No bread is an island

...entire of itself. (With apologies to John Donne!)
I live and breathe breadmaking. I’m an evangelist who would like everyone to make his or her own bread. I want to demystify breadmaking and show it as the easy everyday craft that it is. To this end I endeavour to make my recipes as simple and as foolproof as I possibly can.

I call my blog 'No bread is an island' because every bread is connected to another bread. So a spicy fruit bun with a cross on top is a hot cross bun. This fruit dough will also make a fruit loaf - or Chelsea buns or a Swedish tea ring...
I'm also a vegan, so I have lots of vegan recipes on here - and I'm adding more all the time.

Sunday, 19 September 2010

First loaf in the chiminea

Made my first loaf the other day in my chiminea – and also the first pizza (actually a calzone) that I actually finished off in there!

I’m gradually building up the amount of charcoal I’m using, and getting the timing better.

I made a flat loaf – a focaccia – and a calzone, which meant that I could turn them both over if necessary.

And, of course, it was necessary!

Risen - just about to go into the oven
The loaf was a simple focaccia with olive oil:

I gave it about 20 minutes, and then turned it over, since the bottom was well done by now. The oil had just about disappeared - absorbed by the bread - I do love this loaf!

Here's how it turned out after ten minutes upside down:

Not a great-looking loaf - but it was jolly tasty!
Here's the calzone: The base was made with  an Oxo cube, curry powder and dried mixed herbs; I spread the dough with a mixture of yeast pate, vegan pesto and tomato puree; then I added mushrooms and vegan sausage, finishing with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

Here it is before I folded it:

Before folding
And here it is, baked and cut in half:

At last - a pizza I'd started and finished in the chiminea!
Here's a link (with a bit more detail about the chiminea) on the Wood-Fired Oven forum.


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