Monday, November 28, 2011

Learning about Your Wood Fired Oven: Terms Part Two

Last blog post we discussed some of the terms associated with some wood fired ovens. This is a continuation of terms that will help you to appreciate your oven even more.

Insulation - The layers that enclose a wood fired oven and stops heat from escaping. Without proper insulation, heat will conduct through the Oven Hearth and Oven Enclosure, making the outside of the oven hot to touch. A poorly insulated oven will not retain heat well and will make baking and cooking inadequate.

Oven Firing - The fire inside the oven chamber that heats the refractory material that comprises the oven. Make sure you know how long it takes to fire your oven for the type of cooking you plan for so that you can fire your oven at the right time.

Pizza Peel - The tool you use to set and turn pizza, pots and pans to put in and out of your wood burning oven. They can be either wood or steel, short- handled or long-handled. Take a look at some of the other accessories for pizza ovens.

Refractory Materials – This is material that is design to withstand heat and high temperatures. Unlike a typical fireplace, where all of the heat goes up the chimney, a refractory fireplace uses refractory material to absorb and reflect heat into the space in front of it.

Retained Heat Cooking - This is a style of cooking where you rake the fire and coals out of the wood burning oven and cook using the retained heat. You can cook a wide range of foods this way, taking advantage of the various levels of heat the oven goes through as it cools. For example, you can cook bread at round 500F, roasts, cakes and other Dolce around 400F, then beans and soups overnight as the oven temperature falls.

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