Making Fresh Bread in Your Outdoor Pizza Oven
Once you’ve mastered pizza in your outdoor pizza oven, you might want to step up your game and see what else you can create. Making fresh bread is a great creative use of your equipment. Plus, it will keep the heat of the oven out of your kitchen, which is great during those hot summer months. You can make a variety of types of bread on a wood-fired pizza oven, and you’ll enjoy it for its slightly crusty exterior and its fresh, moist interior.
Wood-Fired Bread Recipe
Although there are a number of types of bread that you can make in your wood-fired pizza oven, a basic recipe is always a good place to start. Make sure that you have the appropriate equipment for breadmaking, including a scale and a thermometer for measuring the temperature of your oven. Fire the pizza oven to full heat and then cool it to the necessary temperature to ensure even cooking.
This classic wood-fired bread loaf recipe offers a uniquely rustic texture and depths of flavor that you wouldn’t expect from a simple recipe, thanks to the mixing of two flours.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rest/Proofing Time: 4 hours total
Bake Time:15-20 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes – 4 hours 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5 oz. Warm water
- 05 oz. All-purpose flour
- 05 oz. Whole wheat flour
- 2 oz. Bread flour
- 1 Tbsp. Kosher salt
- 4g fresh, active dry, or instant yeast
Instructions:
- Fire your oven to full heat and set the temperature to about 500 degrees F.
- Set aside 1 Tbsp (one tablespoon) of the water. Add about ¾ of the remaining water and yeast together in a large bowl. Stir until well dissolved.
- Mix the flours together in a separate bowl and then slowly add them to the water mixture. Use your hand to combine the two until it feels slightly dry and comes together. Cover and rest for five minutes.
- Add the rest of the water to the dough, approximately ¼ of a cup at a time, and then cover and rest the dough for five more minutes.
- To eliminate the risk of dry flour, move the dough to a clean bowl and let it rest for another hour.
- Add the leftover tablespoon of warm water and the salt to the dough, kneading and folding them in gently by hand. This takes about 5-7 minutes and requires a little patience.
- Stretch and fold the dough twice, covering and resting for 30 minutes in between. Then, cover the dough and leave it to rest for another hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
- Flour the work area that you are using and separate the dough into three pieces. Roll each into a log and put into a separate container to proof for about an hour (covered).
- Flour the pizza stone that you use in your oven and put the first loaf on the stone. Place it in the oven, centered, and cook it for about 10 minutes. Then, rotate the loaf to ensure even cooking and give it another 5-10 minutes to complete.
- Enjoy your freshly baked bread!