Baking with Oven Stones
In industrialised and metropolitan contexts, the evolution of domestic cooking has given us self-contained gas, electric and microwave ovens, but in many parts of the world wood-fired ovens remain the norm. The so-called "black" oven is a masonry (or cob, or adobe) box that is heated by burning solid fuels. Food is cooked either adjacent to the fire, or in the empty chamber, which retains the heat after the remains of the fire have been swept away. ("White" ovens have the fire in a separate box.) In either case, the cooking benefits from the heat-retaining properties of the clay-based oven materials that are able to take on and sustain kiln-like temperatures. For breads and pizzas, this sort of baking has huge benefit for the production of crisp pizzas and crusty breads with beautiful golden colour and maximal oven spring (that final whoosh of yeast activity that produces the rise of the bread in the oven).
There's been a bit of a resurgence of build-your-own outdoor wood-fired ovens, led by enthusiasts who have rustic breads and pizzas in mind. For many of us, though - time-poor, flat-dwelling, rain- and DIY-averse - bulding your own oven may seem like just too much hard work. A nifty alternative is the oven stone, a weighty slab of unglazed ceramic that can be placed in an ordinary domestic oven to replicate some of the qualities of a brick oven. The stone should be pre-heated slowly along with the oven itself, and the stone can easily be left in the oven permanently, saving the worry of remembering to put it in each time you bake. It's a really simple technology - so simple that some people take ordinary unglazed (lead-free) ceramic or quarry tiles and lay then out on the rack of the oven.
If you want something more readily handlable, we are delighted to announce that (finally!) we have a new batch of deluxe, thick, lovely oven stones available for sale. Unfortunately, due to their weight and relative fragility when it comes to transport (no matter how well we package them, bad things seem to happen in transit and no courier company will insure ceramics...) we are unable to ship them. However, you are always welcome to phone us on 01580 831 271 to reserve one and collect it from us directly. Be sure to measure you oven before ordering. We have two sizes of stones: standard (40 x 32 cm £30.00) which fits most regular domestic ovens, and large (48 x 34 cm, £35.00) for a double oven or Aga.
Dellicious magazine's May edition (www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/magazine), in the shops now, is an Italian special that showcases a diversity of foods from fresh versions of pesto to classic desserts. There's a feature on pizza which may spark your enthusiasm (and, as the article stresses, making pizza with kids is a great way to get them involved in the kitchen). The Kitchen Talk section highlights some essential tools of the trade for cooking Italian style, and you'll see our oven stone listed there.
Here's a recipe for a delectable potato pizza, an example of inspired rustic cookery that boosts simple ingredients into a tasty lunch via a detour through the herb garden!
For the Pizza Dough
This amount of ddough will make a big faimly-sized pizza, but you can easily divide the dough into the quantity you require on the day and freeze the rest - well-wrapped - for up to 2 months.
750g Plain or "00" flour
5g Salt
15g Olive Oil
18g fresh / 9g active dried /; 8g instant Yeast
500g cool water
For the Topping
500g - 1kg (depending on how big a pizza you are making) potatoes (almost any variety will do) sliced very thin
2 - 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped roughly (or you could use thyme or sage)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Mix all the ingredients together and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough. Resist the temptation to add much more flour - the dough should be relatively slack. Put the dough in an oiled, deep bowl or other container, cover with cling-film, and leave it to bulk ferment (rise) in a cool place for several hours (at least 2 and up to 6 or you can even put it in the fridge and let it rise overnight. Bring the dough to room temperature the next day before proceeding).
1 hour before baking pre-heat the oven and oven stone to 230°C
Just before you are ready to make the pizza, toss the potatoes with the herbs and oil and set aside. Roll out the dough to the thickness you prefer and transfer the dough to a semolina- or conrmeal-sprinkled peel or up-turned baking tray. Alternatively you can - carefully - take the hot oven stone out of the oven, sprinkle on some semolina or cornmeal, and place the dough directly on the stone. Working quickly spread the potato and herb mixture in a thin layer over the dough and sprinkle with salt. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, turning the pizza half-way through baking to ensure an even bake.