Brick Ovens and Pizza

[BakerAunt]

NPR's The Salt had an interesting article on why brick ovens are superior for pizza:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/23/630544154/pizza-physics-why-brick-ovens-bake-the-perfect-italian-style-pie

Spread the word

      

  

  

[Mike Nolan]

Coal-fired pizza ovens, of which there are a handful in New York City, get even hotter than wood-fired ovens. The pizza is done in about 90 seconds.

[KIDPIZZA]

BakerAunt wrote:

NPR’s The Salt had an interesting article on why brick ovens are superior for pizza:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/23/630544154/pizza-physics-why-brick-ovens-bake-the-perfect-italian-style-pie

[/quot

BAKERAUNT:
Good morning. I read your article with much interest. Thank you for posting it.
I cannot help myself but I must reveal to you as an ENGLISH COLLEGE PROF. in the photo caption the word "SIMULTANEOULY"
is written. The proper word to be used is "CONCURRENT".. I WILL complete the sentence "IN CONCURRENT FASHION.

MIKE:
The coal fired ovens in Manhattan (New York, New York) As you already know were put in place during the very early 20th century. They reach as high as 1100 degrees.

Here is a tidbit no one writes about when these pizza's are baked in such hi~heat. the HYDRAYATION level must be increased due to the quick evaporation of the water....that is if you expect a crispy pizza crust.

Here is another tidbit about PIZZA:
Much has been written about "DOUBLE OO" Italian flour for pizza baking,
("OO" denotes the fineness of the flour milled) It's gluten strength is at approx. lower bread flour range...11% / 12% range. You should be advised that in employing this flour it does not do what is promised UNLESS you bake this pizza at or above 725, degrees. It is best you use either un~bleached bread flour or KAF AP flour for your pizza. To make a better pizza you can employ some SEMOLINA flour but not more then say about 1/3rd total.

YOU'LL HAVE A GOOD DAY NOW.

~KIDPIZZA.

[Mike Nolan]

Always great to hear from you, Cass.

I've been told there is a coal-fired pizza oven at restaurant in the Minneapolis area, built by a transplanted New Yorker, but I haven't found specifics on the name of the restaurant.

I've also heard that permits for new coal-fired pizza ovens in NYC have been routinely denied for many years, and most if not all of the coal-fired ovens in NYC were built before the 1940's. (This is a tangent, but the Poilane family opened a bakery in London a few years ago and had to get a special permit to build wood-fired ovens like the ones they use at their bakeries in Paris, because London fire codes don't permit large wood-fired ovens.)

I ate in a hotel restaurant in Dallas a few years ago where the menu bragged about the 1100 degree gas-fired appliance (I think they called an oven) they used to cook steaks. I thought their steaks were mediocre, and their pizza was even worse, though I don't think they used the 1100 degree heat on them.

[BakerAunt]

I'm glad that you enjoyed the article, Cass. You are correct: concurrently is the precise word choice here rather than simultaneously.

Mike--nothing is worse than a restaurant that boasts of its machinery and turns out subpar food.

[Mike Nolan]

In Dan Jurafsky's book, The Language of Food, he talks about words that appear in menus and how that relates to both the quality and price of the food. If the menu describes something as luscious or tasty, that's a key descriptor of a lower quality restaurant, because a really good restaurant doesn't need to tell you their food is tasty.

I think the same logic may apply to menus that go into detail about their technique.

[BakerAunt]

On the subject of food descriptors:

https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2018/08/08

[chocomouse]

So true.

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