Another Minneapolis WFO

[RandyJ]

Hey Sixto how is the oven going. Did you end up adding any pipe to the chimney. I hope you are still enjoying the oven.

Randy

[Sixto]

Sometning to consider when locating your next Pizza Oven: The prevailing winds and impact of adjacent structures. As you can see in the photo, when the wind blows from the West (most of the time here) the garage roof creates a downward pressure on the flue... I don't know if adding another flue segment would make much of a difference (maybe another 4'? but that's getting up there quite a bit.

I don't think I would have chosen a different location, either (my backyard is not that big) I just wish some days the wind was a little calmer, and I had read more about how people deal with a wind that smokes up the entire backyard and the house too, if I left the windows open!

[Sixto]

Returned home from almost a month abroad. Wanted to share photos of this monster oven I saw in Madrid - at the Posada de la Villa restaurant right by the front door. I have some doubts about whether they actually use it to roast, I have a feeling its more of a warming oven, since the oven is SOO BIG!!! (about 8' across at the base), and it looked like they had about 7 chunks of lamb in it when we came in at 8:00 pm. In any case, the 1/4 Roast Leg of Lamb was delicious, and it sure gave the place an atmosphere of authenticity! I did try Pizza at a couple of restaurants in Madrid and Paris that I won't mention, and was both disappointed at their offerings (ready-made crust, soggy centers), and encouraged by what I had been able to achieve in the first few attempts at making my own dough, and cooking pizza in my own little WFO.

[MarkJerling]

Thanks Mark! - I am continuing to enjoy the journey. More pizza planned for tomorrow. I think I’ll start posting in the cooking threads just to share and make it easy to find. Today is a week after the Wedding Rehearsal party, and this is what we woke up to… Minnesota is always good for a weather surprise!

Lucky you! We had (very late) snow a week ago. Now, spring seems to finally have arrived.

[UtahBeehiver]

Congrats, now the real fun starts. Yes, I received a pic from step son showing snow in MN this AM

[Sixto]

Thanks Mark! - I am continuing to enjoy the journey. More pizza planned for tomorrow. I think I’ll start posting in the cooking threads just to share and make it easy to find. Today is a week after the Wedding Rehearsal party, and this is what we woke up to… Minnesota is always good for a weather surprise!

[MarkJerling]

Looking great Sixto!

[Sixto]

Success!!!
The wedding rehearsal party worked like a charm!
Everyone praised the Pizzas, and the real evidence was that as soon as two were pulled from the oven and cut, they were gone!

All in all, our little team of up to 6 "amateur volunteers" cranked out 20 pizzas for the night. It was only the 4th time the oven had been fired up, and I had made less than 25 pizzas using the WFO before yesterday. Three people rotated stretching the dough and assembling the toppings, two more helped carry the pies from the house to the oven, retrieve them after they were baked, and cut them into 8 slices each. I managed the fire and the baking process.

We had settled on Lidia Bastianich' s pizza dough recipe a couple of weekends ago. Google it! it's easy to make, super crisp and delicious! Let the 300 gram pizza balls age (wrapped separately in plastic with a little olive oil to make it easy to peel) in the refrigerator for at least a day, two is better, and then I knead each ball again to de-gass, flour and flatten them into a 5" disk, wrap them again with plastic and bring them up to temperature about 4-5 hrs before stretching into the final pizza shape at about 10"-12" diameter.

We had two tasting events prior, which helped us fine tune the menu into the 5 pizzas described below.

• Focaccia with Olive Oil, Fresh Rosemary and flake Sea Salt.
• Margherita with roasted home grown Cherry Tomatoes, home grown Basil and Buffala Mozzarella. (basil added after baking)
• Cuban pizza (our Interpretation) with Roast pork marinated in Mojo sauce, on top of black beans and sprinkled with crushed plantain chips after baking
• Homemade Black Garlic (mashed one head (or about 8 cloves) per pizza, and spread above a thin layer of olive oil) topped with Pepperoni, goat cheese and lemon peel sprinkles.
• Home Grown Basil Pesto with red peppers and Feta cheese.

Everyone had a different favorite, which just goes to show - different strokes for different folks!



My hearffelt thanks to the Forno Bravo community for all the guidance, support, encouragement and advice!
After all my complaining, it's been a worthwhile effort and undertaking (obsession?) for the past 16 months.

P.S.: I make the black garlic in batches of 7 heads by double wrapping each whole garlic head with aluminum foil (wrapping it only once lets too much moisture escape, you want to keep the moisture in!) I place the 7 wrapped heads in an old used rice cooker ($10) with a Keep Warm setting (very very low heat,) and forget about it for two weeks. I keep the rice cooker outside the house, on our deck because the aroma is too strong for me! This process turns the original white cloves into a black color with a sweet. layered and unique umami taste that hints at its original garlicky flavor. (the only thing black garlic has in common with roasted garlic other than the source, is the soft, tender melts-in-your-mouth texture.)

[Mr. Slowhand]

Roasted Garden Tomatoes, Salami and Burrata on the left - Chicken Italian Sausage with Pesto and Sauteed Purple Onions on the right.

Looks excellent Sixto, will try something similar for the weekend!

[Sixto]

Your first pizzas look great Sixto! Well done!

Thanks Mark! - still lots of testing and learning to do, and enjoying every step.

[MarkJerling]

Your first pizzas look great Sixto! Well done!

[Sixto]

Look at a thread by Karangi Dude out of Aussie land. He does all kinds of WFO foods and use to teach WFO cooking to mates in Queensland or Victoria.

Got it, thanks! Lots to look through. https://community.fornobravo.com/for...i-dude-cooking

[UtahBeehiver]

Look at a thread by Karangi Dude out of Aussie land. He does all kinds of WFO foods and use to teach WFO cooking to mates in Queensland or Victoria.

[Sixto]

You will probably notice the oven continuing to improve in performance (shorter time to clear and longer time retaining heat) for around another dozen firings or so. You may be interested in cooking other foods. In my oven I fire until it starts to clear at the crown, which takes exactly one hour of flame, if the oven is in normal condition, it will then be around 270C. I let the flame die, push the coals aside, place the roast and seal the door. A good guide (from Weber) is one minute per mm of the thickness of the roast. So for a 120mm thick roast you'd give it two hours.

Thanks David, I will be trying lots of different foods, and will continue to report on my progress, both here, and on the Cooking threads. A dozen firings is within sight, but then it will also be winter here from November through March or April...I'm not sure how much I will use it during that period, since I don't have a roof over the dome...and my little tent will not hold up to a significant snow... We'll have to see how much cold and snow I can stand to work-in for the rewards promised by the oven.

By the way, the crack on my dome arch is camouflaged behind a layer of black soot. Only I can see it now, and I don't even look for it anymore... Especially when I'm too busy cooking!

I finished the plaster/render on the dome today (doesn't look any different than the photo above, just added some layers). I will wrap it with plastic tonight for a week before I try firing up the oven again. In the meantime I'll be perfecting my Pizza Dough recipe in my gas oven...not as hot, but good enough to get a feel for what I like.

I know it's early, but I'm quite happy with my Pompeii Oven so far.

[david s]

You will probably notice the oven continuing to improve in performance (shorter time to clear and longer time retaining heat) for around another dozen firings or so. You may be interested in cooking other foods. In my oven I fire until it starts to clear at the crown, which takes exactly one hour of flame, if the oven is in normal condition, it will then be around 270C. I let the flame die, push the coals aside, place the roast and seal the door. A good guide (from Weber) is one minute per mm of the thickness of the roast. So for a 120mm thick roast you'd give it two hours.