The normal use of the oven is for pizza cooking and using the dropping heat overnight to cook a joint of meat for the next day.
But I have not yet used the oven to cook a days worth of food. i.e. during the day to do multiple meals from a single firing.
So I started with home made croissants and choc o pain in the oven when it was first lit. Not the best idea as you can see.
Not great looking but tasted so nice
Once the oven was up to temperature in went in two pork joints, a butternut squash, a rice pudding and a bread and butter pudding.
The pork joints went in first while the oven was at its hottest. Note that they are on upturned baking trays to prevent the fierce heat of the oven being in direct contact with the roasting trays and the pork itself.
As the fire drops the pork joints are pushed back into the hottest part of the oven. Making use of the different heat zones of the oven. Where the fire has been burning will be the hottest part of the floor and oven as the heat will of soaked directly into the floor. It will reduce in heat towards the door away from the seat of the original fire.
This phenomena can be reduced by fitting an oven door and blocking off the door and the chimney from the main oven. This will cause the oven temperature to equalise to some degree causing all areas of the oven to be closer in temperature.
The fire is still smoldering at the back right of the oven. The bread and butter pudding on the right is on a upturned baking tray as the right hand side was the side the fire was lit on so has more heat than the left.
Due to the slow smoldering fire during the cooking process all of the dishes cooked in the oven took on a subtle smoke flavour. Which worked well with the meats but was also surprisingly good with the bread and butter pudding and rice pudding. This smoke gave both dishes a deep smoke flavour that complemented the sweetness of both dishes.
One of the two finished pork joints
Finished bread and butter pudding, the large brown lumps are salted caramel chocolate for extra calories and flavour.
Rice pudding
Roasted Mediterranean veg and garlic roasted potatoes had to be cooked in the house oven as their was not enough room in the wood fired oven.
When using the wood fired oven for anything that does not require live fire cooking remember to:-
Keep an eye on the temperature and move the dish(s) around the oven to make use of the different temperature zones.
If the temperature drops too quickly you can always move the dishes to the house oven to finish cooking.
Practice before you invite friends around for dinner it can take a few times to get it right.
Try using more of the heat cycle of the oven, it does take some practice to work out the temperature of your oven for any food other than pizza but its well worth it.
But I have not yet used the oven to cook a days worth of food. i.e. during the day to do multiple meals from a single firing.
So I started with home made croissants and choc o pain in the oven when it was first lit. Not the best idea as you can see.
Not great looking but tasted so nice
Once the oven was up to temperature in went in two pork joints, a butternut squash, a rice pudding and a bread and butter pudding.
The pork joints went in first while the oven was at its hottest. Note that they are on upturned baking trays to prevent the fierce heat of the oven being in direct contact with the roasting trays and the pork itself.
As the fire drops the pork joints are pushed back into the hottest part of the oven. Making use of the different heat zones of the oven. Where the fire has been burning will be the hottest part of the floor and oven as the heat will of soaked directly into the floor. It will reduce in heat towards the door away from the seat of the original fire.
This phenomena can be reduced by fitting an oven door and blocking off the door and the chimney from the main oven. This will cause the oven temperature to equalise to some degree causing all areas of the oven to be closer in temperature.
The fire is still smoldering at the back right of the oven. The bread and butter pudding on the right is on a upturned baking tray as the right hand side was the side the fire was lit on so has more heat than the left.
Due to the slow smoldering fire during the cooking process all of the dishes cooked in the oven took on a subtle smoke flavour. Which worked well with the meats but was also surprisingly good with the bread and butter pudding and rice pudding. This smoke gave both dishes a deep smoke flavour that complemented the sweetness of both dishes.
One of the two finished pork joints
Finished bread and butter pudding, the large brown lumps are salted caramel chocolate for extra calories and flavour.
Rice pudding
Roasted Mediterranean veg and garlic roasted potatoes had to be cooked in the house oven as their was not enough room in the wood fired oven.
When using the wood fired oven for anything that does not require live fire cooking remember to:-
Keep an eye on the temperature and move the dish(s) around the oven to make use of the different temperature zones.
If the temperature drops too quickly you can always move the dishes to the house oven to finish cooking.
Practice before you invite friends around for dinner it can take a few times to get it right.
Try using more of the heat cycle of the oven, it does take some practice to work out the temperature of your oven for any food other than pizza but its well worth it.
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