Cooking food in a pizza or wood-fired oven can be one of the most satisfying things you do. It is not easy, there are various trials and tribulations, but it sure is one of the most rewarding things you can do. For a couple of months, I worked in a bakery where I baked sourdough bread in a wood-fired. It was hard work, the timing was always an issue, using wood was always a schlep (as it was always wet), but the food you produce is so much more satisfying.
In this post, I will not be giving you a recipe per se. I will, firstly, write about an interesting thing I have been doing with my palm fronds. Secondly, I will give you a version of my "menu" I give to the guest to who I serve the pizza. I think we all (or we foodies) have this dream of owning a small intimate pizzeria where we serve a select few customers. Or, maybe I am just dreaming this dream! Lastly, I will talk about the merits of using a pizza oven. Please join me for this rather fiery journey!
I had two problems on my hands. Firstly, living in an area where people from the past felt the need to plant massive amounts of palm trees, I sit with the problem of having a constant supply of palm fronds or dead palm leaves. If you own any, you know the struggle. Extremely dangerous to deal with (sharp thorns and hooks), they are a nuisance and a possible fire hazard. Palm trees are more closely related to grass (if I remember correctly) and they burn with equal intensity. I also sit with the problem of getting rid of them. Composting them doesn't work (I tried it and it did not work). And getting someone to dispose of them for me costs a lot of money.
Second problem: Having a pizza oven is expensive because wood is expensive where I live. A pizza oven eats a lot of wood and in South Africa, you buy wood by the piece. A thousand pieces will cost you a thousand times the amount they decide upon.
One day I just got the brain wave: Why not use palm fronds in the pizza oven?
(As you can see there is a lot and this is just one heap.)
(You get two types, the leaves part that burns very quickly that doesn't make any coals. This is good for lighting a fire.)
(These are the thicker ones, they burn slower, almost like wood, and they create a small piece of charcoal.)
Palm fronds burn quickly and intensely, not good for a pizza oven. You want sustained heat to slowly warm up the pizza oven. But because I have so many palm fronds, I will not run out soon! And using the thicker ones, they act as a small piece of wood, burning for say a couple of minutes.
(Using bricks as my door, I still need to build a door.)
In the video below, you can see how the palm fronds burn:
Here is an image I took of the first wood I added to the pizza oven. I started the fire at around 15:30 and only added the first piece of real wood at 19:00.
So, the palm fronds, in monetary terms, save me around what the pizza's cheese would have cost me. Win-win in my books. The added benefit, I can use the ash in my compost and I do not have to pay someone to take it away.
As mentioned, I have this idyllic idea of opening a small pizzeria where you can have an intimate conversation with the client whilst you cook their pizza. Alas, I can live this dream amongst friends! What I normally do is I make one pizza at a time and we share it before I move on to the next one. I really like the atmosphere it creates. Here is my menu as of now (I constantly change it):
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Herb & Feta | wild herbs; olive oil; garlic; feta cheese; balsamic reduction. |
| Margarita | tomato base; mozzarella; wild herbs/basil. |
| Papa Jo’s | tomato base; mozzarella; smoked bacon; pineapple. |
| Classic | tomato base; mozzarella; peperoni/chorizo; chilli. |
| Cheeeeeeses | tomato base; mozzarella; feta cheese; parmesan; gouda; (aged) cheddar. |
| Blue-Mayo | tomato base; mozzarella; smoked bacon; crispy chicken; blueberry-mayonnaise. |
| LouBelia special | tomato base; mozzarella; blue cheese; biltong; figs; honey. |
| Chef’s special (version 1) | tomato base; mozzarella; salami; feta cheese; olive tapenade; sweet & sour peppers; fresh herbs. |
| Chef’s special (version 2) | tomato base; mozzarella; caramelized bacon and nut mix; browned butternut cubes; feta cheese; (wild) rocket leaves. |
Some of the names are related to family members. So, they will not make that much sense. But I still feel it is nice to offer something like this. It makes for an intimate evening of cooking and talking and good vibes. Here are some images of the previous night's pizza cooking:
(A blank canvas on which you can create anything!)
(Normal margarita.)
(My dad is a pineapple and bacon fan. Let us see in the comments who are for or against pineapple on pizza!)
(Cheeeeeses!)
(LouBelia special)
In this video, you can see how beautiful it is to cook with fire. There is something carnal about it.
Using the heat whilst the pizza oven warms up, you can cook various other things. For this bake, I cooked the bacon, I charred some cherry tomatoes for future use in a tomato sauce, and I cooked a bell pepper as well.
(These tomatoes make a deadly sauce!)
Have you cooked in a pizza oven? What tips and tricks do you have? I feel that a pizza oven is filled with trials and tribulations. You have to think on your feet. Certain spots are colder than others. Sometimes the pizza sticks to the peel. You cannot use wet wood, so starting a fire and keeping it going is not easy. Using a conventional oven is so much easier! But where is the fun in that? These types of nights make memories. I love to cater to my friends and family. They enjoy the intimate experience (or so they say!) and you expose them to different flavoring components/elements. I hope you cook something nice! Enjoy.
