Blessed Are the Pizza Makers

Every now and again, Melanie and I take a class from the experimental college. Last year it was dancing - we had fun and we got out of the house for some social engagement. This time, we signed up for a pizza making class. It was a small class, with space for only five students, so we signed up the moment we saw the class. We got in, but there was a mix up at admissions and they enrolled seven. Oh well, that just meant more pizza!

The class was held at a private residence, which turned out to be a houseboat on Portage Bay with a home-made wood fired oven! We arrived early and got to help start the oven with apple wood logs. Apparently, apple wood is ideal for this type of oven, because it burns hot but doesn't pop and crackle (which is important for when you put your pie near it). The oven reaches temperatures of 700-900 degrees Fahrenheit.

Our instructor, Mike, is a professional wood fired oven pizza maker who was trained in Italy. He showed us how to handle and form the dough so that it holds its form and doesn't lose its toppings, then let us individually bake our pies. The entire baking time is fast (a minute or so) and there are some techniques to turning the pie without losing it. You can also use the dome as a broiler to cook up some of the toppings that aren't quite done. We each had the opportunity to throw and bake three different dough recipes. We also got to eat our creations. So with the extra people, we had a lot to eat, but I'm not complaining because it was good!

This was a really fun class. I probably won't be building an oven in the back yard, but I'll probably try it in the kitchen oven sometime. The important thing is having the stone to evenly heat the whole pie and get a crispy bottom. Our teacher was very knowledgeable about the whole process. If you want to talk to him, his name is Mike Dash and he cooks pizza at the University District farmer's market and does catering as Rolling Fire. He can tell you anything you want to know about wood fired pizza and the ovens they are made in. He's very nice and totally approachable.