Temp ranges and cooking/baking

[Yokosuka dweller]

Hi everyone,

My oven is almost finished, or at least well finished enough to use it. It usually stays in cooking temps around 2-3 days after firing.

I normally fire it up till the dome clears, then do 4-5 pizzas. Then throw in a steel rack and use the oven as a bbq if we have a party. It works splendidly well for all kinds of meat, zuchini or whatever you would normally throw on a rack. Welding gloves help here because the temp is still really high.

Then I let the fire die , and wait a few hours until the oven is around 230-250 C (450-480F). Then we bake breads in a dutch oven. It's no-knead bread so super easy to make and turns out moist and tasty due to the dutch oven keeping the dough moist I guess.

Then next day the oven is around 160-180C (320-350F). Normally I don't do anything in that temp range, but wait till third day when the oven is around 120 C (240F). On that third day I throw in a piece of pork shoulder, veggies and tomato-wine sauce in a pot. This slow cooks for 6-7 hours and comes out great.

But for that second day, when temps are around 230-250 C (450-480F) I havent figured out what I can use it for. Anyone has any tips or good ideas what to bake when the oven is in that temp range?

[Mongo]

A lot of breads bake well in low 400 F range.
Ciabatta bakes great at 425F and baguettes as well. Really any loaf that isn't thick or fat will bake well in the low 400's.A thick/fat loaf wants a lower temp and longer bake time.
Start off putting them on a sheet pan. That will insulate the bottom crust of the loaf for the first few minutes of baking. Then experiment with placing the loafs directly on the bricks.
Also breads made with laminated dough do well in the low 400's. Breads like croissants.
Do your taste buds a favor and look up Kouign-amann. Not as difficult as they first appear but definitely 'fiddly'. Essentially puff pastry. I don't make them very often because I end up eating 4 of them in one sitting.

The dough for ciabatta is very wet 80% or more hydration. Can't knead it by hand, no oil in the dough but oil your proofing container. Tip it out onto your bread board covered liberally with a bread flower and semolina mixture then sprinkle the top with semolina. Slice and transfer directly to your baking sheet and give it a second proof and bake. Dust off the excess flower after baking.
Same dough makes a great grissino/bread stick.

Everything in the attached pictures were baked at 400+ F.

Buon appetito!

[Yokosuka dweller]

A lot of breads bake well in low 400 F range.
Ciabatta bakes great at 425F and baguettes as well. Really any loaf that isn't thick or fat will bake well in the low 400's.A thick/fat loaf wants a lower temp and longer bake time.
Start off putting them on a sheet pan. That will insulate the bottom crust of the loaf for the first few minutes of baking. Then experiment with placing the loafs directly on the bricks.
Also breads made with laminated dough do well in the low 400's. Breads like croissants.
Do your taste buds a favor and look up Kouign-amann. Not as difficult as they first appear but definitely 'fiddly'. Essentially puff pastry. I don't make them very often because I end up eating 4 of them in one sitting.

The dough for ciabatta is very wet 80% or more hydration. Can't knead it by hand, no oil in the dough but oil your proofing container. Tip it out onto your bread board covered liberally with a bread flower and semolina mixture then sprinkle the top with semolina. Slice and transfer directly to your baking sheet and give it a second proof and bake. Dust off the excess flower after baking.
Same dough makes a great grissino/bread stick.

Everything in the attached pictures were baked at 400+ F.

Buon appetito!

Hi Mongo, thanks and your breads look pretty great, I will look up Kouign-amann.

As for what to make in temps below 400s, when its too hot for slow cook but seemingly not hot enough to bake really, any tips on that?

[JRPizza]

We cook chickens at around 400F. They cook fast - about 45 minutes - golden brown and juicy inside!

[Yokosuka dweller]

We cook chickens at around 400F. They cook fast - about 45 minutes - golden brown and juicy inside!

Thanks JR, will try to prepare for a beer can chicken net time for using second day heat. Great idea. My wife often bakes banana bread, which I found needs around 350F/175C, so will encourage her to use the WFO instead of electric oven also.

[Mongo]

As for what to make in temps below 400s, when its too hot for slow cook but seemingly not hot enough to bake really, any tips on that?

Actually 325 to 375 F is kind of a golden range for many many bakes. Cookies, quiche, pie, cakes, large bread loafs, breads and yeasted cakes baked in a tin. We use ours as we would use our indoor oven.
Never had anything coming out of the WFO with any taste or odor of smoke. Even without cleaning out the embers of the previous fire.
One thing we do is to put baking sheets or tins holding things like cookies, quiches or cakes on a wire rack to slow down the conduction of heat from the floor bricks.

-George

[Waldenverney]

Great tips, thanks for sharing! By the way, I admit that I used to be a rare guest in the kitchen and mostly ordered pizza and Chinese food. But when I was sent to work remotely during quarantine, I discovered my culinary talent. And now I love to cook and buy all sorts of devices for the kitchen. By the way, in the cooking blog (foodieandtours.com), I found various household appliances that I would like to have for the kitchen. I wonder what of these you have, and what would you buy?