May 2013
No. 50; The New Fiamma50 &
Wood-Oven S'mores
header photo
sidebar photo

Welcome!

As mentioned in last month's newsletter, Forno Bravo is celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. This is a big milestone for us, and certainly a good opportunity to take stock of what we've accomplished and learned over the past decade. However, we have no plans to rest on our laurels!

This month, we are excited to announce a brand-new product: the Fiamma50 outdoor fireplace. The Fiamma50 makes it simple and cost-effective for you to install a custom outdoor fireplace – installation does not require any specialized fireplace design or construction skills. Read more below about the Fiamma50.

Between our wood-fired ovens and outdoor fireplaces, Forno Bravo is honored to be a part of your outdoor parties, family nights and culinary adventures. On that note, and with the warmer temperatures here, we've included some information on outdoor living and kitchen design to the right.

Below, Peter Reinhart, our Pizza Quest host, shares a new webisode from the Basta series, in which we are taken on a brewery tour of The Bruery. We are really enjoying this series and look forward to seeing what happens at the Great American Beer Festival.

Finally, just in time for summer, we've included at the bottom a delicious way to make use of your oven or outdoor fireplace: a s'mores recipe. (We are re-running this recipe because it was a big hit the last time, and we certainly don't want to deprive anyone of s'mores.)

Here's to the joy that is wood-fired cooking and outdoor living,
James

P.S. I've been writing quite a bit about baking and my adventures in sourdough recently on the Wood-Fired Blog. I hope you'll follow along.

Introducing the Fiamma50 Outdoor Fireplace

Fiamma50

Fiamma50 outdoor fireplace kit

The Forno Bravo Fiamma50 delivers a new level of simplicity for customers looking to install a custom outdoor fireplace. The modular Fiamma kit provides the complete fireplace structure, including the wood storage base, firebox, vent and chimney – eliminating the need for complicated concrete form and block construction.

The installer simply stacks four Fiamma pieces and the firebrick floor, and finishes the exterior with stucco and paint, brick or stone.

Fiamma installation does not require any specialized fireplace design or construction skills. The kit can be assembled and finished in a fraction of the time and cost required to build a custom brick fireplace.

As with the larger Forno Bravo Calore2G series, the Fiamma50 is a true masonry fireplace, so it not only looks great, but it also will last for many, many years. And unlike a metal fireplace, it will never rust or corrode.

The Fiamma's firebox and base feature an attractive "eyebrow" arch design, and the base is both decorative and functional. The base raises the firebox to an attractive height and provides a sheltered wood storage area. Unlike other outdoor fireplace kits where this important function is left to the owner to design and build, the Fiamma owner simply sets the base in place.

  • Constructed using a high-tech insulating refractory composite that is lightweight and heat-resistant to 2600°F
  • Stays cool on the outer walls, while reflecting heat out through the firebox opening
  • Exterior can be finished to meet any specific architectural style

Download the Fiamma50 specification sheet (PDF) for dimensions and other details.

button

Peter's Corner: The Bruery Tour

Pizza QuestPeter Reinhart, our Pizza Quest host, baking instructor and baker extraordinaire, shares a new webisode from the Basta series.

The Basta-Bruery story unfolds (and if you are just joining us, you can see all the segments leading up to this one by going to the Pizza Quest webisodes section to catch up).

So, here we are: the Basta team, our Pizza Quest team, and Patrick Rue, the owner and beermeister visionary of The Bruery, in Placentia, CA (Orange County). We threw down the gauntlet in our previous webisode and are leading up to Kelly, Al and I making some pizzas for the Bruery team – but that's coming up in a later segment.

Before we get to that, though, we asked Patrick to take us through the brewing process, those transformational steps that draw out flavor from various grains, malts, hops, spices, and even fruits and vegetables to make a wort (like making tea or soup) that eventually ferments and carbonates. Many of you may already be home brewers or have seen the inside of a microbrewery, but for the sake of those who haven't, this should be a treat. 

As noted in the discussion you are about to see, beer making is very similar to bread baking (scholars have argued that beer existed before leavened bread, back in the days of the Pharaohs, and I tend to agree).

We are ultimately headed to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, where all this pizza and beer talk manifests into some amazing brewski and 'za. Onward ...

– Peter

Visit Pizza Quest to see the full post by Peter: The Bruery Tour

Recipe: Wood-Oven S'mores

We hope you enjoy this month's featured recipe from the Forno Bravo Community Cookbook, written by our chef moderator Dan Compton.

Wood-Oven S'mores

Wood-fired s'mores

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz butter
  • 2 C cream
  • 3/4 C brown sugar
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 1 1/4 C cocoa powder
  • 1 bag of your favorite marshmallows
  • 1 box of your favorite graham crackers
  • Some sticks, whittled to a point on one end

To make the fudge sauce, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar and sugar in a medium-sized sauce pot. Place in your wood-fired oven (not too hot!) or over a medium-low flame on your stovetop and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. When the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved completely, remove from the heat. Place the cocoa powder in a heat-proof bowl and add the cream mixture slowly, whisking vigorously. To avoid lumps, first add only enough liquid to create a stiff paste, then whisk in the remaining cream.

If you make your fudge sauce ahead and then refrigerate it before use, you'll end up with a thick, spreadable concoction with a consistency similar to nutella – which, come to think of it, you could easily substitute here. If you use it right away it will be a bit runnier and hence a bit messier, but just as delicious, and possibly even a bit more fun for the kids. Just be sure to hose them off before you let them back in the house.

I think you know the rest, but just to be sure: Skewer a couple marshmallows on your sticks and toast in the oven to your personal desired doneness. Spread/drizzle one square of graham cracker with your fudge sauce, add your toasted marshmallow, and top with another square of graham cracker. Devour, wipe off your sticky hands and face, repeat.