Posted on Aug 9, 2018
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I built a brick and mortar cold smoker last year. I can smoke about 48 hams or the equivalent at a time. I love it. Now my wife wants a outdoor pizza/bread oven. 1st, I do all the cooking. 2nd I'm good at Pizza, but my loaves of bread will last longer than the pyramids. And would make great up armor for HumVees. Is it worth the effort? Can you cook other things in there too?
Cooking
Food/Chow
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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So your asking why your bread coming out very brick hard, this depends on, if the batter comes from a box or from scratch? If from a box stop, go directly to from scratch, but if you are making from scratch, check or adjust flower levels. And on your question, is a pizza stone oven worth it, you can cook more things in that style of oven, than that over sized smoker.
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Maj John Bell
No I'm not using any box kits for my bread. No I am not and have not tried to cook any thing else in the cold smoker. After all, its a COLD smoker and the temperatures (68 to 86 degrees, but possibly as high as 146 degreees) aren't suitable to baking/cooking.
The "over sized" smoker isn't over sized. I run a farm. My son-in-law runs an adjacent farm. Among the value added products we offer are HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point certified) smoked meats and cheeses. When we butcher, cattle, pigs, goats, turkeys and geese. That "over-sized" smoker still is not big enough to allow us to smoke as much meat as we can and as our customers desire. During peak cheese-making (April to November) season I typically have 40-50 five lb and 10lb wheels of cheese smoking in the smoke house on any given day. We will probably build another similar "over sized" smoker next year and if our business grows at the same rate it has for the last four years, that will probably not be enough capacity.
The "over sized" smoker isn't over sized. I run a farm. My son-in-law runs an adjacent farm. Among the value added products we offer are HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point certified) smoked meats and cheeses. When we butcher, cattle, pigs, goats, turkeys and geese. That "over-sized" smoker still is not big enough to allow us to smoke as much meat as we can and as our customers desire. During peak cheese-making (April to November) season I typically have 40-50 five lb and 10lb wheels of cheese smoking in the smoke house on any given day. We will probably build another similar "over sized" smoker next year and if our business grows at the same rate it has for the last four years, that will probably not be enough capacity.
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SPC Jacob Hostetler
If my wife gets her wish, one day I'll own an farm or at least a ranch. Met no disrespect on the calling the "cold smoker oversized", and knowing that your reasons for having a smoker that size, makes since.
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Yes, make sure you use good wood and can keep a steady temp and most definitely use pineapple and ham!
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Ok, my pie crusts are used for manhole covers. My mom made the best pie crusts and bread. The reason your bread is so hard is either you are using too much flour or you aren't using enough fat or you are not adding the fat at the right time. Check out the website below. Cook's Illustrated is a great magazine as it actually gets into the science of cooking.
As for the outdoor pizza/bread oven, the type you choose will need to fit your particular area of the country. What works for us in the desert will not work for those in the midwest. You have to look at issues such as humidity and altitude to determine what type to build. We live in the desert, so we had ours designed similar to what Native Americans used down here. We have an outdoor pizza/bread oven that is made from stones for the flooring and sides, with stucco on the outside for the rest of the oven. The fire is directly on top of the stones and the racks/slabs (again check with your local builders for the type of slabbing to use) can be set at different heights. We use it to make pizza, bread, various desserts (like peach cobbler, fruit pies, etc.) and casseroles. I do all the cooking, my husband just throws it in the oven or on the grill. Granted, we aren't doing much outdoor (or indoor) cooking in the summer but we get pretty good use out of it during the rest of the year. Like who the hell wants to cook when it's 115 degrees?
As for the outdoor pizza/bread oven, the type you choose will need to fit your particular area of the country. What works for us in the desert will not work for those in the midwest. You have to look at issues such as humidity and altitude to determine what type to build. We live in the desert, so we had ours designed similar to what Native Americans used down here. We have an outdoor pizza/bread oven that is made from stones for the flooring and sides, with stucco on the outside for the rest of the oven. The fire is directly on top of the stones and the racks/slabs (again check with your local builders for the type of slabbing to use) can be set at different heights. We use it to make pizza, bread, various desserts (like peach cobbler, fruit pies, etc.) and casseroles. I do all the cooking, my husband just throws it in the oven or on the grill. Granted, we aren't doing much outdoor (or indoor) cooking in the summer but we get pretty good use out of it during the rest of the year. Like who the hell wants to cook when it's 115 degrees?
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Maj John Bell
Your link to the website didn't post, but I will definitely google Cook's Illustrated. So far the science of Gluten is beating me senseless. 20 more loaves and I will have a brick floor for a green house.
On your pie crusts... good pie crust used to elude me. Then my Mom's grandma clued me in:
_Pastry knife (as pictured above) for mixing
_Cultured butter instead of sweet cream butter ( also make sure the butter and the porcelain mixing bowl are extremely cold and work the crust no more than 5 minutes, then freeze for 15 minutes before working it again. I only work it until the about 25% butter and lard are down to chunks somewhere between the size of sunflower seeds.
_Lard instead of vegetable shortening
_No more than 1.25 Tablespoons of water for every 5 cups of sifted flour
-Make a thicker "disc" of the crust that somewhat mirrors the shape of your pie but is 3-4 times thicker than you want before you roll it out to put it on the pie. Then chill it for at least an hour. This makes sure the butter and lard aren't too soft/liquid when you put the pie in the oven.
_Bake the pie until the crust is slightly darker than golden brown. This opens up the small pockets where your butter and lard were still chunks when the pie went in the oven.
On your pie crusts... good pie crust used to elude me. Then my Mom's grandma clued me in:
_Pastry knife (as pictured above) for mixing
_Cultured butter instead of sweet cream butter ( also make sure the butter and the porcelain mixing bowl are extremely cold and work the crust no more than 5 minutes, then freeze for 15 minutes before working it again. I only work it until the about 25% butter and lard are down to chunks somewhere between the size of sunflower seeds.
_Lard instead of vegetable shortening
_No more than 1.25 Tablespoons of water for every 5 cups of sifted flour
-Make a thicker "disc" of the crust that somewhat mirrors the shape of your pie but is 3-4 times thicker than you want before you roll it out to put it on the pie. Then chill it for at least an hour. This makes sure the butter and lard aren't too soft/liquid when you put the pie in the oven.
_Bake the pie until the crust is slightly darker than golden brown. This opens up the small pockets where your butter and lard were still chunks when the pie went in the oven.
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Patricia Overmeyer
Thanks for the tips on making a pie crust! I'm going to have to give that a try now that peaches are in season. Mom always said I worked the crust too much. So I tried to work it less and it was still a manhole cover. My husband says he knows when I'm really ticked off because my bread is better than usual. Lol!! I can really get to working that bread dough when I'm fuming.
Keep me updated on whether or not you go for the outdoor pizza oven. Just remembered, I've also used it to cook stuff in my cast iron dutch oven. Just put the dutch oven down in the coal bed, throw a few on the top and let the food cook. When I do that, I usually put bread on the top rack during the last of the cooking in the dutch oven.
Keep me updated on whether or not you go for the outdoor pizza oven. Just remembered, I've also used it to cook stuff in my cast iron dutch oven. Just put the dutch oven down in the coal bed, throw a few on the top and let the food cook. When I do that, I usually put bread on the top rack during the last of the cooking in the dutch oven.
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