brick oven: part 4

Back in June of 2011, it stopped raining just long enough one weekend for me to a) take a photo (one which, I think, shows how Dalek-like Peter's design turned out to be) and b) to get things fired up in there. You know, to actually use the thing.

Once again, Russell Jeavons displays a somewhat laid back approach to explaining how to fire up the beast, but we knew to expect that now, knew that it's all about learning how to use your particular oven, and, as such, there's no precise map to follow. So. Make a HUGE fire, get it burning fiercely and tend it for a good 2 hours or so before you want to cook. Longer is better in ours, but maybe not yours. It's one of those touchy-feely things. You'll need to shift it around a bit at that time, to make room for the food, raking out some coals occasionally. It'll take at least 2 barrows-ful of various kinds and sizes of wood. 

Peter took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to grasp that the fire needs to fill the thing. He kept leaving space to cook in, building small fires when, in fact, what is needed is a scary roaring fire (contained by the dome, of course). He is good at making that kind of fire, so once he was ready to listen to me reading out Jeavons' suggested scale, he decided to follow the rules.

I'm glad he finally did.   

Anyway, that was back in June. We made attempts from time to time to get out there and cook in it, but our timings were off, the rain kept pouring all damn year really, and the food coming out of it was, at best, lukewarm. We decided to wait until it was warm, sunny and dry. 

With family from Auckland here for New Year, our timing and the weather were, for once, just right. We got to work, a practice run of sorts, on the 29th of December.

Ta-daaa. First pizza!

(You'll have to excuse the exposure in the photo - too hot to get my lightmeter in there)

(Also, kale, sliced into shreds, arranged on top of your fridge-cleaning pizza then drizzled with olive oil before going in for a 5-7 minute blast is, I think, even better than kale made into chips. Just saying.)       

Pleased with ourselves? Hell yess.

New Year's Eve, Peter got his hat, workboots and kilt out and, despite the 40 degree heat, he had a ball firing it all up. A roaring (literally, considering the singed hairs on his arms) success, I'd say.

Happiness, in our camp, abounds.

The pizza dough I use is a Nigel Slater recipe, one I know by heart and the truly great thing about it is that it doubles as a flatbread recipe, so you'll only ever need this one set of measurements. Of course you can do it by hand, but there's something nice about knowing that the machine does a very fine job indeed. Makes 6 small flatbreads, 2 larger ones or 2 good-sized pizzas.     

Sift 500g (1lb & 2oz) of strong bread flour into the bowl of a standing mixer. Fit the machine with a dough hook. Add 1/2 a teaspooon of salt and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Dissolve 2 level teaspoons of active dried yeast in 300ml of blood-temperature water, add to mixer bowl and turn the machine on low. Stand back and let it do it's thing for about 5 minutes or so, give it a quick knead and then pop it back into the bowl. Dust generously with flour and leave to rise, covered, somewhere warm for an hour. Worry not if it's not balloned in that time; forge ahead regardless. Shape, pop on a flour-dusted baking tray and decorate as you like. In a domestic oven I preheat the oven to 220C and keep an eagle eye on things after 10 minutes, but about 20 minutes is how long things will take all up. In the brick oven? No idea what the temperature it gets to actually is - farking hot isn't precise enough, but that's what it is - and will take considerably less time to reach true perfection. If you've a pizza stone in either case, heat it up while the oven comes to temperature.              

Comments

[Tanna]

You are so lucky! That has got to be so much fun.

[Limner]

That looks so life-altering. I mean, I'd feel so good using that . . . I'd have to . . . I don't know what I'd do right at this moment, but what ever I did would be big. :) Very nice. Great job!

[Elaine]

The weather outside is frightfully cold (minus 2 degrees Celsius), more snow is in the forecast, & I'm shivering here at work despite wearing three layers, the outermost being merino wool. So...you can probably imagine how close I got to the words and images in this post. A brick oven, HUGE fire, coals, pizza, 40 degrees C, and a man in a kilt (oops, sorry). Anyway, I'm much warmer now.

To be honest, I'd never seen a brick outdoor oven until yours, but I can't imagine a lovelier one. YESS! You should be pleased.

[Denise]

You two deserve to be pleased with yourselves -- bravo!

[sophie munns]

Hello from the Pineapple State my southern friend!

Impressive or what.
The kilt
the 40 degree day
the pizza with the works...

all that HARD work has certainly paid off ... its a beauty.
S
ps think I'll tweet this one!

[tea_austen]

Congratulations! I would definitely be pleased with myself.
Instead I'm just a touch jealous:-)
But SO delighted for you.

Happy baking!

[Jessica]

WHOAHHH!

[alison]

boys in skirts, tending glede...now that's a thing of beauty.

i think this sort of rustic pizza is the only sort worth troubling oneself over.
so here is another recipe for you and your oven...

Al Forno and Johanne Killeen's Grilled Pizza

Recipe From Cucina Simpatica, By Johanne Killeen & George Germon Harper Collins, 1991

Prep Time:
3 hr 10 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
1 hr 30 min
Level:
--
Serves:
12 servings
Ingredients
For the Dough:
• 1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• Pinch sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 cup johnnycake meal or fine-ground white cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
•
Topping:
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 3 cups shredded Fontina cheese
• 4 1/2 cups chopped canned tomatoes in heavy puree
• 3/4 cup chopped Italian flat-leafed parsley
• Chiffonade of basil for garnish
Directions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar. After 5 minutes stir in the salt, johnnycake meal, whole-wheat flour, and oil. Gradually add the white flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until a stiff dough has formed. Place the dough on a floured board, and knead it for several minutes, adding only enough additional flour to keep the dough from sticking. When the dough is smooth and shiny, transfer it to a bowl that has been brushed with olive oil. To prevent a skin from forming, brush the top of the dough with additional olive oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place, away from drafts, until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Punch down the dough and knead once more. Let the dough rise again for about 40 minutes. Punch down the dough. If it is sticky, knead in a bit more flour.

Divide into four balls. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for about 45 minutes. While the dough is rising, prepare a hot charcoal fire, setting the grill rack 3 to 4 inches above the coals and set out topping ingredients. Place dough on a large inverted cookie sheet brushed with 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Turn the dough over to coat it with oil. With your hands, spread and flatten the pizza dough into a 10 to 12-inch free form circle, 1/8-inch thick. If you find the dough shrinking back into itself, allow the dough to rest for a few minutes, then continue to spread and flatten the dough. Do not make a lip, you may end up with a rectangle rather than a circle; the shape is unimportant. Take care not to stretch the dough so thin that small holes appear. If this happens, all is not lost. Rather then try to repair them, avoid them when adding toppings and drizzling with olive oil.

When the fire is hot, use your fingertips to lift the dough gently by the two corners closest to you, and drape it onto the grill. Catch the loose edge on the grill first and guide the remaining dough into place over the fire. Within a minute, the dough will puff slightly, the underside will stiffen, and grill marks will appear.

Using tongs, immediately flip the crust over onto the coolest part of the grill. Quickly brush the grilled surface with 2 teaspoons of virgin olive oil. Spread 1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, 1/4 cup Fontina cheese over the entire surface of the pizza. Dollop with 6 tablespoons of the tomatoes and top with 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Drizzle the entire pizza with virgin olive oil.

After the toppings have been added, slide the pizza back toward the hot coals so about half of the pizza is directly over the heat. Rotate the pizza frequently so that different sections receive high heat checking the underside by lifting the edge with tongs to be sure it is not burning. The pizza is done when the top is bubbling and the cheese has melted. Garnish with basil and serve immediately. Continue stretching the dough balls and grilling pizzas using the above topping ingredients.

[Alida]

Wow this pizza must have been amazing! I wish I had an oven like that. I like your blog. Beautiful pics as well!

[Juice]

Way to go!!! You are my hero.