Vegetables At 800F +

[aeneas1]

what's the most typical way to prepare vegetables for pizza toppings? do any of you folks simply put raw vegetables on the pie and have them cook along with the pizza? perhaps marinated, thinly slice raw vegetables?

the reason i ask is because i recently enjoyed several wonderful pizzas at a nearby wood burning oven restaurant and was told by the chef that this is how they prepared their vegetable toppings. especially tasty was their pizza topped with paper thin organic baby potatoes.

i would love to see recipes such as this - recipes that don't require pre-grilling of toppings. anyone out there have any such recipes?

also, do any of you folks have any tried-and-true recipes for cooking at 800f + as far as vegetables and bread is concerned? vegetable recipes that would allow you to cook at the same time you were making pizzas? something like fresh corn wrapped in foil thrown on the oven deck? or bread recipes that would allow you to bake bread at 800f +?

[CanuckJim]

Re: Vegetables At 800F +

Aneas,

I've gone as high as 700 for baguette, but I doubt you could go much higher than that. At that temp, the breads took 8 minutes to reach an internal temp of 205 F. Baking bread at such high heat requires a lot of attention and a bit of luck. Ordinarily, I bake breads at between 550 and 600. It's a balance between getting the interior to the right temp before incinerating the crust. However, it's only dough, so give it a shot, but do be on your toes.

Jim

[maver]

Re: Vegetables At 800F +

Most vegetables I place on my pizza I precook - saute mushrooms, broccolini, mustard greens, fennel. We have also used marinated onions which are very good. Potato is the main exception. For my potato pizza the potato is sliced very thin and placed directly on the dough, then topped with mozz, romano (or parm), green onion, rosemary, garlic, seasonings. I have not experimented with any roasted veggies at high temperatures, I'd love to hear more about this...

[aeneas1]

Re: Vegetables At 800F +

thanks for the input guys... i'm going to try and get a hold of the chef again that i mentioned - what he is able to do with his vegetables in his oven at 800f+ is spectacular. he told me that he brings his oven up to temp for pizzas (personally i think it was closer to 900f) and cooks everyhing else at that temp as well... tom lehman (the dough doctor) once told me that many things are possible at these high temperatures, i.e., no need to have your oven at different temps in order to cook different items - he also said much can be regulated by the use of different cooking vessels placed in the oven at these high temps...

btw cj, i found one of your great posts that discussed making thin baguettes at 700f or so - very interesting and helpful. however i also noticed that generating a lot of steam seemed to be a key to this process - i was under the impression that steam wasn't the best thing for wood burning ovens when operated at high temperatures. so steam isn't an issue?

[CanuckJim]

Re: Vegetables At 800F +

No, steam isn't an issue, it's a necessity. If you don't steam, the crust will set too quickly and you won't get the kind of spring and volume we all want. It won't do any damage to your oven, if that's a concern.

Jim

[Archena]

Re: Vegetables At 800F +

You could steam veggies pretty effectively at those temps (being really careful with the steamer). Sliced veggies should roast fine - just fast. Things with thin layers (corn, peppers) should also work well. Thicker veggies (carrots, potatoes) would need a crock to slow down the roasting but it should work.

Baking at high temps and roasting large cuts create the uneven cooking problems alluded to, but like your chef friend said, you can do a lot by using your cookware to adjust to the need.