Pizza ovens are incredibly versatile. So, it makes no sense to limit yourself to ‘just’ making perfect, mouthwatering pizzas. There exists a whole world of recipes and dishes for you to consider cooking in your wood-fired oven!
Here is Californo’s list of top food ideas to try baking in your pizza oven.
- Potato Chips
Despite being easy to make, potato chips are some of the most indulgently delicious foods you can make for your family. Simply throw your potato slices into a bowl of a good high-heat oil and toss to completely cover each piece of potato. Add salt to taste and toss again. Next, evenly distribute the potato slices onto a high heat resistant pan. It’s okay if they overlap each other or are piled slightly since you will toss them and move them around during cooking time. Place the pan into the baking chamber of your wood fired oven. Make sure to adjust your cooking time based on the thickness of your potato skin slices. Keep an eye on them and toss them a few times to evenly brown and crisp each piece.
- Focaccia Bread
Focaccia is a simple bread that everyone loves. You can enjoy it plain, or tear out a chunk of the bread and dip it in balsamic vinegar mixed with olive oil.
Anne Burrell shares an excellent recipe for focaccia bread in her Food Network show, Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef.
- Quesadillas
For an easy way to make multiple quesadillas, use your pizza oven! The wood will give your quesadillas a richer flavor.
- Apple Cobbler
Apple cobbler is a dish you can make in any oven. But in your pizza oven, you’ll get cobbler with a crisp, perfectly cooked exterior, as well as sweet, subtly smoky flavors.
- Dutch Pancake
Dutch pancakes are usually yummy, but they take on an entirely different quality when made in a pizza oven. With deeper flavors and pancake edges that curl within seconds of entering the baking chamber, you’ll never want to go back to using a conventional oven again.
- Rock Cakes
Rock cakes are a type of small fruit cake. They are called rock cakes not because they are rock-hard, but because their rough surfaces make them look a bit like rocks. Rock cakes are a traditional British teatime treat that became popular during WWII because they require fewer eggs and less sugar to make.
Today, rock cakes are making a comeback. And they taste even better when made in a wood fired oven! BBC has a great rock cake recipe that can be done in just under an hour.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookies made in regular ovens often have edges that are too well done or even burnt. In a wood fired oven, the heat is distributed evenly throughout the baking chamber, so the edges are flawlessly crisped, leaving a perfectly cooked gooey cookie center.
- Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls made in wood fired ovens have a richer taste. If you struggle to find a use for your leftover pizza dough, this is the solution.
This overnight cinnamon roll recipe from Alton Brown is great to make in your wood fired oven.
- Chicken Strips
Chicken strips are a humble, but surprisingly delicious, go-to finger food. With just a little olive oil, garlic, bread crumbs, and basil, you can get the most delicious chicken strips you’ve ever had, using your wood fired oven.
- Cheese Fondue
Using your wood fired pizza oven will impart a subtly smoky flavor to your cheese fondue. You get an additional dimension of flavor that could never be replicated in your typical fondue maker.
What have you tried baking in your pizza oven? We’d love to hear from you!