It was a cool fall day, the air was crisp but the sun was shining and warmth emanated from the wood fire. I stood watching Scott’s wife, Cate, work around their Provence outdoor wood fired oven like a seasoned pro. She was in the process of making a batch of pitas, and as the new kid on campus here at Maine Wood Heat, I got a first row seat.
She brought out a few trays of neatly stacked pitas, lightly sprinkled in flour, which she had spent the entire morning preparing. Even in raw form, they looked perfectly delicious. The fire was ready, with a few nice coals and a small flame. The hearth was self-cleaned, which happens when the oven reaches the right temperature. The flame and the smoldering coals, the open space, all felt so inviting. If I wasn’t so tall, I would have crawled right in.
The art of tossing the pitas into the outdoor oven, appeared deceivingly easy. With a closer look, I could tell it took Cate some practice to master her ability to accurately toss each pita into the oven with the right timing and release. In watching her carefully handle each pita, and cast them into their own spot in the oven, with even spacing in between, I started to understand the connection between the baker and the wood fired oven.
The way Cate talked about knowing the right temperature of the fire without using a dial or thermometer, knowing each inch of the hearth, her ability to get a perfect rise, to me is a relationship that grows over time. The best way I could describe it would be to relate a baker and their wood fired oven to poetry, comparable by its distinctive beauty, rhythm, and style. There are qualities of respect, appreciation, and confidence shared between the two, which is difficult to grasp unless you’re present.
The pitas took only seconds to rise, and as Cate scooped them out of the oven, a trail of steam casually followed. I held the pita in my hands, straight from the oven, took my first bite and smiled. The wholesome, natural taste of the locally grown wheat, the perfect amount of moistness balanced by the light crispness of the crust, and the kiss of the wood fired oven nourished my mind, body and soul.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
Very interesting, I didn’t realize people still used wood fired ovens for cooking in this day and age.
What type of wood is usually burned? Does it effect the flavor of the breads a lot when using different species of wood?
December 3rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Hi Joseph,
I’m glad you found our blog article interesting. The type of wood we suggest burning would be well-seasoned hardwoods, ranging from Beach, Maple, Poplar, and Apple (if available). Normally, you wouldn’t taste much of a difference when burning various species of wood, because in cooking bread a fire is not burning inside the oven – it actually radiates heat that was absorbed and retained by the fire used to preheat the oven to baking temperature. The real difference is the quality of the food out of the oven. Unlike the drying atmosphere of a low mass gas or electric oven, the moisture and succulent juices inside of any food are sealed in and preserved in a wood fired oven. When cooking with a live fire, the food does obtain a light smoky flavor but it would still be difficult to taste a difference between the various species of wood that are used to fuel that fire.
I hope that explanation is helpful. Thanks for your interest!
February 8th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
[...] Read about outdoor wood fired baking with a Provence in our blog article, Power to the Pita. [...]