I have always thought the concept of "temperature" in a brick oven is pretty interesting -- there are so many ways of going about it. Temperature in the dome face, 1" or 2" inside the dome, the floor, 1"-2" inside the floor, the air temperature, just to name a few.
I would be interested in hearing how many folks cook by feel and by knowing their oven, and how many are using infrared thermometer, and how many put thermocouples in their ovens.
Personally, I still cook by feel. I tend to stick my hand in the oven and count Mississippis. Bread is 4-5 Mississippis, roasting is 2-3, pizza is 0 (because you can't put your hand in the oven without burning all the hair off your knuckles). Still, the new infrared thermometers go to 1000F and only cost about $125, so maybe I will start experimenting with one. As my family will confirm, I think of cooking as one experiment after the other, and I can't cook the same dish the same way twice.
What does everyone use?
James |