Pizza Oven Thread
Discussion
giblet said:
I live in Leeds so not too far. What bakery have you been getting your dough from?
The showroom is in Wentworth, very helpful chap who's got about 20+ on display ranging from the bottom of the range steel one I have to huge brick built things that take half a day to charge up. http://www.creativeoutdoorliving.co.uk/
Costco also had a similar model at the time, but it looked like it had been specially made for them and wasn't quite the same. They said they price match whenever possible so he did me a bit of a deal, throwing in the paddle/brush etc.
The bakery in Leeds is a little back street industrial unit near Cross Green run by some Eastern European "Italians", email address as below:
doughtodough@hotmail.com
They texted me back with a time to collect and I dropped £6 for 48 dough balls I think it was and away we went.
grahamr88 said:
Luke. said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Luke. said:
Bought a Ferrari g3 about a year ago and use it the whole time. Cheap as chips too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferrari-G10006-Delizia-Pi...
It can't be that simple can it?!https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferrari-G10006-Delizia-Pi...
I used to have a balanced diet, but I realise now that the only thing between me and total pizza addiction was the availability of top quality fresh pizza.
The Ferrari G3 removed that barrier, and using dough from the fridge I can now have a perfect, subtly charred, bubbling pizza inside 20 minutes.
There's a lot to be said for wood fired pizza ovens that take 3 hours to warm up. I urge caution.
I might just have to order one of these to try.
As for dough, I didn't even know you could buy ready made stuff! Is it in supermarkets?? We use the following;
200g of hard flour
20g of semolina flour
Drop of olive oil
Bit of salt
One pack of dry yeast
Bing all that in the kitchenaid and add warm water until the dough collects in a ball around the dough hook. Cover with cling film for an hour and you're ready to go.
Tony Angelino said:
Recipies welcome if anybody has got it sussed.
400g Tipo100g semolina
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
Glug of olive oil
1 x 7g sachet of dried yeast
350ish ml warm water
Put the sugar and yeast in the warm water, stir and leave it for 10 minutes.
Mix the wet into the dry.
Knead for 5 minutes.
Prove in an oiled bowl with clingy over the top for an hour or until it's doubled in size, knock back, then prove again. Portion up, and use or freeze.
Fair enough, it takes two and a half hours, but for 2 hours of that you're sitting on your arse watching the telly.
We've got a pizza oven. We use seasoned hardwood and it does take around 1.5 - 2 hours to get up to temperature, but then will stay there with one log every 30-40 minutes for as long as you want. fits in 2 - 3 pizzas, cooks them in 2 minutes. It's important to get the right type of wood that produces lots of flames. This ensures that the top and bottom cook at the same rate.
Caution: hot
Worth building an area around the oven to allow quick prep before cooking:
We use it most weekends. As others have said - once you've finished with the pizza you can chuck a chicken in, or a whole sirloin, and it roasts to perfection. Also great for cooking bread. We have a local bakery that makes great pizza dough and at 40p per kilo I don't say no! If we had a breadmaker we'd perhaps start making our own - but it is hard to source decent flour in these parts.
We've found pizzas work best with minimal toppings. Goats cheese and honey being a current favourite of mine! It is interesting to note that simple pizzas with great quality ingredients are so enjoyable. When I used to eat pizza out I'd choose a pizza with 4-6 ingredients but at home a simple margherita is sublime.
Caution: hot
Worth building an area around the oven to allow quick prep before cooking:
We use it most weekends. As others have said - once you've finished with the pizza you can chuck a chicken in, or a whole sirloin, and it roasts to perfection. Also great for cooking bread. We have a local bakery that makes great pizza dough and at 40p per kilo I don't say no! If we had a breadmaker we'd perhaps start making our own - but it is hard to source decent flour in these parts.
We've found pizzas work best with minimal toppings. Goats cheese and honey being a current favourite of mine! It is interesting to note that simple pizzas with great quality ingredients are so enjoyable. When I used to eat pizza out I'd choose a pizza with 4-6 ingredients but at home a simple margherita is sublime.
Kermit power said:
I'm staggered at the number of people on here who seem willing to spend a load of cash on a pizza oven but then shy away from the incredibly simple process of making their own dough!
There are few things easier to make in a kitchen than pizza dough, so why on earth would you buy it in?
Made a batch of dough for my first foray into pizza making. Was quite successfull and rose nicely. Last four times I have used the same method (dried yeast well in date) and not a rise in sight! I googled the problem and it seems quite a common problem. The fact that you can buy perfectly good dough takes a process out that may fail. Why be arsed with making your own when it can be bought? I get the idea that home made is best but much of my time has been wasted to date and when it takes 3 hours to get a pizza oven to 390 degrees, you need to know that the pizza will be worth it, no?There are few things easier to make in a kitchen than pizza dough, so why on earth would you buy it in?
Luke. said:
Bought a Ferrari g3 about a year ago and use it the whole time. Cheap as chips too.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferrari-G10006-Delizia-Pi...
That looks good - I might be tempted to buy one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferrari-G10006-Delizia-Pi...
nadger said:
I have, it's fantastic! If I were you I'd go for the uuni2s though, with the new stone base rather than the aluminum one I've got. The aluminum is fine, but I do think the stone would be slightly better!
Have you tried any naan bread or tandoori type stuff? Seems like this would be a good all in one solution for both pizzas and the tandoor I've always wantedPizza Dough tips (surely making the dough is half the fun?)
Traditionally, no sugar. It's a cheat, and it's an acceptable cheat as it feeds the yeast and speeds the process up, but not traditional and it will alter the taste. If you're not short of time, leave out the sugar and let the flour do the feeding. In fact, I've done 1-2 hour proves with no sugar and it still works.
Salt, a pinch at most. Any recipe which calls for 1 tsp or more is lying. Remember, salt kills yeast, so don't dump the salt directly onto the yeast... sprinkle and mix.
If you have time, I prefer the taste of 1g of yeast and a 24 hour rise in the fridge. It's no more work, just planning ahead. A full 7g sachet and a quick rise is fine, but tastes more bready/beery. A longer rise with less yeast tastes... fresher?
Semolina flour is debatable. Just a strong white bread flour, high gluten, is all you need. Tipo, Semolina is personal preference if you have it.
Use tepid water. Cold water will give you sleepy yeast, too warm will give you dead yeast. Just slightly above body temp is fine.
For longer proves, an oiled bowl and cling-film cover is essential. If you just throw a tea-towel over the bowl like you might for a bread, you'll get a crust/skin on the dough where it's exposed to the air.
The biggest secret of all is kneading. 5 mins is not enough. 5 mins in a mixer with a dough-hook maybe, but 5 mins by hand is just getting started. I'd say more like 15. Or maybe I'm just not good at it? Anyway, you're looking for a texture you can stretch out to almost transparent ( the windowpane test) without holes appearing or stringyness. If you can't do that, keep kneading. Stretchy dough will rise in the oven and give those lovely blistered edges. Dough that is tight and can't stretch won't rise.
Next tip, don't make the dough too dry. Again, wet dough loves to rise in the oven. Dry dough is dense and chewy. Wet dough is a pain in the ass to work with, but you want it as wet as possible without becoming glue. There's a big range between too dry to stick together and too wet to handle. You definitely want to be up towards too wet to handle without quite getting there. You can always add a bit more flour if you go too far.
If you don't have a pizza oven, you can still make great pizza in the kitchen. I turn it up to 250C and preheat for ages. Put two wire shelves at the highest height you can, and put a pizza stone on each shelf. Cook on the bottom one, but having the extra one on top gives you that all-important consistent, radiant top heat. Some people use the grill instead of a top stone, but I don't like that personally. I'm sure it works with a bit of fine-tuning, but an extra pizza stone is so consistent and easy. Use a cheap IR thermometer to see when the stones are as hot as they're going to get (Or a Flir thermal camera... this is PH after all!)
Traditionally, no sugar. It's a cheat, and it's an acceptable cheat as it feeds the yeast and speeds the process up, but not traditional and it will alter the taste. If you're not short of time, leave out the sugar and let the flour do the feeding. In fact, I've done 1-2 hour proves with no sugar and it still works.
Salt, a pinch at most. Any recipe which calls for 1 tsp or more is lying. Remember, salt kills yeast, so don't dump the salt directly onto the yeast... sprinkle and mix.
If you have time, I prefer the taste of 1g of yeast and a 24 hour rise in the fridge. It's no more work, just planning ahead. A full 7g sachet and a quick rise is fine, but tastes more bready/beery. A longer rise with less yeast tastes... fresher?
Semolina flour is debatable. Just a strong white bread flour, high gluten, is all you need. Tipo, Semolina is personal preference if you have it.
Use tepid water. Cold water will give you sleepy yeast, too warm will give you dead yeast. Just slightly above body temp is fine.
For longer proves, an oiled bowl and cling-film cover is essential. If you just throw a tea-towel over the bowl like you might for a bread, you'll get a crust/skin on the dough where it's exposed to the air.
The biggest secret of all is kneading. 5 mins is not enough. 5 mins in a mixer with a dough-hook maybe, but 5 mins by hand is just getting started. I'd say more like 15. Or maybe I'm just not good at it? Anyway, you're looking for a texture you can stretch out to almost transparent ( the windowpane test) without holes appearing or stringyness. If you can't do that, keep kneading. Stretchy dough will rise in the oven and give those lovely blistered edges. Dough that is tight and can't stretch won't rise.
Next tip, don't make the dough too dry. Again, wet dough loves to rise in the oven. Dry dough is dense and chewy. Wet dough is a pain in the ass to work with, but you want it as wet as possible without becoming glue. There's a big range between too dry to stick together and too wet to handle. You definitely want to be up towards too wet to handle without quite getting there. You can always add a bit more flour if you go too far.
If you don't have a pizza oven, you can still make great pizza in the kitchen. I turn it up to 250C and preheat for ages. Put two wire shelves at the highest height you can, and put a pizza stone on each shelf. Cook on the bottom one, but having the extra one on top gives you that all-important consistent, radiant top heat. Some people use the grill instead of a top stone, but I don't like that personally. I'm sure it works with a bit of fine-tuning, but an extra pizza stone is so consistent and easy. Use a cheap IR thermometer to see when the stones are as hot as they're going to get (Or a Flir thermal camera... this is PH after all!)
Sauce:
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id...
Must be this brand, must be the rustica (rough, lumpy, but still sieved). I mean, I'm sure other brands are ok, but you can't go wrong with this one. Plenty other pasattas or tinned tomatoes are flavourless.
In a wide pan, heat through with a little olive oil, and garlic if you wish. Don't boil it to death, just simmer for a few mins until hot through.
Optionally, simmer for 20 mins to reduce it down to a thicker sauce, and add a tsp of dried oregano or basil. Flavour will intensify, you get a deeper colour, a more American style sauce, but if you leave it loose and thin and just warmed through you get a lovely sweet Italian style.
What could be easier than that?
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id...
Must be this brand, must be the rustica (rough, lumpy, but still sieved). I mean, I'm sure other brands are ok, but you can't go wrong with this one. Plenty other pasattas or tinned tomatoes are flavourless.
In a wide pan, heat through with a little olive oil, and garlic if you wish. Don't boil it to death, just simmer for a few mins until hot through.
Optionally, simmer for 20 mins to reduce it down to a thicker sauce, and add a tsp of dried oregano or basil. Flavour will intensify, you get a deeper colour, a more American style sauce, but if you leave it loose and thin and just warmed through you get a lovely sweet Italian style.
What could be easier than that?
Edited by TartanPaint on Wednesday 18th May 09:31
Tony Angelino said:
The showroom is in Wentworth, very helpful chap who's got about 20+ on display ranging from the bottom of the range steel one I have to huge brick built things that take half a day to charge up.
http://www.creativeoutdoorliving.co.uk/
Costco also had a similar model at the time, but it looked like it had been specially made for them and wasn't quite the same. They said they price match whenever possible so he did me a bit of a deal, throwing in the paddle/brush etc.
The bakery in Leeds is a little back street industrial unit near Cross Green run by some Eastern European "Italians", email address as below:
doughtodough@hotmail.com
They texted me back with a time to collect and I dropped £6 for 48 dough balls I think it was and away we went.
Cheers. I'll add that store to the list of places to check out. http://www.creativeoutdoorliving.co.uk/
Costco also had a similar model at the time, but it looked like it had been specially made for them and wasn't quite the same. They said they price match whenever possible so he did me a bit of a deal, throwing in the paddle/brush etc.
The bakery in Leeds is a little back street industrial unit near Cross Green run by some Eastern European "Italians", email address as below:
doughtodough@hotmail.com
They texted me back with a time to collect and I dropped £6 for 48 dough balls I think it was and away we went.
I've used this recipe for dough before quite a while back and it worked well. Used a tin of san marzanos blitzed up with a bit of seasoning for the sauce and fresh mozzarella. Tasted spot on to me, despite being made in the oven with a pizza stone. Not quite as good as the stuff I usually eat from Ecco Pizzeria in Leeds or Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims when I'm down in London but still not a bad effort.
Tony Angelino said:
The showroom is in Wentworth, very helpful chap who's got about 20+ on display ranging from the bottom of the range steel one I have to huge brick built things that take half a day to charge up.
http://www.creativeoutdoorliving.co.uk/
Im in the market for a proper stone dome pizza oven in a month or two so I just dropped them an email, thanks for that http://www.creativeoutdoorliving.co.uk/
rsbmw said:
nadger said:
I have, it's fantastic! If I were you I'd go for the uuni2s though, with the new stone base rather than the aluminum one I've got. The aluminum is fine, but I do think the stone would be slightly better!
Have you tried any naan bread or tandoori type stuff? Seems like this would be a good all in one solution for both pizzas and the tandoor I've always wantedhttp://orchardwoodovens.co.uk/
http://netwisesolutions.com/cases/orchard/
They are not the cheapest but I already knew the owner.
http://netwisesolutions.com/cases/orchard/
They are not the cheapest but I already knew the owner.
|http://thumbsnap.com/b8BOJpk5[/url][url]
|http://thumbsnap.com/dkM1XpSO[/url]
Has anyone tried one of these and for those who are experienced with more traditional methods, are there any obvious disadvantages of this model?
I like the idea of something portable and easy to get going. The gas option would come in handy.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/roccbox-the-por...
I like the idea of something portable and easy to get going. The gas option would come in handy.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/roccbox-the-por...
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