Getting a pizza oven seems to be the must-have garden accessory alongside the BBQ. Everyone likes pizzas; nowadays, we're baking our own at home. It's a great idea because if you think about it. When you order a pizza for delivery, it is never as good as one in a restaurant. Pizzas taste best when you eat them straight out of the oven.
There are a couple of key things to consider when making pizza:
4. Get organised before you start making pizzas.
It is tempting to get going, but a little organisation will make it easier for everyone. Set out your topping ingredients in bowls. Make sure everything is sliced and ready to add. The less time a pizza sits around, the better, especially when you add wet ingredients like tomato sauce. You don't want it to get soggy or hard to move off the pizza peel into the oven. Nothing is worse than the toppings falling off into the oven, and the pizza base staying lodged on the peel. Now that's a mess you want to avoid at all costs!!
How to make your pizza more authentic
Five tips or methods used by the professionals to take your pizza game to the next level:
- Add Parmesan as well as mozzarella. The salty kick balances the taste.
- Don't overload the dough; more is not more in this case. If you smother the pizza with toppings, it won't bake properly.
- Don't add too much tomato sauce. Just spread a dessert spoonful of sauce across the pizza base.
- Use semolina to stretch and shape your dough balls. Semolina acts as a barrier and stops the dough from sticking to the surface, creating a great chewy crust.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil over all your toppings. It adds flavour and stops the bread from drying out.
Topping suggestions
It's easy to pimp your pizza. Here are some of our favourite combinations. In particular, we love adding more ingredients when the pizza comes out of the oven.
Another winning combination is Parma ham, rocket, grated parmesan and a little olive oil.
Other toppings to consider are:
Njdua sausage: It's delicious. A little goes a long way. It is spicy and earthy at the same time; it goes well with a little soft creamy goat's cheese.
Chorizo: not Italian, but it works well in place of pepperoni.
With the Charlie Oven you don't need to buy a separate pizza oven. One of the great things about Charlie is that it is an all-in-one outdoor oven for BBQ, smoking as well as restaurant quality pizzas.
All that is left to say is Buon Appetito!