Everything you need to know about cooking in a clay oven
Clay ovens are closest to the traditional ovens that have been used by the ancient civilizations for cooking and baking food items for long years. Cooking in clay ovens started almost more than 6000 years ago. Clay ovens are ideal for cooking food items evenly and baking food items like pizza and bread. However, they can finely cook meat and poultry as well. You can easily find a clay oven for sale in the market and upgrade your cooking style.
Clay ovens are depended on the residual heat from the fire of the wood. The food can be cooked immediately when the fire is still burning hot or it can be cooked slowly and gradually at a lower temperature. The following are some benefits of using a clay oven for cooking:
- Quick-cooking time
The clay oven initially takes time to be heated up; however, once the clay oven is already heated, your food can be cooked immediately. Once you have fired up the oven, the initial temperature can be as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is sufficient to bake a pizza within half a minute only. And an hour later also, your pizza can be cooked within minutes only. Yes, you can take the benefit of the high temperature of a clay oven to cook food faster.
- Perfect cooking environment
Not all dishes are meant to be cooked instantly. There are food items that need to be cooked slowly and gradually for even cooking. With a clay oven, you can create a perfect cooking environment for properly cooked dishes with smoking flavors. A clay oven can stay heated for hours even after the fire dies if the lid remains closed. In fact, a clay oven can stay hot for the entire night. You can put your meat, chicken, and shreds to get cooked over the night into the clay oven and it’ll be ready for your meal. Slow cooking is ideal to bring out the natural flavors of the food and proper cooking.
While cooking food in a clay oven can be easy and good for the delicacy, you must know that it requires a significant amount of preparation as well. The following is more about cooking food in a clay oven:
- Preparing the heat
A clay oven needs to be fired three hours prior to the cooking for the least to create the ideal cooking temperature. This ensures that your dish is going to be cooked evenly and properly. For this, you will need to prepare the fire and maintain it for three hours. And then you will have to slowly let the burning fire die off and equally distribute the heat on the oven floor for even cooking or baking.
- Cooking technique
After the heat distribution, remove the ashes and soot and your clay oven is ready for baking. You can now place your bread and pizzas on the oven floor and they will come out baked within no time. Open pots or covered pots can be used for cooking the meat and veggies in the clay oven.
Buying a clay oven is as easy as preparing the lip-smacking dishes in it. All you need to do is search for a good oven seller in the market and place your order.