lot's of work prepping for the party...

 

 


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