Welcome to Our Pizza Oven Blog

This blog is dedicated to helping you learn everything about brick wood-fired pizza ovens.

How do you make the best Pizza with a real brick oven?

It starts with the dough.

 We have been making real brick oven pizzas for over ten years.  That’s how long we have also been making real brick pizza ovens!  And we have tried everything from store bought dough to making our own.  And the best is?  You guessed it.  There is nothing better than making your own dough.  

So, today we are going to share with you our recipe to make 4 Napoli style pizzas.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

705 grams of Antimo Caputo flour

435 grams warm water 105-115 degrees

7 grams yeast

5 grams sugar

15 grams sea salt

Here is the equipment you will need:

A digital thermometer for the water temperature

A stand mixer

2 proofing trays with lids

A food scale

Olive oil

Steps:

Combine: 

the water, sugar and yeast and let froth for 10 minutes in the mixing bowl.

Then add:

the flour and mix on low for 2 minutes, med-high for 5 minutes, and low again for 2 minutes.

Use:

the olive oil to coat your hands so the dough doesn’t stick to you.  The dough should be a little tacky.

If you are using the dough the same day:

let it double in size and punch down in the proofing trays.  Then divide it into 4-285 gram dough balls placing two in each tray.  Then punch them down again before you are ready to make your pizzas.

If you are making the dough for another day:

then leave it in the refrigerator in the proofing tray and take it out the morning you use it. The dough will keep for 7 days or so.  You want the dough to be room temperature so you can work it into a pizza pie.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS FOR USE IN YOUR FORNO NARDONA BRICK OVEN

Preferred:

GI Metal – Azzura Line (blue in color) https://gimetalusa.com/gimetal-our-products

Others:

Updated International for wooden pizza peels

Lodge for Seasoned Cast Iron Pans

Crestware for an oven brush

American Metal Craft for metal peels

Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 for a non-contact digital laser infrared thermometer

Mulino Caputo pizza flour type “00”

How to Cure Your Brick Oven

Important Note: While it is difficult to maintain consistent low-temperature fires, it is critical for proper curing that you do not go above these temperatures, especially the first two days.

It is important that you cure your pizza oven slowly over a 7-day period.  You will build a series of five increasingly larger fires. The first fire should be no more than kindling or thin strips of wood.  AND THE FIRE SHOULD BE IN THE CENTER OF THE OVEN.

Day 1:  200 degrees F up to 2  Hours (longer is better)

Start and maintain the fire in the CENTER of the interior dome, no on either side or the back of the oven. You do not want the fire to get too high.  It should not touch the top of the dome, as direct contact with the fire will spike temperatures.

Do NOT use the door while a fire is in the oven.  It should be off.

For an accurate temperature reading of the brick oven’s surfaces, you can use a Digital Infrared Thermometer.  Make sure it reads up to at least 1200 degrees F.

Important Note: You want to measure the temperature at the dome & walls of the oven, not the side wall or floor.

TO BE CONTINUED