mm289
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Posts: 26
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Post by mm289 on Sept 17, 2019 20:47:49 GMT
Oh, and got the tiles grouted and blended into the render surround Cheers, MM
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mm289
valid member
Posts: 26
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Post by mm289 on Sept 29, 2019 11:03:09 GMT
So managed to finish this off last weekend and just made our second batch of Pizza yesterday Made up some doors for the wood store underneath. Local timber merchant only had 1 length of bead and butt left which was as twisted as a barley sugar:mad: - hoped I would get away with it but it isn't ideal Then finished off the whole oven with 2 coats of Sandtex to hopefully keep most of the moisture from being absorbed into the render and here is the finished article.
Have to say it looks really good and very pleased with it - but boy did it take some effort Now for some pics of pizza's...... Wife is gluten free so have to make two batches of dough. Just doing simple stuff to start with, garlic bread and Neapolitan with a few bits of Italian sausage and ham available if required.
After our second batch yesterday getting the hang of shaping the dough and temp regulation in the oven.
Oven gets upto temp pretty easily, once you have it up at 400deg do you keep it there for a while before starting cooking or do you keep it at about 300 then boost it for cooking?
Also any tips on catering for larger groups. Specifically do you make your pizza bases and have them laid out ahead of cooking? Knocking the bases up from the dough balls takes a minute or two which if you are trying to get a production line going distracts you from cooking and given how quickly these cook thats not good .
I was wondering if I could make up half a dozen based and just have them laid out on flour on the worksurface so people can top them when they are ready for cooking and just slide them onto a peel?
Cheers,
MM
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Post by truckcab79 on Sept 29, 2019 12:50:54 GMT
With my Milano I find that getting it to 350-400 for cooking takes about 40 minutes. I then push the fire to the back and toss the occasional small log on to keep the flames rolling. The floor never drops below 380+ for as long as I cook and I’ve done 25 pizzas on the go this way. Don’t know if this is the ‘right’ way but it works for me. It will probably be the case that you need to have a play with it and seen what works for your individual oven I suspect.
As far as big groups. Make them work for their dinner!
Kids are your best bet. Get them taking orders, rolling out and decorating and you concentrate on the cooking and serving. Again, this works for me. My 15 year old daughter is a dab hand at the prep. Making sure that all the toppings are sliced, diced and out of their packets makes a big difference too.
As far as pre-prepping the dough. Personally I struggled with it and found that if you roll out the dough and flour it, and then leave it too long it has a tendency to stick to the flour and make it a bit gluey. If you have to pre-prep, semolina is way better and is brilliant on the peel.
The other thing that helps with cooking quantity is peels. Lots of them. I have three but tend to find that only two are ever in use (plus the round turning peel of course).
I do recall that someone on here cut multiple peels from a piece of ply and have one to each of the guests to make their own pizza!
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Post by oblertone on Sept 29, 2019 14:12:39 GMT
Well done on completing a very tidy build ! As to bulk prep I've taken advice on this and found the best way is to make the dough well in advance so all the rising and knocking back is complete, a friend uses his WFO semi professionally and makes his dough three days before so on the day it's fairly inert, the best I've managed is the day before but still you can have storage issues as boxes of dough balls can take over your fridge. I would echo the above re actual cooking, leave the prep to your guests, you're just there to cook their creations. I use a marble slab off-cut to roll out and dress the pizza but prep all the toppings beforehand, and as has been said, there is no such thing as too much semolina. Use it freely to keep dough balls separated, for rolling out, and scattered on the peel before picking a 'raw' pizza off the slab.
For a long pizza session i.e. 30 bases I get the oven up to 500c and keep it there for at least an hour, then let it settle down to soot-free. A couple of plain bases spread with garlic butter help take the sting out of the oven floor and are a great appetiser, especially accompanied by an oven proof dish containing chopped feta cheese, chilli oil and chilli flakes melted in the WFO. Buy some flat plastic boxes big enough for 8-10 dough balls and keep the pre measured balls cool in the fridge, get a box out at a time and get cooking
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mm289
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Posts: 26
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Post by mm289 on Oct 1, 2019 8:38:38 GMT
truckcab79 - yeh I was surprised how quickly it heated up tbh. After reading some reports I was thinking it would be 90 mins but it gets hot much quicker. At the moment I am probably being to gentle with it as it is new and the weather is a bit damp as well. Next summer I am sure I will be more confident to start it with bigger fires. The plan is to get people to build their own pizza's but with the base's being pre prepped as this takes a "bit" of skill so they aren't torn etc. I have got a couple of the wooden peels so may well invest in a few more oblertone - thanks, my first batch I did overnight and left in the fridge then brought out in the morning to prove/rise for the rest of the day. They ended up being huge SO with the longer method would you let them rise then knock back a few times? I guess keeping them in the fridge will reduce the activity of the yeast anyway or does it eventually run out of energy/food? Will try the semolina as well. Cheers, MM
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Post by truckcab79 on Oct 1, 2019 8:49:06 GMT
Not sure what dough recipe you use and of course there are loads of options and opinions. However I tend to always default to this one now. It’s been foolproof. I mix it up in the morning in a kenwood. Cut it into 200g balls and leave on oiled trays until I’m ready for it later in the day. Then just knock it back and roll it out. I did initially feel that I should be more traditional and hand-stretch it but to be honest it rolls out far better. 200g will get you a nice 10-12” base. I recently did a cook with some left-over balls that I’d chucked in the freezer. Thought it might not work as well but it defrosted fine and cooked just as well as fresh. ukwoodfiredovenforum.proboards.com/thread/1202/keeping-simple
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Post by oblertone on Oct 1, 2019 8:58:42 GMT
Repeat the knocking back until there is very little rise left, then ball, cover in semolina and store in the fridge.
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