May 2012 | No. 38; How to Price a Pizza Oven & Father’s Day Picks
May 10, 2012Welcome! And just like that: another summer season is upon us. The bounty of produce this time of year makes for some excellent wood-fired cooking opportunities. We hope you are all looking forward to some fun, relaxing times with your friends and family, whether gathered around your backyard pizza oven, off on a vacation getaway, or just enjoying those nice summer evenings. Our May 2012 newsletter is packed with wood-fired... Read More
Food Trucks by the Numbers
May 09, 2012From BusinessWeek. The new model being set by Porc Mobile in Washington and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar in New York has moved beyond hot dogs and ice cream to miso soup, lobster rolls and crepes. Mobile food- preparation businesses increased 15 percent over five years to make up 37 percent of the $1.4 billion of U.S. street vending revenue in 2011, according to researcher IBISWorld Inc. “They’ve grown aggressively,” said Nima... Read More
Whole Wheat Boules in a Small Pizza Oven
May 09, 2012I am enjoying having a small oven in our side garden for the same reasons as the many people who have who have decided to buy our smaller ovens—the Primavera and Andiamo. They are easy to manage, they fire up really quickly and they are just a blast to use. Don’t let the smaller size deceive you; you can do a lot of serious pizza and bread baking in a... Read More
Bread in a Small Pizza Oven
May 07, 2012I had a lot of fun working with a prototype of the not-yet-released Presto oven (it is coming soon, though) this weekend, and one of the capabilities I wanted to test was bread baking. Baguettes to be more specific. Spoiler alter—it came out great. Here’s a little background information. I wanted to shoot for traditional, light, airy, crusty French baguette, so I choose general purpose flour from Trader Joe’s. For... Read More
Fire and Water
May 06, 2012I have to admit right up front that the next couple of things I am going to say are really (really) obvious. But bear with me, I might make a little bit of sense and find a bit of insight. Maybe. 1. Dry firewood, with less than 20% moisture burns fast and better and is far easier split than damp wood. 2. Firewood that has been stored properly, and not... Read More
Tuk Tuk Electric Catering Cart
May 04, 2012I’ve been reading and writing about Food Trucks, and came across this. From www.designboom.com, this is an electric vehicle designed specifically for cater and food vending. What a kick. I want one. Put an oven in the back, and I could deliver pizza to our neighbors. Here is more from Design Boom. The dutch company tuk tuk factory has developed ‘e-tuk vendo‘, a fully electric rickshaw-style van for foodtrucks and mobile catering.... Read More
Sew Hungry in Ottawa
May 03, 2012From the The Spectator in Ottawa. It’s the second incarnation of Sew Hungry, a food truck and restaurant rally sponsored by the Ottawa Street BIA. They say it will be the biggest such rendezvous ever held in Canada, with 15 trucks from all over southern Ontario in one place at the same time. And yes, wood-fired pizza from a truck. Sew Hungry takes place May 4 along Ottawa North between... Read More
More on Pizza Amore in Buffalo
May 03, 2012Here is a follow-up article on Pizza Amore (that’s a portable Forno Bravo oven) in BuffaloNews.com. They are getting some good press, and, as the article is quick to point out—the line was 10 people deep when the reporters go there. That’s nice. Though I have to agree with the reporter—the pizza could have stayed in the oven for a couple of more seconds to get a better char (and... Read More
Mussel Pizza
May 03, 2012From the NY Times, in the “Recipes for Health” column. To quote the author, “One bite of this and I’m transported to a seaside town in Italy or Provence”. Nice. If you’ve been reading FornoBravo.com for a long time, you will have heard that Pizza Frutti di Mare is one my favorites. This recipe even calls for whole wheat pizza dough. Here’s to taste and health; it can be done. Read More