How To Make Italian Style Pizza In A Wood
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In this guide, we will walk you through our recipe for traditional Italian style thin crispy pizza.
Youll learn exactly how to build and maintain a wood fire in a traditional brick pizza oven so you can make perfect pizzas every time.
But dont worry if you dont have access to a traditional wood-fired oven, Ill also talk you through some other methods of achieving crispy, salty, chewy, melty delicious Italian style pizza in your own BBQ or grill
Wood Fired Pizza Ovens Brisbane
We service all surrounding suburbs of Brisbane.
We offer an extensive range of quality authentic Italian wood fired pizza ovens. Including residential pre-built wood fired ovens, portable pizza ovens, DIY pizza oven kits, stainless steel ovens and professional commercial wood fired ovens. Beautifully designed and handcrafted our pre-built pizza ovens can be easily positioned onto your outdoor kitchen bench top, brick masonry base or use the oven on a metal stand trolley. Our larger Italian Made pizza oven kits require construction onsite and can be built on a masonry block or brick base.
With over 20 years experience we have a great local reputation and offer the highest level of quality workmanship. Our large client base includes happy residential home owners, commercial clients and builders.
We supply and install a wide range of leading brands in Brisbane and can home deliver anywhere in Queensland.
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Let us provide you with expert advice, design ideas and professional installation services.
Cook Anything
More than pizzas, enjoy the flavours of wood-fired roasts, meats, golden vegetables, delicious stews and even desserts. Our ovens will heat up in only 40-60 minutes and will easily achieve high cooking temperatures 450C+ degrees Celsius . While the external dome wall remains cool to touch safe for the kids. Long lasting heat retention for slow cooking & baking.
Authentic Wood Fired Flavour
My Fuego Wood Fired Pizza Oven
Our Fuego wood oven has transformed our restaurant! As a piece of kit, it is extremely versatile and controllable, allowing us to roast all of our meats and vegetables in the wood burning oven as well as using it as a charcoal grill during service. The flavour of everything coming out of the Fuego clay pizza oven is incredible due to the amazing smoky, charred tones added to the smell and taste of everything thats cooked in it. It is not expensive to run as all the kiln-dried wood we use heats the wood fired pizza oven pretty quickly and it retains its temperature really well, only needing to add logs to the fire a few times over the course of service.
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Our Range Of Outdoor Pizza Oven In Australia
A Polito oven is designed to last a lifetime. Thats why we want to help you find one thats perfectly suited to your space and lifestyle. Whether youre looking to buy a traditional refractory wood fired pizza oven, a portable mini gas oven or you want to build your own DIY outdoor pizza oven, we have the oven for you.
How Does It Work
Pizza ovens work by creating an atmosphere of extremely high heat, evenly dispersed throughout the oven. The flames produced by the wood fire heat the inside walls, air, and pizza stone or brick base within the oven, leaving no cold spots. This heat is then radiated back to the pizza from above and below, cooking it rapidly and evenly. This is why your pizza oven must be well insulated so that none of that all-important heat escapes during cooking.
The wood fire also creates smoke which infuses your pizza with the smokey flavor and slightly charred appearance characteristic of traditional wood fires pizzas.
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What If I Dont Have A Wood Fired Pizza Oven
You can still make delicious pizzas at home using your hot and fast BBQ and a pizza stone, or even your oven at home at a push.
Make the dough base exactly as above, and you want to get your BBQ as hot as you can get it. The next best thing to a wood fired pizza oven is a kamado style BBQ, such as a Big Green Egg or Kamado Joe, as these can get up some super high temps.
For fuel, use lump charcoal as this will burn hotter and push your temps up. You can add a chunk or two of some smoking wood like cherry to add additional flavor.
At a push, set your oven to the highest fan forced temp it will go. With any of these methods, its important to preheat your pizza stone in the BBQ or oven before putting on the pizza.
Generally, these methods take a bit longer to cook, especially the oven, which will take 12-15 mins, but just keep an eye on it, regardless of which method you use, and youll still turn out good results.
Building Your Pizza Oven Fire
A proper wood-fired pizza oven will cook a pizza in just a couple of minutes.
A ceramic pizza oven is the best way to hold heat, but any dome-style pizza oven with proper bricks or tiles as a base will work just fine.
To get your pizza to cook in the same time it takes to get a beer out of the fridge, open it and walk back to see how your pizza is coming along , the oven needs to be at 700°F or more.
The best way of getting to those kinds of temps is to build up a good coal bank, and use hardwood splits to keep the fire burning throughout the cook in your pizza oven.
We have another article that covers the best wood to use in your pizza oven.
You can achieve this a couple of different ways:
- Use a charcoal chimney to start a full chimney of lump charcoal, then maintain using hardwood splits as per point 6 below.
- Build your coal base from scratch following the instructions below.
Follow these steps to build a charcoal base:
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Necessary Tools For Wood
These are a few tools and gadgets to make your pizza oven experience easier.
Using a pizza peel is the easiest way to slide a pizza in and out of the oven safely and without damaging the pizza.
If your oven doesnt have a built-in thermometer, a laser thermometer is a must-have to keep an eye on the temperature.
An ash rake will help you move the embers around in your oven and scrape the ash out after you finish cooking.
A stiff-bristled oven brush can scrape off any dough or toppings that have dripped onto your oven floor and also sweep away the remaining ash.
Keep an ash bin on hand to store your waste ashes until you can dispose of them safely.
A pizza stone brush is the best way to clean your stone by scraping off cooked-on food and brushing away crumbs and flour.
Features To Consider When Purchasing An Oven
You need to ensure youre getting a pizza oven thats right for you, so consider the following criteria carefully before making your purchase.
Style. Pizza ovens come in various shapes and styles, and you need to choose the one that best suits your backyard setup. For example, do you want a freestanding oven with its own legs or stand? One permanently fitted into your patio kitchen? Or one that sits on top of a surface, table, or barbeque island?
Size. You need to choose an oven that you can easily accommodate in your backyard. Buying something far too large for your space is no use. But the size also equates to the ovens cooking capacity. For instance, a 12 oven will cook pizzas a maximum size of 12 and a 16 oven 16 pizzas. Also, if you plan to cook meals other than pizzas, ensure you pick an oven big enough to accommodate your plans.
Portability. Will your pizza oven be a permanent fixture in your backyard, or do you want a portable model you can take on camping trips? If so, check the dimensions and weight of the oven.
Max Heat. Pizza ovens need to reach high temperatures in order to do their job, so be sure to choose one that is fit for the task. Theres no sense in buying a pizza oven that doesnt reach temperatures higher than your domestic oven.
Speed. How long does it take the oven to reach optimal cooking temperature? And once there, how long does it take to cook a pizza?
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How To Use A Wood
Wood-fired ovens all have slightly different usability, so read your manufacturers instruction manual carefully when you start. This will help you use your oven safely and get the best out of it.
But in general, start by choosing the right wood for your oven. It should always be seasoned hardwood, but you can experiment with the different types as you go on. Make sure its cut to the correct size to fit in your oven, then build your fire, light it, and add logs one at a time for a more intense flame. Once the fire is burning well, you can move it to the side of your oven and wait for it to reach optimal temperature.
Once youve hit the right temperature, slide your pizza directly onto the pizza stone or oven base. Once your pizza is in, remember that it will cook quickly, so keep an eye on it to avoid burning. Turn the pizza if necessary to ensure an even bake, and then remove it once its cooked.
If youre cooking multiple pizzas, keep feeding your fire and checking the temperature as you go, but if not, allow the fire to burn out as you enjoy your meal. Once the oven has cooled completely, remove and clean the pizza stone, then clean the oven by sweeping out the ash from the fire and brushing away any food residue, leaving it ready to go for next time.
All this trial and error and practice is part of the fun of the wood-fired cooking experience. So take your time, bake as many pizzas as possible, and watch as they get better and better over time.
Polito Wood Fired Ovens
Polito Wood Fired Ovens are fast becoming known for crafting some of the finest home and commercial ovens in the World. Founded in 1988 by Antonio Polito, who had migrated to Australia from Paravati in Southern Italy, where he developed a passion for wood fire cooking. He and his son would spend hours upon hours in the backyard of their Melbourne home, perfecting and building their own pizza ovens with one goal in mind: create the finest performing wood-fired oven to produce the finest tasting wood-fired food. Introducing the wood fire oven to Australia, Antonio found people were eager to embrace the joys of Italian cuisine. As the business developed and grew, Antonio passed on his skills to the younger generation of his family, who have strived to keep apace of the latest design and innovation developments, while maintaining their commitment to preserving the art of authentic wood fire cooking. Polito Wood Fire Ovens is a Melbourne- based, family-owned and operated business. Handcrafted and built to last a lifetime, a Polito Wood Fire Oven is designed to withstand rain, hail, shine, and everything in between!
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Choosing The Right Flour For Your Dough
The best flour to use for your pizza dough is type 00 flour. Dont worry, you will be able to get this flour in most supermarkets. So what is 00 flour, and why is it best for pizza dough?
The 00 refers to the texture of the flour Italian flours are classified by numbers according to how finely they are ground, from the coarsest ground tipo 2, to the finest 00.
So why is 00 the best for pizza?
Well, without being too boring around the science of it all, 00 flour has low protein, low starch, and low gluten. This makes it soft and perfect for pasta and pizza as its low gluten content makes it stretchy without springing back when you form it into pizza bases.
It also helps prevent it tearing.
Using 00 flour will also help you get a crispy base with a little bit of chewiness without feeling like rubber, and when you cook it on a wood fire with high heat, youll get that incredible crust with its puffy little bubbles commonly associated with Italian wood-fired pizza.
Range Of Wood Fired Pizza Ovens For Sale Mini Gas Diy Oven Kit & So On
We offer a wide range of indoor and outdoor gas and wood fired pizza ovens for sale, as well as electric pizza and bread ovens. We can help you find the oven best suited to your space, from a mini gas oven to a DIY oven kit to a large-capacity commercial oven for a cafe or restaurant. We also stock a full range pizza tools, pizza accessories and equipment.
All Polito ovens are available for immediate delivery Australia wide. Whether youre looking for pizza ovens for sale in Sydney, Melbourne or anywhere in Australia, we can organise express delivery for your oven. We can even help set it up and install it if necessary.
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Wood Fired Pizza Ovens Sydney
Pizza Ovens R Us is an Australian owned and operated business . We have an established reputation for supplying superior quality Italian wood fired pizza ovens Australia Wide including all areas of Sydney.
With several warehouse centre locations across Australia we offer Metro Depot picks ups from Sydney City or home delivery options anywhere in New South Wales, Australia.
Browse our website to see a wide range of wood fired pizza ovens whether you are looking for a modern or more traditional style. Unbiased advice to help you choose the right type and size of wood fired pizza oven for your cooking and entertaining requirements.
Pizza Ovens R Us has a wide range of ovens to choose from including DIY kits, portable pizza ovens with a stand, pre-built bench top ovens, commercial professional wood fired ovens and stainless steel pizza ovens.
Our best-selling wood fired ovens are made from the highest quality refractory materials that provide excellent heat production and the best cooking results!
All of our quality authentic wood fired pizza ovens are ideal for entertaining, pizza parties or any other function your family would like to host. Capable of cooking anything including meats, roasts, veggies, seafood, desserts, fresh bread or cook pizzas in only 2-3 minutes.
PRE-BUILT WOOD FIRED PIZZA OVENS
No construction required simply mount the oven on your bench top and you are ready-to-go.
PORTABLE WOOD FIRED PIZZA OVENS
JAMIE OLIVER PIZZA OVENS
Experience Traditional Italian Wood Fire Cooking At Home
Named after four of Italys most celebrated renaissance artists , Politos Ready Made ovens bring the heart and soul of traditional Italian wood fire cooking to you. More than just premium pizza ovens, they are ideal for meats, seafood, vegetables and perfect wood fire bread ovens. And theyre big! The extra-large Leonardo has the capacity to cook 5-6 large pizzas at once!
Handmade in Australia from locally sourced materials, they are completely waterproof, weatherproof, corrosion resistant and designed for a lifetime of wood fire cooking. Manufactured from premium quality, high-alumina refractory materials, they are designed for fast heating and maximum heat retention. Politos Ready Made ovens are perfect for home installation or commercial kitchens and suitable for indoor or outdoor cooking. They come fully assembled and ready for delivery Australia-wide.
Available in a range of sizes, colours and finishes, we can work with you to customise your dream wood fire oven. Explore the full range below.
STARTING AT $4250.00 CONTACT US FOR DETAILS.
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Why Purchase An Alfresco Factory Oven
All of the models in these ranges are made to the highest specifications to meet the demands of regular use.
Our ovens are unique in a number of ways. The premium quality refractory dome is insulated with a thermal ceramic blanket which ensures that the inside of the oven can reach a cooking temperature of 350°C 400°C while keeping the external walls cool to the touch. They have been designed with steep sides to provide a more even and efficient heat flow on all models. In addition to this, all of our outdoor pizza ovens have been designed with a wide mouth to allow for ease of use and to fit large pots and roasting trays.
When you purchase an Alfresco wood fired pizza oven, you receive all of the following features at no additional cost:
- Unique steel reinforced refractory materials including locally sourced Beverly Clay
- Locally manufactured stainless steel flue and hat
- Oven door
- Granite or stainless steel entrance plate
- Choice of render colour
- Stainless steel pizza paddle and steel wood poker
All of our residential ovens are available as both pre-assembled units or as DIY kits.