Bread in a Wood Fired Oven: It’s Just Better!

There’s making bread, and then there’s baking bread. For anyone who has tried it, baking homemade bread in the oven is far superior to just “making it” in a bread machine. Here are some thoughts on bread machine bread vs. oven baked bread.

Bread machine bread just has a much denser, more compacted texture than oven baked bread, even if the recipe you use for each one is exactly the same. This is because bread machines have a very small pan space, and they don’t really allow the bread to rise enough. Plus, the loaves come out in a shape that is vastly different from what most people prefer. Often, these loaves aren’t even sliceable – and let’s be honest, they probably end up in the trash after a day or two.

Then, there’s bread in the oven. Most people prefer lighter, slightly moister bread that tastes fresh baked, rather than a hard, excessively dry bread – so if you are one of those people, that’s just one more reason to invest in one of our wood fired ovens. You could bake bread in a conventional oven, but once you try baking it in your wood fired oven, we think you’ll agree that there’s just no going back.

At Fontana Forni, we have one basic bread recipe that also works for pizza dough. You could say it’s our “bread and butter,” in fact.

Here it is:

• 2 ¾ cups lukewarm water

• 1 Tbsp. granulated instant yeast

• 1 Tbsp. salt

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil

• A pinch of sugar

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 3 1/2 cups bread flour

Add the pinch of sugar and dry yeast to the water. Allow the mixture to rest until you see the surface of the water and yeast begin to bubble (about 15 minutes). Mix in about half the flour with a wooden spoon; when the mixture starts to form into dough, add the olive oil and salt. Add the remaining flour and mix gently by hand until the dough is moist; do not overwork it! Place in a container big enough for the dough to double in size and cover either with a plastic lid or with plastic wrap (not airtight). Allow it to rise at room temperature for about two hours; then, form into a bread loaf or pizza crust.

There’s a little more to it than that, so check out the original recipe for more details. If you have any questions about our wood fired ovens before placing an order, feel free to contact us; we will be glad to answer them!

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