What Are The Different Ways To Cook In A Clay Oven?

by Robert Lewis professional speaker

Believe it or not, cooking and baking in clay ovens started back centuries ago, more than 6,000 years ago to be precise. And the fact that clay ovens are still used in many restaurants and households tells us that they are timeless.

These clay ovens are known to produce evenly cooked foods and are especially known for making fine pieces of bread and pizza, but they can also be used to cook some delicious dishes of meat and poultry. Since clay ovens rely on residual heat for cooking, they tend to offer a wide range of baking possibilities, from quick cooking to slow cooking for hours as the temperature is decreased gradually. In this blog, we will talk about the ways you can cook in a clay oven.

Fast cooking

It is known that heating a clay oven with a wood fire takes time, and the internal temperature of the oven reaches around 450 degrees Fahrenheit after the first three hours of the firing. At this particular temperature, it is believed that you can bake a pizza in around 30 seconds or so, while if you bake a pizza after an hour then it would bake in one to one and a half minutes. So, for foods and dishes that benefit from quick cooking, this is the time period to get those into the clay oven and make full use of the high temperature provided by the oven.

Slow cooking

It is important to know that not every other food benefits from fast cooking. Pieces of bread, meats, and poultry tend to benefit more from slower cooking at comparatively lower temperatures. Clay ovens are famous for creating the perfect environment for slow cooking. All you need to do is close the oven tightly once the initial fire dies down, and the heat in it lasts for hours long and even overnight. So, this is the time for you to add those pieces of meats and poultry to the oven and let them cook for several hours. This process of slow cooking in the clay oven brings out the natural flavors of the meat and tenderizes it.

Firing the oven in advance

It is important that you fire the oven at least three hours prior to your plan to cook because it ensures that the clay oven is evenly and fully heated. This means that you must build a wood fire at the back of the oven and keep the fire maintained for the entire time. After three hours or so, the oven should be glowing white on the inside, without any trace of soot left on the walls or ceilings from the previous meal that you cooked.

Now that you know how and what you should cook in a clay oven, you can cook some delicious meals with the help of one. You can buy a clay oven for sale from a reliable and highly reputed supplier, and get to cooking!