Pizza ovens

[MrGrumpy]

Whilst pizza ovens do 'tickly my fancy', I just see them as a huge environmental disaster - come on it has to be a wood fired one !

Hopefully they will get banned as well as wood burners due to the increase in particulate emissions.

We have an Ooni , yes sucked in but you can cook some nice pizzas . It’s all in the base and still perfecting !

I see more people getting burners fitted ! Supplement the heating !

 

[Dadam]

We have an Ooni , yes sucked in but you can cook some nice pizzas . It’s all in the base and still perfecting !

I see more people getting burners fitted ! Supplement the heating !

It's definitely all about the base. Last Sunday's first try of the G3 was successful but not without issues, and I think it's both the dough recipe and implementation. Had problems getting the dough thin enough. I first tried a method I'd seen on YT kneading it out into a pizza shape by hand but it went too thin in the middle, to the point of splitting. Meanwhile the crust was too thick and as soon as I stopped, the whole thing started to contract. Had better results with a rolling pin but despite dusting the surface liberally with flour it kept sticking and the pizzas ended up puffing up considerably in the oven. So, very tasty but not really the thin Neapolitan I was aiming for.

Oven worked very well though, top stone removed to get the radiant heat. About 10 min preheating then each pizza was done in 3-4 mins and the bases.

 

[T4tomo]

It's definitely all about the base. Last Sunday's first try of the G3 was successful but not without issues, and I think it's both the dough recipe and implementation. Had problems getting the dough thin enough. I first tried a method I'd seen on YT kneading it out into a pizza shape by hand but it went too thin in the middle, to the point of splitting. Meanwhile the crust was too thick and as soon as I stopped, the whole thing started to contract. Had better results with a rolling pin but despite dusting the surface liberally with flour it kept sticking and the pizzas ended up puffing up considerably in the oven. So, very tasty but not really the thin Neapolitan I was aiming for.

Oven worked very well though, top stone removed to get the radiant heat. About 10 min preheating then each pizza was done in 3-4 mins and the bases.

try rolling it out on semolina instead of extra flour

 

[markemark]

Just use a rolling pin. Ignore the sounds of millions of Italians turning in their grave but save the hassle and drama.

Although I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to tell you if you use a rolling pin you'll be obese by the end of the month....

 

[Bonefish Blues]

It's definitely all about the base. Last Sunday's first try of the G3 was successful but not without issues, and I think it's both the dough recipe and implementation. Had problems getting the dough thin enough. I first tried a method I'd seen on YT kneading it out into a pizza shape by hand but it went too thin in the middle, to the point of splitting. Meanwhile the crust was too thick and as soon as I stopped, the whole thing started to contract. Had better results with a rolling pin but despite dusting the surface liberally with flour it kept sticking and the pizzas ended up puffing up considerably in the oven. So, very tasty but not really the thin Neapolitan I was aiming for.

Oven worked very well though, top stone removed to get the radiant heat. About 10 min preheating then each pizza was done in 3-4 mins and the bases.

Good resource here - as you say, good dough should be a hand job (ooh er) not needing rolling:

https://thepizzaheaven.com/pizza-dough-not-stretchy/

 

[figbat]

Here's the recipe and method I use* - I was taught this by the author (along with various other Italian recipes, many of which I return to time and again) and it always turns out well.

For the dough recipe you'll see there is not a lot of kneading but lots of folding - the folding does the job of the kneading in terms of gluten development but also entrains air in the dough, critical for the light and open structure. Also why you shouldn't roll out the dough but hand stretch it; if you use a decent strong flour and plenty of time then the dough should be pliable enough to stretch without tearing. Douse it in flour to prevent sticking to the surface.

*I usually make the dough in the evening and then leave to stand overnight for use the next day.

 

[Dadam]

if you use a decent strong flour and plenty of time then the dough should be pliable enough to stretch without tearing

It was a strong flour; the main problem was it was too stretchy, i.e. it stretched but went back to its previous shape and didn't stay thin! The tearing was probably my rubbish technique. It had maybe about 3 hours resting, could the problem be it should have had longer?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Here's the recipe and method I use*

I’ve used that too, from a link you provided previously on the bakers’ thread and can confirm the results are marvellous.

 

[figbat]

It was a strong flour; the main problem was it was too stretchy, i.e. it stretched but went back to its previous shape and didn't stay thin! The tearing was probably my rubbish technique. It had maybe about 3 hours resting, could the problem be it should have had longer?

Maybe. Or you just need some patience. I use fingertips to slowly prod and spread the dough out, and then when it gets thin I drape it over my fist, moving it around to shape and stretch it. You can always pinch a tear closed.

 

[Legs]

I just use the dough-making setting on my Panasonic SD253 breadmaker, and leave it in for 2 or 3 hours, which invariably makes great dough. I roll mine out, then cook them in the oven at 200C, for 3 minutes each side, then with watered-down puree or passata for a couple of minutes, then 6 minutes with the toppings (minimal mozzarella; current fave combo is salami, thinly-sliced mushroom and artichoke).

(I'm 42, 6'3", 72kg, have low blood pressure and a resting pulse in the low 40s, have an FTP of 4.3W/kg, can smash out an 18 minute parkrun, and it sounds like I enjoy my life and food more than Killjoy101 does.)

 

[Jameshow]

I just use the dough-making setting on my Panasonic SD253 breadmaker, and leave it in for 2 or 3 hours, which invariably makes great dough. I roll mine out, then cook them in the oven at 200C, for 3 minutes each side, then with watered-down puree or passata for a couple of minutes, then 6 minutes with the toppings (minimal mozzarella; current fave combo is salami, thinly-sliced mushroom and artichoke).

(I'm 42, 6'3", 72kg, have low blood pressure and a resting pulse in the low 40s, have an FTP of 4.3W/kg, can smash out an 18 minute parkrun, and it sounds like I enjoy my life and food more than Killjoy101 does.)

18.59 then!!🤣🤣🤣

 

[The Crofted Crest]

View: https://youtu.be/UWGH2KSS3j8?si=5ISQsgm-7FwuyAFD

 

[icowden]

I've had them in Pisa actually and I still don't think they are all that.

You went to the wrong place. Pisa is not famous for Pizza despite being a homonym. You should have gone to Naples. *That's* where you eat Pizza. Pisa is in Tuscany which is famous for its rustic food, wild meats and fish. It's like complaining that Haggis is rubbish in Bristol.

A lot of people could really do without eating absolute fatty, high carb, rubbish like Pizza anyway.
Personally I would rather give a couple of grand to a foodbank or something than buy one of these.

Fair enough. Italian pizza is not fatty though. It's high quality dough, mozzarella (or ricotta or gran padano), olive oil, tomato, basil and then whatever meat or vegetables you want to put on as extras. Italian pizza bases should be thin and crisp. There is no saturated fat.

You seem to be confusing the pizza served from wood fired or gas fired pizza ovens with the abominations produced in the USA which are indeed awful with stodgy bases, inches of fatty processed cheese substitute and which give you heartburn just to look at them.

 

[gbb]

One assumes that you consider Domino’s pizza as equivalent to homemade, stone-baked pizza. I’m no pizza snob (I was consuming Domino’s just last night) but there is no comparison between the two.

So it comes down to a choice of cost over personal preference. I love making pizzas and have been trained by a passionate Neopolitan in how to do it ‘properly’ - I’d love a wood-fired, outdoors cooking option but I don’t think it would get enough use. Ages to get it hot to cook 4 pizzas in a few minutes would mean I wouldn’t bother unless for a larger gathering or to also cook other stuff at the same time. Cost is not the issue though as the results would be much better.

Not a pizza nut myself but my late brother used to make his own, right down to the dough. They were fabulous, best pizzas I ever had.
Which brings me to the thought...its one thing to buy a very expensive cooker...you (we) shouldn't perhaps try to rationalise it in 'how many pizzas do I have to cook to make it pay...rather how do I make (or buy) a good enough pizza to really get the best out of the cooker. A Rolls Royce pizza...

I do know someone who has /had a proper cooker...he loved it but conceded they moderately expensive to fire up and you need to keep up with the fuel if you're cooking multiple pizzas.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Most people who have the portable ovens use gas because wood's a pain in real life. Obvs wood-fired ovens are a different kettle of sandwiches.