Published on : 19 January 20216 min reading time
Dishes baked in wood-fired ovens have particularly unique tastes. Grilling, candying, braising, simmering, browning, etc. All types of cooking are possible with such equipment. Indeed, it can be used as a pizza oven, bread oven, barbecue or a simple oven at the same time. However, if you lack imagination in the realization of your dishes, the wood oven will not be able to bring you the best satisfaction in terms of taste and texture. This is why we suggest some family-friendly recipes to be prepared in a wood-burning oven.
Recipe based on breads: burgers cooked in a wood-fired oven
Bread is a floury mixture combined with air through fire and water, in a convenient and dry form. It is a recipe that has existed since the dawn of time. Simple and easy to make, it sometimes requires meticulous work to perfect it, especially if you use a pizza oven for baking. For a bread-based recipe, you can, for example, make burgers baked in a wood-fired oven. Ingredients include small dough pieces with sesame seeds, fresh burgers, seasonal mushrooms, onions, cheese as much as you like, salad and fresh or dried tomatoes. You can also use ketchup, mayo or barbecue sauce. For the preparation, start by baking the breads in the oven. Then, put the steaks on the wooden oven floor, choosing the fireplace with flames, and the door open with a temperature of 400 °C. At the same time, cook the mushrooms and onions in the oven by placing them on a baking tray and shaking them regularly. To finish the preparation, assemble all the ingredients in the order of your preference, and enjoy the recipe while it is still hot.
Meat-based recipe: duck breast barbecue style
Simmered meats, grills, terrines, pâtés, etc., the wood-fired oven offers you a thousand and one ways to prepare fresh meat dishes, from the mildest to the most lively, from the slowest to the fastest, always keeping the taste and texture. In a wood-fired oven, it is perfectly possible to cook large pieces of meat such as pork. For the recipe, you can for example prepare a duck breast in the barbecue way, that is to say, cooking with the flame and without the door. Indeed, the baked clay that composes the oven makes it possible to cook the preparation directly on the hearth, without the use of a grill or plate. For this, it is important to heat the oven to achieve pyrolysis and then obtain an entirely white interior. This also allows the heat to accumulate before starting the firing process at high temperatures of over 450 °C (284 °F). Then, using a knife, strip the side with fat and place this side of the duck breast directly on the oven bottom. The fat will spill on the slabs, but it will then be cleaned with the pyrolysis of the fire. Thus, there is no need to turn the meat over as the temperature will be the same inside the oven. On the other hand, it is advisable to rotate the duck breast to expose each side of the duck breast to the embers. After 8 minutes of cooking, take the meat out of the oven. Cut off a few parts to check the quality of the cooking. If this does not suit you, you can put it back in the oven. The meat is well grilled when it has kept its soft texture. Without further ado, enjoy the duck breast hot with barbecue sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.
Recipe based on viennoiserie and pastry: wood oven pie
For a convivial recipe to share with family or friends, choose viennoiserie and pastry-based preparations. Everyone loves them, especially if you’ve prepared them properly in a stovetop oven. By the way, you can prepare an apple pie baked in a wood-burning oven. For the ingredients, you need fresh apples that are firm even after baking and still retain their original volume. A puff pastry, butter, vanilla sugar will be necessary for the preparation of the syrup. For the caramel, provide 200 g of sugar in pieces, 1 half lemon and 20 cl of water. That said, start by peeling the apples while cutting them into large quarters. Poach them in the syrup that you had prepared beforehand. Prepare the caramel by melting the lump sugar in the lemon juice and water. This step of the preparation can be done using your wood-burning oven with a pan without a plastic sleeve. Remove the caramel when it begins to turn amber. Then coat the bottom of your pie dishes with it. Then place the apple quarters on top and cover the preparation with the puff pastry. For baking in the oven, use the oven without fire with the door closed. Remove the embers and wait until the baking chamber reaches 180 °C before putting the pie in the oven. Leave to bake for at least 30 minutes. Turn the apple tart out of the tin and eat it at a warm temperature.
Recipe based on dairy products: faisselle made with good farm milk
Are you looking for a light enough recipe to concoct in a wood-fired oven, but you’re running out of ideas? How about preparing a good farm-milk faisselle for your family or friends? The curd is prepared with good quality unpasteurized raw milk. Mix it with rennet or lactic ferment or whey. Then place the preparation in front of the door of the wood-fired oven, leaving it well open, at a temperature of 35 and 50°C. Then let it curdle for 30 minutes in the wood-fired oven. When the farmhouse milk faisselle takes on the structure of a hard-boiled egg white, simply dice it and stir it 3 times every 5 minutes. Drain it in a cloth or in a dish dishpan, then flavour and salt it. For the aroma, it is recommended to use basil. You can keep the whey for other preparations. Gather it all together and check the seasoning before serving.
Recipe based on gratins: salted clafoutis in the wood oven
Reach a new level of taste by savouring the gratins baked in a wood-fired oven. Indeed, your dishes will be refined thanks to the slow and gentle cooking brought by the falling heat of the oven. For the gratin, you can, for example, prepare a salted clafoutis over a wood fire. To do so, you will need fine sausages, an unmixed pig stuffing, salt and pepper. Prepare a clafoutis machine with 2 eggs mixed with mustard, 150 g of milk, 70 g of flour and salt. Then cook the fine sausages in an oiled gratin dish before grilling them. Pour the sausages over the clafoutis machine and put the preparation back in the oven for 20 minutes. Before serving it hot, you can flavour it with onion sauce.