I asked Karl to fire up a Round Boy Oven so we can show you some pictures of the oven being used. I also asked him for some tips or tricks he could offer on using the oven. Karl gave me three tips as he told me "There is nothing to making pizza in the oven. It is simple.". Tip # 1 get the oven roof to white hot. Tip # 2 Keep the fire to one side so you can turn the pizza to cook evenly. Tip # 3 Lift the pizza with the peel as if to check the underneath to see if it is done, if the pizza bends in the center it needs more time. When it is done it will be crisp and it will not bend in the center.
Well it is easy! Here are the pictures of the oven baking pizza.
This 4th of July the party at my house was my kid's party! As I looked out across my yard at these adults that I watched grow I thought about how independent they are! My son a C.P.A. and my daughter graduating next year from college and already doing her internship. Frank, my son's friend since playschool, working in accounting, living in Philadelphia. He has a really sweet girlfriend and I must say I am proud of him! Ray is on his way to Law School already has a degree in accounting. He also is living in Philadelphia! I am proud of him! Andy working towards becoming a doctor, Wey working in computers! I am proud of all of them! I am so thankful that after growing up and becoming" Independent " my children still like to hang out with Karl and I! They like to bring their friends over and hang out with my friends! This is a great time for Karl and I, we do not have as much responsibility towards our kids. They have become are friends and we really do enjoy them! I like how "Independent" they are! I like having them around! The day after the Party I noticed someone wrote on my blackboard "Karl and his family Rock". I laughed and thought no! You kids rock and you can come here anytime and hang out! You are probably wondering what this has to do with a Brick Oven? The party of course was around the oven. We served 20 Pizzas and the oven was the main attraction! We had Lillian, Franks mom, baking pies! George had a shift at the oven! Joe, of course always eager to help me with the pizza! The Fireworks were awesome thanks to Frankie and K.C. I want to thank Craftmetal for making a pizza prep counter for me! I really like the insulated well for my toppings! I love being able to make pizza in the barn next to the oven!
Finally some summer weather! Friday night and a new wood fired recipe book from K.C. for my birthday last month will make a great night along with the weather. The book is by Andrea Mugnaini and is called The Art Of Wood Fired Cooking. Tonight we are using her dough recipe and a recipe for sausage vegetable calzone. The book gives some good tips on how to manage your fire when making different foods. There are different methods for grilling, baking bread or baking pizza. For the calzone we placed the fire to one side and put the calzone opposite to the fire and towards the front of the oven. We kept the temperature high at around 700*F. As the floor gets hotter the flames get larger. The dome should be void of any black spots and the flame should be rolling to mid point of the dome. This is explained in more detail in the book and you are given details for cooking all the recipes in the book. This worked very well for us and the calzone was done in about five minutes! Cooking with wood is so fast! The dough recipe was a little different from doughs I have made. It uses active dry yeast you mixed with warm water (110* to 115*F) for 5 minutes to activate. I usually use instant or bread machine yeast. The recipe can be altered to make in 3 hours,24hours or 48 hours. I used 24 hour dough as I like the flavor of cold fermentation dough. It was more bread like then the thin crust we are used to and had a great flavor. I wish I could find a store that sells 00 flour as the recipe calls for it has a 10.5 percent protein and is ground very fine. I used bread flour and it was good. The sausage and vegetable calzone was easier then making pizza and I liked that everything was prepared on Thursday to bake on Friday night after work! I will share the vegetable sausage calzone recipe with you and you can try it with your own dough.
Sausage and Vegetable Calzone from The Art Of Wood Fired Cooking
1/4 c chopped roasted sweet red bell pepper 1/4 c sauteed spinach, drained well 1/4 pound spicy Italian sausage sauteed and cooled to room temperature 1/3 c fresh ricotta 1/2 c diced fresh mozzarella 1/4 c shredded fontina 1 T grated pecorino 1 teas fresh oregano leaves 1 8 to 10 oz. pizza dough
Combine all ingredients except dough in a bowl and mix well. Mound mixture onto one half of stretched dough. Fold other half over and pinch to seal. Place in oven towards the front and bake about 5 min until puffed and stiffened. Pull forward and pierce with a sharp knife to release steam and brush with olive oil. Return to oven and bake 2 to 3 minutes more. Enjoy!
There are so many tips in this book. I learned why it is best to hand press the dough and not use a rolling pin. The rolling pin presses out the air and makes the crust dense. Hand rolled dough is light and tender and also cooks faster. The recipes are for everything from seafood to peach crisp. I can't wait to make a Thanksgiving turkey and I am going to follow the suggestion to try it out this summer before the holiday! Karl liked the chapter on making the right fire for the food you are making. I will share more as I make the recipes. If you have a Round Boy Oven I suggest you try this book and learn more delicious ways to enjoy cooking with fire!
