Sunday, August 25, 2013
I am getting better...
...at getting the oven fired up! Tonight I cooked five pizzas in the oven. And each one was different and of course all of them delicious. And I am getting pretty good at making the dough too. Whenever time allows I do the 24 hour dough (recipe below)--- letting it rise in the refrigerator, removing it and forming the individual balls a few hours before fixing 'em up. Tonight the oven got totally saturated with heat--- the walls were cleaned, not a soot to be found. The floor was about 700 plus degrees and the walls 890 degrees. The pizza cooked so fast I had to keep my eyes peeled, one look away and a crust got burnt. And everything was homemade and home-grown tonight--- the basil, the tomatoes, just yummy. Right now the oven is cooling and I am roasting a pan of beets. I love beets, I will sort of pickle these--- in a vinaigrette of chopped onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and a hint of smokiness too.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Did I mention...
...that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did an article on backyard wood fire ovens? Check it out here "Build a pizza oven in the backyard."
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Welcome to my pizza oven blog!
Hello:
Are you here because of the article in the Post-Gazette? If so welcome! A lot of information gets buried in this format of blogging. So be sure to go back some of the older posts, it will give you more of an idea of my pizza journey. And if you decide you would like to try and build an earth oven in your backyard, please get informed by reading books and blogs and most of all be patient.
Here's my dough recipe:
Pierina's 24- hour Pizza Dough
4 cups of Pizzeria Caputo Tipo "00" source: Penn Mac
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
4 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or kosher)
1 1/3 cup of warm water
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl--- then take out one cup of mixture, set aside.
Start mixer on lowest speed and slowly add the water till mixture become a wet and looks like a stiff matter, about two minutes. Stop! Let the dough sit for 20 minutes, this process is called autolyse--- allowing the flour to absorb the liquid and get the gluten strands to develop.
Then after the "rest" start your mixture (KitchenAid) on the 2 setting, adding just enough of the flour slowly, to form a ball, err on the side wet, till you get the feel for your dough. Let dough hook knead the dough for at least two minutes or more. Immediately form your balls (about 3) , flour well, place in dough boxes or something similar, like these containers or even freezer bags, lay flat and let rise in the refrigerator over night.
Before using to make your pizza, take dough out of the refrigerator and let rest for at least an hour.
Are you here because of the article in the Post-Gazette? If so welcome! A lot of information gets buried in this format of blogging. So be sure to go back some of the older posts, it will give you more of an idea of my pizza journey. And if you decide you would like to try and build an earth oven in your backyard, please get informed by reading books and blogs and most of all be patient.
Here's my dough recipe:
Pierina's 24- hour Pizza Dough
4 cups of Pizzeria Caputo Tipo "00" source: Penn Mac
1 teaspoon of active dry yeast
4 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt or kosher)
1 1/3 cup of warm water
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl--- then take out one cup of mixture, set aside.
Start mixer on lowest speed and slowly add the water till mixture become a wet and looks like a stiff matter, about two minutes. Stop! Let the dough sit for 20 minutes, this process is called autolyse--- allowing the flour to absorb the liquid and get the gluten strands to develop.
Then after the "rest" start your mixture (KitchenAid) on the 2 setting, adding just enough of the flour slowly, to form a ball, err on the side wet, till you get the feel for your dough. Let dough hook knead the dough for at least two minutes or more. Immediately form your balls (about 3) , flour well, place in dough boxes or something similar, like these containers or even freezer bags, lay flat and let rise in the refrigerator over night.
Before using to make your pizza, take dough out of the refrigerator and let rest for at least an hour.
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