6/15/11

19 Fire it Up!


The brick oven, after two years of labor between unseasonably wet springs, was finished this year.

We invited some neighborhood kids over for a pizza party.  They loved choosing their own toppings!



It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get a good fire going.  The ceiling of the oven turns black at first, then to ash and burns off.  That is when you know the fire is ready.  The temperature is well over 800ºF.

We use a metal brush to move the ashes to the back of the oven and clean the oven floor in between pizzas.


The pizza peel is prepped with cornmeal and the dough is tossed.  This pizza is a simple cheese pizza with olive oil, Salad Supreme seasoning and mozzarella cheese.


With a flick of the wrist, the pizza peel is pulled out from under the pizza. 


The hottest part of the brick oven is toward the back.  The coals in the back provide the heat while the flames travel up to the top to brown the top of the pizza.

You can see how quickly the back side is bubbling up and beginning to brown.


We use a metal pizza peel to gently lift one edge of the pizza, pull it slightly towards us,  rotating the pizza as we pull the peel back...


A close up shot ... bubbly ... cheesy ...






All done and ready to eat!


I think the kids had a GREAT time!


19 comments:

  1. Oh, this is beautiful!! We have a very rustic earthen oven(not nearly pretty as yours) we built in our backyard and absolutely LOVE it!

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  2. Congratulations on your new oven!!! It looks beautiful...I can't wait to hear about your adventures with it!

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  3. Woohoo!! Congrats on an amazing outdoor pizza oven! I know how much Brad has wanted this dream to be a reality. It looks so amazing. I wish we lived nearby so we could have a pizza party with you. The pizza looked so good...makes my mouth water!

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  4. AnonymousJune 15, 2011

    I love how the granite turned out.--Lars

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  5. If you ever need wood for your new pizza oven, let me know. We have a TON at the side of our house.

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  6. Oh how much fun! Now I want an oven! :)

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  7. AnonymousJune 15, 2011

    OMG! That is SO cool! I remember the pizza we used to get in Sicily - the oven truly makes all the difference in the world! You are SO going to get your money's worth out of that one!

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  8. Can't beat a woodburning oven for great pizza...great everything actually! enjoy enjoy! a hug from the West Portico, P

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  9. That looks AMAZING!!! Congratulations on finishing it. I'm a little jealous :)

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  10. Frieda, you constantly amaze me! I think we should be neighbors so I can come over and make cheese, bread, pizza, ....delicious food with you. My mouth waters just about every time I read your blog!

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  11. Wow is all I can say. That is totally awesome. I want one. Or better yet, I think I will just come on over and make my fav pizza!

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  12. I know it's a sin to covet, but I am insanely jealous. What a fun thing for your family. I am so impressed that you MADE it. Amazing!

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  13. Um hello, I want to come to your house. You make good eats, and homemade pizza definitely tops my list!

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  14. Wow! Your own fire oven?! Amazing! Do you use the metal paddle to remove the pizza as well? I'm having difficulties in speeding up my pizza making process. I'd like to assemble pizzas on the counter while one is in the oven, but when I to to slide my wooden paddle under the crust, it bunches up and won't slide on, leaving me to drag the pizza onto the paddle. Any thoughts?

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  15. WOW! This is SO cool you have your own wood burning hearth. I can't wait to see how your bread turns out in it!!

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  16. Wow, that is one cool pizza oven you have there. Congratulations and have fun with it!

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  17. I have to say that I am jealous! I would love to have one of those ovens. But first, we have to buy a house (again:(
    The only problem I would have with it would be the waste of heat! I would want to keep on baking until there are no more flames! How do you justify firing up the oven to bake just a couple of pizzas ( I am assuming that you do not feed the neighborhood kids all the time:)? I feel bad when the coals on our little Weber are still glowing, and I don't have anything else to grill:)
    Congratulations! It looks awesome, and I know that everything made in it will taste amazing:)

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  18. Mindy, I sprinkle cornmeal on the wooden pizza peel and assemble the pizza while on the peel. We have 6 wooden pizza peels so guests can assemble their pizzas while one is cooking. I would start with at least 2 wooden peels, one to assemble on, and the other to pull the cooked one out of the oven.

    I use the metal one to pull the pizza out of the brick oven as it has a very long handle....don't want to be sticking my arm in a 900 degree oven!

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  19. Lana, I hear you about the waste of heat! Professional brick oven bakers start with pizzas when the temp is hot, then move on to baking baguettes, then loaves as the temp cools down...all without creating a new fire on deck.

    When hubby creates a door for this oven, I will be attempting bread baking...wish me luck!

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