Wow, talk about good timing, Ben Pike of Bluestone Wood Fired Ovens turned up with this little beauty just in time for the hottest Easter Bank Holiday weekend in living memory. The menfolk of the household, (one recently returned from Uni for a planned eat-parents-out-of-house-and-home visit) gamely volunteered to help lift it up the winding path, and twenty steps, to its present perch before a Devon stone wall and view to the moors. This was no mean feat since the oven weighs-in at over 130kg and the path is the only means of access to the house. Our hope is that Ben will be in no hurry to repeat the exercise in reverse and may choose instead to donate it to us...By the time it was set up it was already 5.30pm and the entire household were fired-up (sorry... ) to put this beast to the test. Unfortunately we had no logs. Out into the Totnes rush hour traffic, and with little idea of where we would find a log-selling establishment at all let alone one that would still be open, we headed for Riverford Farm Shop and greedily eyed its wooden fencing as we reeled into the car park. Lady Luck was for once on our side and we came away clutching the last bag of logs that they had.
As Ben would have it, the oven takes an hour to reach a good temperature, just enough time to make a batch of dough and launch into a pizza fest. It's not often that everyone is inspired in equal measure to make something happen, but this was how it was, the Tates were rising to the challenge like our lives depended on it. One manning the fire, one preparing a tomato sauce and filling bowls with a selection of toppings, one setting the table, and little old me knocking up a lovely silky dough, laced with olive oil.
By the time I was at this stage - throwing my favourite toppings (spinach, Gevrik goat's cheese, black olives, mozzarella) - over the tomato sauce, the oven was throwing out so much heat we made the decision not to add any further logs. In hindsight we could have been more courageous, but trial and error is what this oven is all about. First lesson learned was that a 12" pizza will not willingly slide from its tray to the oven floor, so (and it may seem daft to say this) but make sure its on a mat or tin, or tray that will fit through the opening. Once in there, the rising/cooking is virtually instantaneous, as is the scorching that results on the side nearest to the heat source, so have oven mits on and be prepared to turn the pizza every few seconds. "Awesome" was the word most bandied about by the boys, "delicious" swiftly following as we seamlessly combined slicing and eating one pizza as the next of us composed a new one for the oven.
I say that we should have had another log on the fire, but it was enough. We managed four fabulous pizzas, though they each took slightly longer to cook as the oven temperature went into decline. By then the sun was going down, the tea lights were lit, and the bananas were baking in the last of the oven heat.All in all a most magical, family evening. We said "cheers" to Bluestone and wondered at my good fortune in spotting a message on Twitter asking for food writing volunteers to host this wood fired wonder.
My Pizza Dough - enough to make 4 generous pizza bases
800g strong bread flour
20g fresh yeast
3tsp salt
3tbsp olive oil
525ml lukewarm water
1 Crumble the yeast into a large bowl and pour the water and olive oil over. Weigh the flour and add to the bowl together with the salt. Bring the dough together into a mass with the help of a plastic scraper and turn it out onto a lightly oiled surface. The mix will be quite wet, don't let this worry you, it will become more elastic as you knead it. I say 'knead', I 'throw' it and turn it, lifting it up from the surface and over itself, to work the dough and introduce air. After working it vigorously for 5 minutes return it to the bowl and cover over tightly with cling film.
2 Leave for an hour then turn it out, this time onto a floured surface. Knead briefly into a neat ball then divide into 4 equal pieces of dough. Turn these into neat balls and leave three of them dusted with flour and covered lightly with cling film to rest. Take the fourth ball and roll (or stretch over your hands) to make your first 12"pizza base. Once formed, lay this on an awaiting tray, dusted with flour or, preferably, semolina flour. You are ready to add topping - don't overload or it will be soggy and unappetizing - spread a sparing amount of tomato sauce (chopped tomatoes & olive oil with fresh basil & garlic reduced over a low heat for up to half an hour until thick). The rest is up to your own liking and imagination!
Sandra Tate
Bluestone Wood Fired Ovens Website click here
