Randy's dreams do come true oven build

[thomasmn]

Thomas thoes look delightful. I have not done any open fire cooking other than pizza. I need to try it, but my wife doesn't like roasts of any kind or ribs. So that makes it a little harder.

Randy

Chicken? Veggies? The roasted potatoes I made on the side seasoned with Smoked Spanish Paprika, Turkish Oregano, Salt, and Olive Oil were pretty good, but the quartered onions were great!

[thomasmn]

I finally decided to fire the oven to fairly good pizza making temps yesterday and had prepared 10 250 gram dough balls, a can of San Marzanos, and a few lbs of fresh mozzarella. A few of them I drizzled with some olive oil as well. I preferred those to the ones without olive oil. All 10 turned out better than I could have hoped for and the temp spent away from my former Primavera 60 didn't seem to matter at all. This was the first official pizza out of the oven. I can't thank you enough RandyJ and the rest of the people on the forum for the help. At 6:27PM yesterday this first pie was born and as soon as I tasted I knew all the hard work had been worth it.

Did I mention I got the 00 flour at Restaurant Depot for $27/55 lbs? As well as the DOP San Marzanos. Unfortunately my phone was a bit excited and took a dip into the big can of tomatoes

[RandyJ]

Thomas congratulations on the first pizza. It feels very good to get to that point. Good to know about the 00 flour. I may have to go get some of that it is a very good price. Can anyone go in there or do you need a membership? I am glad that I could help you. I know I would not have built nearly as nice of a oven that proforms nearly as well as what I ended up with without all the members on here. How is the stucco going? I had considered doing that before I settled on the stone veneer. I know it would have been much faster and easier. Once again congratulations on your first pizza and I can't wait to see your finished project.

Randy

[ivancito]

Congrats Thomas, man that pizza looks yummy. Yes everyone on this forum looks out for us newbies really well. I guess after making the pizza you might be one step above a newbie.
Ivan

[thomasmn]

I haven't started the stucco yet, but have started to get the materials and I hope to get the lath up this weekend. I haven't been able to find bead edging though for it, so I'm stuck a little bit trying to figure out if I can use the vinyl stuff that HD has for drywall/plaster as well. Any idea on that?

RD requires a card, but you can get one if you have a Tax ID.

I'm going to whip up a 10 lb batch tomorrow and put it in the fridge for a 40th birthday party for a friend on Saturday.

[deejayoh]

Go to a tile store if you want metal edging. I bought aluminum edging that I used along the bottom of the front of the oven - where the stucco met the landing. It gives it a nice finished look. Schluter brand IIRC. Actually, I think HD may carry it too if you just look in the tile section

[thomasmn]

Go to a tile store if you want metal edging. I bought aluminum edging that I used along the bottom of the front of the oven - where the stucco met the landing. It gives it a nice finished look. Schluter brand IIRC. Actually, I think HD may carry it too if you just look in the tile section

I didn't think of that! Thanks!

[RandyJ]

My wife's co worker goes to RD for work and said she will bring me sometime. So u am going to have to set that up soon. What brand is the 00 flour you got. I know there are a few out there. And how big are the cans of tomatoes. Do they sell the 28oz or just the gallon size? Good luck with rhe b day party today.

Randy

[thomasmn]

The brand is Supremo Italiano for the flour and I believe the only cans I saw of DOP were 90 oz cans which is not quite a full gallon. Between the 10 pies on Wednesday and the 15 (330 gram dough balls) I used up most of the tomatoes.

[RandyJ]

I had a little time on my hands today so I decided to do a batch of pizza. I also made some fresh mozzarella and it turned out good. I made 3 kinds margarita, a olive pizza and my Greek. All were great.

Randy

[SableSprings]

Randy, pizzas look fabulous (as always...) Did you use a book or Internet reference for making the mozzarella? I've been wanting to try my hand at it for a while now...everybody I talk to that's made it says it's far better than most of the store bought versions. I notice that the mozzarella seems to have a little more texture after the bake than the commercial ones...what did you think?

Had some ricotta in Italy that was divine and thought that would be interesting to try making as well. Have you done other cheeses? Thinking about some stuffed focaccia with ricotta and/or mozzarella, or just some lasagna out of the oven...yum!

[RandyJ]

Thanks for the complements. I used a book for the recipe. It is the second time u have made it and it is pretty simple and easy. It only takes about 30 min. Also you get about a pound of cheese from a gallon of milk do that is a pretty good return I think. It doesn't melt quite the same as store bought but has good flavor . I will post a picture of the book and the recipe is called something like 30 min mozzarella.

Randy

[deejayoh]

I've made mozz that way as well. apparently you can make ricotta out of the whey that is left over after you make the mozz. I haven't tried that yet, but that would improve the yield even further.

[RandyJ]

Hey DJ you are right that you can do the ricotta with the whey after you are done. I have not tried that yet but it does sound like a fun thing to try. I did a little more cooking tonight. I made a pan of patatos and a steak on the tuskin grill. It is amazing just how hot these ovens can get. I was cooking the patatos in the entry and I had to wear a oven mit to stur them. When I had the grill in I felt like I burned the hair off my hand trying to turn the steak over. I did 2 min a side and it was cooked to medium. I like mine rare but I figured if I was giving it to my 2 year old son I better cook it a little more. My guess is the oven was in th 1300 degree or better range. The oven continues to amaze me how well it cooks and how versatile they truly are.

Randy

[WarEagle90]

Randy, I'm late to the party but your oven looks like something out of Southern Homes and Gardens! I will definitely use several of your ideas and techniques when I start my build this weekend. I'm even more impressed by the food you have prepared. Thanks for sharing your journey.

Dan