Brick Oven Cooking Techniques

Brick ovens are normally made with clay, firebricks, or refractory concrete, and are able to maintain a high temperature as the walls absorb heat from the fire built inside the oven. With a brick oven, there are a myriad of cooking possibilities. Perhaps the most vital step before cooking can begin is building a good fire to heat the cooking chamber to its maximum temperature. This can be achieved with wood and kindling, coal, or in some modern brick ovens, gas or electricity.

About an hour or two after starting the fire, the heat source can be set to the back of the oven or taken out completely. How long the fire is kept depends on how much is being cooked, but normally, a large fire will properly heat the oven which can cook for an entire day. Cooking in a brick oven can also occur in stages, varying between different dishes, as the temperature cools from the initial firing because the brick walls are able to retain the heat.

Temperatures above 650 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal for baking pizza and flat breads. For these foods, the fire should be maintained inside the oven because it’s important to fill the entire chamber with high heat. A pizza can be baked at around 800 degrees Fahrenheit for about 90 seconds, but at a lower temperature, it takes about 3 minutes. Some believe that baking inside the brick oven with wood gives the pizza a distinctive flavor and creates a crispier crust as it bakes on the hot oven floor.

Between 450 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit, a higher heat than traditional baking, are the best conditions for roasting meats, browning vegetables, or baking dishes that can cook before the outside burns or turns too brown. This temperature should brown the meat on the outside, but keep it juicy on the inside due to the convection flow of the oven. The oven door can remain open to lower the temperature for roasting times under an hour, or pieces of wood can be added to help increase the heat. Likewise, pans can be rotated inside the oven to make the most of the hotter temperatures closer to the heat source. Brick ovens can also function as grills by placing a free standing cast iron grill above the embers on the oven floor.

At conventional oven temperatures under 500 degrees Fahrenheit, bread, smaller-sized meats, desserts, and pasta dishes can be cooked. After raking out or setting the coals or wood to the side, it might help to wipe the oven floor with a damp towel. Also, the door should be closed at this point to utilize as much of the heat retained by the oven dome and floor, especially as it begins to cool further.

While it takes some practice to learn how brick ovens work, cooking with them can create many uniquely tasting dishes.