Wood-Fired Cooking: Techniques and Recipes for the Grill, Backyard Oven, Fireplace, and Campfire

THE AUTHOR SCOOP

What's your most essential kitchen tool?

Tongs

What was your inspiration for writing Wood-Fired Cooking?

My wood-burning oven; the food and community created by it. The oven made me a better cook.

If you had to boil the message of Wood-Fired Cooking down to one sentence, what would it be?

Stay connected to your food. Cook ethically, share food with others and create community wherever you can.

What food could you not live without?

Potatoes

What was your first job?

Right out of clothing design school, I was the assistant to a clothing designer in San Francisco. She was the co-owner and wife of an A-1 screamer. The place had all the fantasy images and sounds of what I thought was the typical garment manufacturer's life. It was a pressure cooker and in the first 6 months I developed an ulcer and quit. I thought that was the end of my life in the garment business. Thankfully, I was wrong and went on to other joyful positions at great companies, spending over 25 years of my life in that world. Next career, food.

Foreword • vii

Acknowledgments • viii

Introduction • 1

1. Cooking with Fire • 3

2. Wood-Fired Basics • 7

3. Becoming an Efficient Wood-Fire Cook • 23

4. Baking Flatbreads and Rustic Artisan Breads • 30

5. Wood-Fired Grilling • 48

6. Campfire Cooking • 70

7. Wood-Fired Roasting • 88

8. Clay-Pot and Cast-Iron Oven Cooking • 108

9. Baked on the Hearth: Savory Tarts and Galettes • 128

10. Low & Slow: Braising to Barbecue • 142

11.Wood-Fired Sweets and Desserts • 160

12.Wood-Fired Pantry Basics • 180

Resources • 193

Bibliography • 196

Index • 197