True Brick Ovens

Brick Oven Catering

2012-03-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

On my last day and last evening in Seattle, Washington, I happened upon a small company catering an event with a simple but well-appointed portable wood-fired oven.
These terracotta ovens, built by Veraci Pizza's Marshall Jett are simple barrel domes with firebrick floors. The fire gets the masonry hot, the live fire (addition of small amount of wood) keeps the interior blazing (My infrared pyrometer read 681F on the floor and 758F on the dome). The oven is uninsulated so it cools down quickly (relative to the 30 hour cool-down of my insulated ovens) but it's compact and easy to build.

Olson Kundig Architects' "Mushroom Farm" http://www.olsonkundigarchitects.com/Projects/2195/Mushroom-Farm
near Seattle's Pioneer Square hosted a pizza event on Saturday evening, March 3.
At 5pm, Veraci Pizza, which operates a half dozen portable ovens for such lively events was parked by the curb stoking the oven in preparation for the mushroom sampling.
Incidentally, I have found that wherever I travel, being a builder and baker of wood-fired ovens creates a willing bond with fellow artisans. Marshall invited me to stay around for a slice of pizza.
Grazie

Brick Ovens without Boundaries #3

2012-03-03T11:16:00.002-08:00

Many years ago I sailed into a tiny harbor in the Bahamas. Conch shells from ten generations of inhabitants were wind-rowed along the shore. The extended family that lived on the island baked bread for passing sailors. The four loaves we purchased from them never had a chance to cool off.

That is, we woofed them with generous slathering of butter...

Ten years ago the man shown below baked bread for his family. Remarkably, I have met elders in Italy, France, and the U.S. who take pleasure and give pleasure baking for their family.

Having an oven of my own, I may one day be known for that too.

Tuesday, December 23, 2003 news.ai

Bread from a Stone Oven
I had the pleasure of seeing the workings of one of the Caribbean's dying traditions in the village of North Hill...baking bread in a stone oven.

The stone oven is the predecessor of today's gas/electric oven, often cooking bread just as quickly (in 45 minutes to an hour) and definitely with more flavour. This stone oven is constructed of a thick layer of cement blocks and mortar on the exterior and bricks on the interior. The oven has a hole on the side which is lightly covered on the outside by some galvanized tin held up by sticks.

Wood is placed in the oven and lit and allowed to burn for some time...usually a couple of hours. Then after the oven is hot enough, the burning coals are discarded of through the hole on the side. The cleaning effort is done with pointed sticks of different lengths, dipped in water just before and just after pushing the coal out.

The oven needs to be clear of burning wood before the bread is put in or else this would lead to buring of the bread. The bread is placed in on flattened wood sticks, with the larger loaves set at the back, the part that retains the most heat. After the loaves are in, the front of the oven is shut with a piece of galvanized tin held up by pieces of wood on the exterior. An hour or so later, delicious loaves will make a treat for the baker's family and friends. (Not for sale commercially.)

Brick Oven Styling

2012-03-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Makers of home gas and electric ranges are conscious of the place they will occupy in the household's practical and decorative life.
Many people have an aesthetic expectation of brick ovens that can be met at the same time the practical considerations of building an oven are planned.
Restaurants in particular rely on ambiance to both charm patrons and also to increase their cache when setting prices.
So why would a restaurant feature a big sheet metal bright-red tin can as the enclosure of their wood-fired oven?

Forno Bravo's commercial oven (for example) does just that. Other higher end makes are combinations of stainless steel enclosures and legs (although assuredly designed to support the structure) that are spindly.
Regardless of the weight of the oven, the facade, at least, needs to convey strength first and some connection to tradition, second.

Contrast two wood-fired pizza restaurants in Seattle. Serious Pie and The Rock.

Both make fine wood-fired pizzas, etc. Serious Pie's oven is stainless steel with a quartet of stone slabs strapped to the face in an attempt at solidifying the ambiance. The menu is terrific though including artisan cheeses and gourmet ingredients.

The Rock's entire restaurant environment as well as the oven surround is not only brick, but brick walls that appear to have gone through an earthquake. The restaurant generates additional buzz from customers fooled and amazed by the finesse of the masonry. There is both humor, attitude, and a cohesive sense of toughness in the quasi-biker bar atmosphere that is welcoming to sensitive types. The calzone I had there was terrific.

Il Fornaio, a full-menu restaurant in downtown Seattle, features it's oven front and center. It's interior, although cast refractory, looks like some ancient assembly of stone blocks. Even though they needed to replace the wood-firing capability with gas flames (the building's many floors made venting a problem), the overall effect of the brick face and weathered interior provides a traditional flavor to the place.
When I stopped in, the interior of the oven was arrayed with pans and flatbreads, all taking advantage of the cooking temperatures of the flames.

Oven mouth in Baran, France

There is no doubt that you can cook a meal over or in an oil barrel. The question is: Isn't there more to a brick oven?