Spent the whole day cooking pizzas and pumpkins. A lot of work for a unique taste but also worth it for observing the rhythms of the meadow
Starting the fire
first pizza ready to go in
I will say mildly blackened food has a rewarding taste that differs from the electric oven failures. Plenty of variations to work out with the earth oven like heating it up hotter and longer for the start and a tool to remove all the fine hot ash. You'll see during this first time I kept a fire going in one corner of the oven to keep the temp up. This was moved around from one side to the other depending on what I was cooking or burning in most cases.
The rolling fire posed a bit of a challenge when retrieving the pizza with flames running along the inside top or out the front where the oven exterior is black. So, a wooden peel was quickly constructed. The door also had to be soaked in water and propped up for a fresh air draw to keep the fire rolling. A chimney this spring once we're above freezing at night will be great to keep flames and smoke a good distance from my face.
These are the ways I discovered to manage cooking with a open flame but not absolutely necessary I hope if
next time a larger fire is made in the oven, burned longer and then removed when reduced to coals. Then the door can be sealed shut to hold the heat with no flames to contend with. Also, a precook on the crust just like electric cooking would be helpful so it's more evenly cooked in the center.
So, this was a good first try to work out these learning lessons but maybe not a daily affair just yet. This type of oven can easily be improved upon and adjusted since it is merely clay, sand and straw. It was a great reason to spend the whole day outside and exciting to finally use.
