A newbies survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

[UtahBeehiver]

Oct bump for a great thread for new and old......thx Lburou

[RichW_SC]

Newbie here and thanks for this thread. My brain is absorbing as much as possible until the lightbulb goes off. Plan to break ground this week. Excited!

[SableSprings]

September bump...try making a fruit crumble, pumpkin pie or savory bread pudding in your oven this fall. WFO heat does a nice "crust" with all, just don't start with a cold, glass pan and use an inverted cookie sheet as a platform if your hearth temp is a bit too high. Also try some apple or tomato tarts to use up some of the goodies being harvested now...(unless you're in the southern hemisphere )

[UtahBeehiver]

First post in quite a while, so I am helping llburo keep his newbie section moved to the front.

[Lburou]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Mrchipster posted his design for a cutting board to assist in cutting your bricks during your oven build HERE. :-)

[mrchipster]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Mid month bump to one of the best places for a new builder to start their study of fine oven building.

Start at post #1.

[owensrj1]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

hey Lee.

Check out these wood fired oven builds they are professionally done. i am tring to follow the way they have built and Ken524, K79, Dino and more to make one great oven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oQ9...ature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWfYL-Uct0o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWfYL-Uct0o

[Lburou]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

...That way you do not disturb the bread as much and the results have been great....

Quite so, that challenge is the reason I pour the dough (after 18 an hour ferment) into a mixing bowl or another dutch oven, lined with parchment paper. The (covered) dough rises 2 more hours . Then, I take the four corners of the paper, lift the dough, and place it in the preheated dutch oven (with the paper). Easy Peasy! :-)

Of course, this all works well the day after baking pizza, pizza, pizza!

P.S. Thanks for the pdf's Mike!

[mrchipster]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Instead of trying to place the bread into the Dutch oven (which I found hard to do) I place the bread on a hot baking stone and cover with the up-side down Dutch oven.

That way you do not disturb the bread as much and the results have been great. Except for one time when I pinched the edge of the dough under part of the Dutch oven and created a little crunchy crusty bit that hung out. But that bit was tasty also. So ..... no problem. This technique works in the WFO also when you are making a small batch or single boule but I use it most often in the house oven when making a loaf or two for the family.

[SableSprings]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Lee --Thanks for putting in the link to the New York Times article of Lahey's bread. I thought it also might be fun/useful to post some variations on the original formula for Lahey's no-knead "Pot Bread". My spreadsheet/pdf version gives you weights in both ounces and grams as well as adds in a 1.5% bump to make up for dough lost in the process. You'll note the baker's percentages are included for the breads as well. The first pdf file is for a slight variation on the original, the second uses a sourdough and rye component, and the third uses both a poolish and levain during the overnight fermentation. I've had good luck with all three versions but the original is certainly the easiest and the third is the best ( IMHO )

[NCMan]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Thanks for the recipe and tips, Lee. Much appreciated.

[Lburou]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

...I started making up bread kits for when I'm on road trips. A la Jim Lahey's method, I pack my 5 quart dutch oven, a cooling rack, and various helpful baker tools (bowl scraper, folding scale, etc.) in the car along with several zip lock bags, each bag packed with a single bread loaf's ingredients minus the water.

When I'm at my destination (or whenever I have access to an oven), I add water to the bread kit, mix & overnight it as per no-knead methods, throw the fully fermented dough into the preheated pot & voila - great bread away from home! I also started packing a quarter sheet, EVOO, and focaccia kits which go over quite well away from home when you're looking for that kind of special treat as meal side or hearty appetizer.

Although I miss my WFO while on the road, these options help get me through it...

We too have discovered no knead bread. Still experimenting. The basic recipe is hard to beat! Unfortunately, enjoying this bread comes with a swelling of the waistline. ;-)

Here is the recipe. Enjoyed making it with my grandson over the holidays. I use parchment paper to cradle the dough as I place it into the preheated dutch oven and pour a bit of water in to keep humidity up during baking.

[SableSprings]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

March bump for this awesome thread...thanks again for setting this up Lee!

As a thought to other traveling bread bakers...I started making up bread kits for when I'm on road trips. A la Jim Lahey's method, I pack my 5 quart dutch oven, a cooling rack, and various helpful baker tools (bowl scraper, folding scale, etc.) in the car along with several zip lock bags, each bag packed with a single bread loaf's ingredients minus the water.

When I'm at my destination (or whenever I have access to an oven), I add water to the bread kit, mix & overnight it as per no-knead methods, throw the fully fermented dough into the preheated pot & voila - great bread away from home! I also started packing a quarter sheet, EVOO, and focaccia kits which go over quite well away from home when you're looking for that kind of special treat as meal side or hearty appetizer.

Although I miss my WFO while on the road, these options help get me through it...

[Lburou]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

Lee, Another Great build was K79 or on you tube the wicked outdoors

Thanks....It is an excellent build for sure. You can see his youtube video here. K79's build thread is here.

I didn't put that oven on the list because of the extra mass in the first three courses of the dome. The list does not come close to listing all the best builds, just some of the best that took pains to stick to the plans and did a good job of showing how they did it. The one exception to sticking to the plans is the recent evolution of heat brakes. Thanks for your participation here in this thread! :-)

[oasiscdm]

Re: A newbie?s survey of the Forno Bravo treasures hiding in the archives

by monthly bump