Baking Bread in a Wood Fired Pizza Oven
Cooking in a wood-fired oven is a classic way to cook that dates back thousands of years. In fact, wood-fired ovens were the only way bread was baked in Biblical times. There are many reasons people choose to buy an outdoor wood oven, but the main reason is that the flavour created from the smoke is not matched in a gas or electric oven.
Aside from cooking pizzas in a wood-fired oven, baking bread is becoming more popular due to its flavour and giving you a nice crunchy crust.
To bring back a classic recipe of rustic bread that is centuries old, all you'll need is just a few basic ingredients and a couple of hours.
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ Cups White Flour
- 2 ½ Cups of any type of Wholemeal Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet of Yeast or 1 tablespoon of Yeast
- 1 tablespoon Oil- (Most people prefer olive oil to follow older traditions, but vegetable oil will work as well)
- 2 Cups of Water
The best way to start to prepare the dough is to blend in the two types of flour, the salt, and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Then add the water and oil into the mix and blend well. The mixture should be blended thoroughly so that the dough feels even and the flour has no pockets of flour that are dry. The best way to do this is by kneading the dough thoroughly. The dough should then be transferred into a clean bowl that has been greased with either oil or a little swath of whipped butter for added sweetness. The dough blend should be turned into a ball and placed in the centre of the greased or oiled bowl. Taking a damp kitchen towel, the bread should be covered and let sit for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours so it may rise.
The bread is then ready to be baked as a whole single loaf or several smaller loaves. It should then be placed on a baking stone that is sprinkled with ground cornmeal or semolina to prevent sticking. The bread should then be baked at 250 degrees for approximately 40 minutes. It is advisable however to check it after 30 minutes continuously for the next ten minutes to ensure it does not over bake. Once finished the outdoor wood oven bread should then be allowed to cool for 30 minutes before delving in.
By: Rhiannon Peterson
