You can make these pita bread in a conventional oven, in a kamado or a smoker using a pizza stone. You can also grill them straight on your Fornetto grill.
- Prepare the yeast – mix with equal parts water and let sit for ten minutes.
- Sift the dry ingredients together into large bowl.
- Add the water, oil and yeast to the dry ingredients and mix together until it forms a rough ball before turning out onto a floured work surface.
- Work the dough for 15 minutes until the dough is smooth before returning to the bowl (oil the sides to prevent sticking).
- Cover with cling film or a tea towel and put the bowl aside or in the warming drawer (depending upon your oven model) and leave to rise or proof for at least 60 minutes.
- The dough must double in size.
- Split dough into 5 balls that you need to flatten with a rolling pin.
- Cover them with cloth and let them rise for another 25 minutes.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes (at a temperature of 220-250C) using a pizza stone, an oven tray or directly onto the oven floor.
- Use a spatula to position them in the oven.
- The bread will be ready when it is puffed up.
Option: To grill on a gas grill, pre-heat the grill to at least 200C then turn the heat to low. Lay the pita’s directly on the grill grates. Close the lid for about 1-2 minutes. Flip over and grill on the other size for another minute or so.
Another option: You can also cook the pita on a hot griddle on your stove top.
- With your Fornetto Oven, or kamado, still hot after preparing lunch, this is the perfect opportunity to start a simple dessert by baking some apples and pears in foil.
- Use ripe and sweet apples or pears but do not peel the fruit.
- Cut the fruit in half and place on a large sheet of tin foil. Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios (other nuts can be used if preferred), brown sugar and cinnamon or nutmeg and wrap the fruit securely in the foil to create a parcel.
- Bake in the hot Fornetto oven for twenty-thirty minutes. Fruit is cooked when it is soft and just collapsing on itself.
- Serve hot straight from the oven with vegan or dairy-based ice cream or cream. Delicious!
Suggestion:
For a more decadent treat – why not try whole bananas stuffed with pieces of chocolate inside – the kids will love it.
This flexible recipe can be made in a conventional oven or your Fornetto oven. You can also place the foil parcel in a kamado or on top of a grill. The higher the temperature the less time you will need!
To make the dough
- Combine yeast, sugar and 2 tablespoons of warm water and set aside in a warm place for approximately 15 minutes.
- Place flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Add remainder of water to yeast and whisk through.
- Add yeast mixture to flour mix and combine thoroughly to form a rough ball.
- Add small quantity of flour if your mixture is too wet.
- Turn out onto a lightly-floured board and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth.
- Place tablespoon of olive oil in a clean bowl, coat dough all over and cover with clean tea towel and put aside for 1-2 hours allowing the dough to double in size.
- Place dough back onto floured board and knead a few times.
- For thin base pizzas divide your dough into 4 parts. Shape each ¼ into a round ball.
- Take one ball of dough; keep others covered so they don’t dry out.
- Use a small amount of flour to dust the rolling surface and the rolling pin, to prevent dough sticking. Roll out to required size. (about 30 cm / 12 in)
- Place on pizza stone or tray and add your favourite topping – remember not to overdo it.
- If you use a pizza paddle leave the base on your surface, you can slide it under after all toppings are on the base.
Preheat your Fornetto oven to at least 200 C / 400 F and maintain the heat. You can also make this recipe on a hot grill (using a pizza stone) or in a kamado or smoker.
TIP: Sprinkling (uncooked) polenta meal onto your pizza spatula or stone will prevent it from sticking when you place on the pizza stone and also gives a delicious crispier texture to the base.
Suggested Toppings:
- Margarita – spicy homemade tomato relish and shredded fresh mozzarella or bocconcini, fresh basil leaves to garnish
- Mushroom pizza – sliced sautéed mushroom and basil leaves – served with crème fraiche
- Pancetta – rashers of pancetta, sautéed onions, shredded mozzarella
- Pescatoro – fresh salmon chunks, prawns, baby mussels or clams, scallops and calamari
- Salty pizza – black olive tapenade, salt flakes and chopped rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with extra rosemary
- Tandoori – tandoori paste, tandoori chicken (cooked) fresh chopped tomatoes and mint yoghurt
- Preheat your Fornetto oven or your conventional oven to 200 ℃ (400 ℉ ). See tip below about making the chili on the grill instead.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet/fry pan and fry the onions until translucent.
- Add the meat and brown. Strain away any liquid and return to the heat.
- When the remaining liquid has evaporated and only the oil remains, add your spices and fry for a further 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In your stew pot combine all remaining ingredients with the spiced meat mixture.
- Place the stew pot in your Fornetto and cook for 1 hour covered. If you have a Fornetto oven, light your smoking chips and place in the combustion chamber. Be very careful as it will be extremely hot! Turn the flue to “smoke”
- Cook the chili for another half an hour uncovered.
Tip: Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, and finely chopped chilies. Cornbread and guacamole lend them perfectly to this chill as well!
Tip: You can also prepare this dish on the grill. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over a medium heat (180 to 200C). It should take around an hour an a half, until the meat is very tender.
Click here to read our blog about Tex-Mex cooking (with links to other recipes)
- Preheat your Fornetto oven, a conventional oven, your kamado or smoker, to 190℃ (375℉).
- Wash your vegetables and slice. You should have 27 more or less equal slices of eggplant and 18 slices of round zucchini (or 54 slices of the thin variety). Salt and allow to sweat on absorbent paper for 10 minutes, this will draw extra liquid from the vegetables as well as the bitterness from the eggplant.
- Dredge each piece of eggplant and zucchini through flour and fry in olive oil until very lightly golden, do not overcook here. Place on absorbent paper.
- Lightly oil the base of a roasting dish and cover with a layer of passata.
- Begin by laying out three rows of three slices of eggplant. Sprinkle 2 parts mozzarella to one part Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Cover with zucchini and passata. Repeat with a layer of eggplant and remaining ingredient but pouring passata on the last layer of eggplant before the cheeses. Sprinkle with dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper.
- Cover (making sure the foil does not touch the cheese) and bake for 1 hour.
- Uncover and bake further until the cheese has melted or browned to your liking.
Tips:
1. Place a toothpick through each stack to ensure they remain upright and remove before serving.
2. Cut the remaining eggplant and zucchini into thin chips. Coat with flour, salt and pepper and quickly fry in olive oil over high heat. Toss with Parmiggiano-Reggiano and enjoy!
*Adjust recipe depending on the size of the bread you’re using.
- Preheat your Fornetto oven, conventional oven, kamado or smoker to 200℃ (400℉).
- Mix the butter with the garlic and spread lightly on the bread.
- Top with the prosciutto or cured ham, the Mozzarella and the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Sprinkle with the dried oregano and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
Tip: Use thinly sliced tomato, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil instead of the ham and butter for a vegetarian alternative.
- Preheat your Fornetto oven, or your kamado or smoker to 250℃*. If using your conventional oven or barbecue, heat it to the maximum and monitor your pizza for doneness.
- Prepare the dough following the Fornetto perfect pizza dough recipe.
- Toss the dough and stretch as thinly as possible without tearing it.
- Top with the tomato sauce, the slices of bocconcini, the grated Mozzarella, 3/4 of the fresh basil, coarsely chopped, a large sprinkling of dried oregano and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
- Cook for 12 minutes or until the desired doneness is achieved (this will all depend on how thin or thick the dough is).
- Sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil and serve immediately.
*You can also cook a pizza on a grill using a pizza stone. Slide your pizza onto the preheated pizza stone and cook over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 9 to 11 minutes.
- Preheat your Fornetto oven, or your kamado or smoker to 250℃*. If using your conventional oven or barbecue, heat it to the maximum and monitor your pizza for doneness.
- Prepare the dough following the Fornetto perfect pizza dough recipe.
- Toss the dough and stretch as thinly as possible without tearing it.
- Top with thinly the sliced smoked salmon, the grated Mozzarella, the slices of red onion and the capers.
- Cook for 12 minutes or until the desired doneness is achieved (this will all depend on how thin or thick the dough is).
- Garnish with fresh dill and a dollop of sour cream in the centre and serve immediately.
*You can also cook a pizza on a grill using a pizza stone. Slide your pizza onto the preheated pizza stone and cook over direct medium heat, with the lid closed, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 9 to 11 minutes.
Béchamel is an easy to make sauce made from a roux of butter and flour cooked in milk and seasoned with salt.
When making béchamel it is very important not to darken or burn your roux (flour fried in butter) and to cook it over very low heat. If the roux is dark the béchamel will no longer be white in colour.
It’s also important to keep it over low heat when adding your milk and to whisk it continuously, or you’ll end up with a lumpy, curdled mess instead of a smooth, white sauce.
You can make this sauce on the hob of a conventional oven or on a gas grill.
- Begin by melting the butter over low heat.
- Add the flour to the melted butter and fry over low heat without allowing the flour to brown.
- Slowly add in the milk, whisking continuously until the sauce thickens. Once the milk is fully incorporated and the sauce is homogenous, the heat can be increased in order to reduce the sauce more quickly. Do not allow to boil.
- Season with salt and white pepper to taste. (*The use of black pepper is fine however, the sauce will no longer be a pure white sauce in this case.)
