Traditional Wood Fired Ovens and the Artisan Pizza
One of the earliest forms of 'controlled' cooking with fire, the first ovens using banked earth and a dome made of clay have been dated back to the Upper Paleolithic era some 20,000 - 40,000 years ago. It is hard to imagine our ancient ancestors cooking with a clay oven not that far removed from what we use today to create the best tasting, Artisan Wood Fired Pizza.
A modern domestic oven cannot replicate the unique cooking or faintly smokey taste that a wood fired oven produces every time.
Burning hardwoods that have a very low moisture content (below 20%) gives a high heat output and very little smoke. Because of the design of the domed clay oven and the heat output of the seasoned hardwood, a traditional wood fired oven will easily reach temperatures in excess of 900 degrees.
The optimum temperature to cook a Pizza is around 400 degrees and when the floor of the oven reaches this temperature, you can cook a traditional or artisan Pizza in 90 seconds. Now that is fast food done properly!
It is important that the floor of the oven is at this temperature as the thermal mass of the oven floor is what cooks the base properly.
After 90 seconds the pizza can be removed and the wood fire will have worked it's magic. The pizza base will be crispy, with good colour at the edges. The top will be bubbling and the wood fire will have imparted a subtle, natural and totally unbeatable smoke flavour to the Pizza.
A modern domestic oven cannot replicate the unique cooking or faintly smokey taste that a wood fired oven produces every time.
Burning hardwoods that have a very low moisture content (below 20%) gives a high heat output and very little smoke. Because of the design of the domed clay oven and the heat output of the seasoned hardwood, a traditional wood fired oven will easily reach temperatures in excess of 900 degrees.
The optimum temperature to cook a Pizza is around 400 degrees and when the floor of the oven reaches this temperature, you can cook a traditional or artisan Pizza in 90 seconds. Now that is fast food done properly!
It is important that the floor of the oven is at this temperature as the thermal mass of the oven floor is what cooks the base properly.
After 90 seconds the pizza can be removed and the wood fire will have worked it's magic. The pizza base will be crispy, with good colour at the edges. The top will be bubbling and the wood fire will have imparted a subtle, natural and totally unbeatable smoke flavour to the Pizza.
