Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
Popular in Italy for centuries, Neapolitan-style pizza has only recently reached these shores, and has made a big splash. These tender, personal-size pies, baked for as little as 75 seconds, have become new favorites from coast to coast.
Forno Bravo DC, based in Arlington, VA, makes it easy to create your own Neapolitan pizza right at home. We’re your Washington DC-area dealer for the famous brick-style wood-fired pizza ovens made by Forno Bravo for residential and restaurant use.
Only special “00” flour, grown and milled specifically for pizza, is used in the crust. To be authentic, the dough should contain only flour, water, salt, and yeast or starter. No oil, sugar, or seasonings are ever found in real Neapolitan pizza dough.
Sauce and toppings are applied sparingly, unlike on a typical American pizza. The star of a Neapolitan pie is the tender, slightly chewy, and flavorful crust, and it should never have to compete with puddles of sauce and mounds of cheese or meat. The cheese used should be fresh cow- or buffalo-milk mozzarella, and the sauce must be very simple (pureed tomatoes, and maybe a pinch of salt or sugar). Fresh basil, olive oil, and salt are often used as well.
Neapolitan pizza is cooked at a very high temperature. Forno Bravo wood-fired ovens easily hit and hold the blast-furnace temperatures needed to do this properly, up to 950° F. It’s amazing to see the crust start to puff up within only seconds, and the pizza is normally ready in less than two minutes.
This type of pizza is never crunchy! The crust on a Neapolitan pie is intended to be soft, not crisp. It might be blistered in spots, but still remains supple. It may even be a little wet in the middle from the moisture in the sauce and cheese.
Some classic varieties of Neapolitan pizza are the margherita (sauce, cheese, and basil), marinara (sauce, garlic, oregano, and basil — no cheese), and filetti (cheese, cherry tomatoes, and garlic — no sauce). Beyond these styles, the only limit is your imagination.
Forno Bravo DC offers wood- and gas-fired pizza ovens in sizes and styles to fit every need. We’re your local wood-fired-cooking experts in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. Please contact Dave Konstantin today at 703-536-3513 or dave@fornobravodc.com for more information.