When my husband and I started dating he had the (not so wrong) impression he was about to build a life with a complete princess …. Yes, I love the finer things in life (and most of the time expect them), but hey, if you don’t aim high, then what can you expect out of life??? One thing that surprised him was an item on my list of “Things I Must Own This Lifetime”. I think he was afraid to find jewelry, cars and mansions... But alas, no. The item high on my list that made him blink hard was my dream of owning a wood fire oven… Oh, how I want it - I envision this rustic backyard centerpiece in its permanent spot in my garden, kids running around, friends drinking champagne and eating salads whilst waiting for the next batch of wood scented bakes to pop out of my very own loved garden construction…
So why a wood fire oven? Well, the answer is PASTRY. I am obsessed with pastry. I love the fiddling and the details, kneading the dough and watching it do what I say. Baked, boiled, fried, you name it. I’ve made it, am making it, have drawers full of it in the deep freezer and will soon be making more. I especially love yeast based pastries. With time, I would love to gather my thoughts and recipes on some fabulous cakes I have learnt to make over the years. Israel has been good for that!!
Anyone that appreciates a good pizza will tell you that there is nothing more delicious than a pizza baked in a wood fire oven. Besides the deliciousness, it’s the quickest way to bake your pizza. Five minutes and its all ready.
I’m not one to sit around and wait, so for many years I have made pizza in my home oven on a stone oven shelf. If you plan to make pizzas in the oven, do yourselves a favor and get one. I have heard of people using unglazed terracotta tiles (buy them in a hardware shop). Make sure they are untreated though! If you are already buying a stone, get a wooden pizza shovel. It is cheap and easy to store – it will also save you many burns.
OK, only you can decide what flavors make up a good pizza: if you like fresh or roasted, little or no cheese, meats, herbs etc. What cannot be overlooked is a good dough. This dough will be based on glutinous (or hard) flour and fresh yeast – you can use regular plain flour and add a teaspoon of gluten to every kilo used (you can buy gluten substitute from health food shops). I also believe that nothing beats a fresh batch of tomato sauce for the topping.
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Basic Pizza Dough
Source: My own, based on a million recipes I have seen.
Note: Pizza is baked at the highest temperature you oven will allow.
750g glutinous flour + 170g durum flour + 80g potato flour (yes, you can just use 1kg hard flour)
25g fresh yeast
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
50ml olive oil (use the good stuff)
Approximately 600mls water at room temperature
Coarse cornmeal for sprinkling
Knead the above ingredients together for about 10 minutes until dough is soft, aromatic and stretchy. Cut into balls weighing approximately 120g each and rest on a tray sprinkled with Durum flour (so they don’t stick to the tray). Cover with loosely fitting cling wrap and let them rest for a while.
NOTE: Make sure the room is not too hot or they will balloon in 10 minutes. If you want to freeze some portions, place each ball in a plastic bag and freeze. Defrost in the fridge when using and let it rise after it has defrosted.
When you are ready to make your pizza, sprinkle Durum wheat on the counter top and roll out your dough to fit the size of your oven shelf. Sprinkle some coarse corn meal on your pizza shovel and arrange dough on top. Stab some holes into your dough, brush with olive oil or tomato sauce and top.
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Basic Tomato Sauce
Source: Oren Giron.
800g fresh tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
Leaves of 1 bunch basil
1 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend all ingredients in your food processor until smooth and voila, it is ready to use!
Print recipe
Print recipe
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For our wedding anniversary this year, my husband Eran took me to a gathering of wood fire oven lovers (yes, I have allies). I walked away with some fabulous ideas for toppings. Using the basic dough recipe I included in this article, you can use one of the following toppings to make some unusual and delicious home pizzas. I would like to share with you some great recipes I have recreated from my adventures at the home of the wonderful Dror Piltz:
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Topping 1: Spinach and Goat Cheese
(enough for 4 pizzas approximately)
1/2 kg washed and chopped spinach leaves
1 onion finely chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
Semi hard goat cheese, grated
Mix all ingredients (but the cheese) in a bowl and let it rest for an hour or so. After rolling out the dough, brush well with olive oil and using your hands, gently drain the spinach mixture and place on top of the dough. Place goat cheese slices on top and bake away… To die for
Print recipe
Print recipe
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Topping 2: Tuna, Capers and Preserved Lemons
(enough for 4 pizzas approximately)
350g tinned tuna (preserved in oil, of course – otherwise where’s the fun?)
1 finely chopped white onion
2 cups of chopped parsley
4 Tbsp finally chopped capers
2 Tbsp + of finally chopped preserved lemons (to taste)
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. After rolling out the dough, brush well with olive oil spread tuna mixture on dough. Bake until ready.
*** If you want to know how to make lemon preserve (dead easy!) ask in the comments section and you shall receive
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Topping 3: Lamb
(enough for 4 pizzas approximately)
300g lamb mince
Baharat spice mix to taste (see recipe in BBQs article) or a little cinnamon and a pinch cardamom
1 chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped parsley
Mix ingredients in a bowl. After rolling out the dough, brush well with olive oil spread tuna mixture on dough. Bake until ready.
This can be served with a dollop of sheep’s milk tzaziki or beetroot tehina sauce (see recipe in BBQs article).
Bon Appétit!!
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