Portable Oven Class Schedule for 2013

I have started scheduling my portable oven class for a variety of locations for 2013.

I primarily keep the list on my main Portable Oven Classes page.

In short, these are the dates scheduled so far.

04/20/13 Gale Woods Farm Park (Minnetrista, MN)
05/04/13 Tunnel Mill (south of Rochester, MN, might be full)
08/08/13 Tunnel Mill (south of Rochester, MN, Added in February)
05/12/13 Borner Farm Project (Prescott, WI)
05/25/13 Running Dog Ranch (near Stockholm, WI)
06/22/13 White Bear Center for the Arts (White Bear Lake, MN)
06/29/13 Borner Farm Project (Prescott, WI)
08/17/13 Running Dog Ranch (near Stockholm, WI
08/24/13 Borner Farm Project (Prescott, WI)

I expect to add fall dates for Gale Woods and WBCA.

Ten classes in one year would be a record, and there are even other locations under negotiation but not yet scheduled.

It's shaping up to be a busy year for teaching people how to build ovens in a day.

You can read more about my class in the pages whose links are to the right of the blog (under "PAGES").

January 25, 2013: I got an e-mail from Tunnel Mill telling me my class on 05/04/13 was already full, with a waiting list of two people. (That's four months ahead of the class.) We added another date (possibly June 8).

I also put together a map showing where my classes are scheduled.

D'Amico & Sons, Golden Valley, Minnesota Field Report

While looking for a place to eat dinner after attending an art exhibition at the Perpich Center for Arts Education I did a "search nearby" and found that there was a D'Amico & Sons location at 7804 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, MN 55437, about a mile away. Looking at the reviews on Trip Advisor for the restaurant, I saw one where it mentioned "wood fired oven" so that restaurant location seemed worth a try.

This time I didn't have my camera with me, so there are no pictures.

There is a menu that you can download from their page. The actual selections available in the restaurant were a bit broader.

The good news: They really do have and use a wood-fired oven to bake their pizza.

The bad news: They run their oven at a comparatively low 500 degrees or so.

As a result, their wood-fired pizza is just OK.

I ordered their Neapolitan (a highly ironic name considering the temperature of true Neapolitan pizza ovens), which had fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, and basil. The pizza was thin crust, not overloaded, and had a bit of char on the bottom. It would have definitely benefited from some attention from a bubble popper. A couple of big bubbles had pushed the sauce and cheese away from substantial portions of my pizza.

Even with those problems, it was a pretty tasty pizza, and one I would order again.

Rabbit's Bakery, Lake City, Minnesota Field Report

One the second day of a vacation at Stockholm, Wisconsin, we crossed the border back into Minnesota to visit Rabbit's Bakery in Lake City. We got there just before noon, so that baking for the day was over, but the wood-fired oven was being heated up for the next day's baking.

There were lots of tasting things in case waiting to be chosen. We saw lots of people coming in to buy things or to have lunch at the bakery cafe.

There was some breads of the day on the rack waiting to be taken, a menu for drinks on the wall. You can also see a sign for pizza (lower right), which they currently make once a month.

They have their distinctive sign hanging outside their door.

Here you can see the chimney stack and cinder block addition for their wood-fired oven. It looks like they also added some additional venting.

Just in case you can't find it going by the address, they also have a distinctive sign on the exterior wall of their bakery building.

Everything we bought was good. I'll certainly stop by again if I'm in the area.

Portable Oven Class, Gale Woods Farm Park, Minnetrista, Minnesota, Sept. 8, 2012

I have an agreement with the farm supervisor at Gale Woods Farm Park to hold my portable oven-building class on Sept. 8, 2012, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Tim Reese, who organized cob oven-building classes at Gale Woods, has been kind enough to let me return to Gale Woods. While I have not had my oven-building class there, members of the Saint Paul Bread Club did build portable brick ovens there in 2009, as recorded in an Extras segment by KARE-11.

We are aiming to leave the oven up to help Gale Woods celebrate their harvest festival Oct. 6 and 7.

Update August 3: Registration is now available on-line.
Update September 4: Class is now full, with a waiting list.
Update Februray 15: Next class is scheduled for April 20, 2013.

Alan Scott-style Oven Class, near Twin Cities, Minnesota, July 13-15, 2012

Rae Ann Vandeputte has cancelled  her brick oven building course at her home in Victoria, MN.

The remaining part of this message just preserves the original details. It no longer applies.

The class will learn how to build an Alan Scott oven from oven-builder and rustic bread baker Derek Luchese. Derek teaches the oven-building course at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN and is owner of Both Hands Bread, South Gillies, ON.

The course is offered at a significantly lower cost and near the Twin Cities so that

• more folks can learn how to build ovens
• Rae Ann Vandeputte can get some help building her oven

During the course you will actually build an oven to near-completion, gaining experience with pouring the concrete hearth slab, setting the firebricks for the hearth, and building an arched oven vault. All materials will be provided; you just bring some gloves and dirty clothes.

More details about the class can be found at the web site she built for the class.

If you or anyone you would know might like to take this fun course, have them look at the class registration page.
You can also contact Rae Ann Vandeputte at 612-381-7908 or raeann.vandeputte@gmail.com

Dates: July 13-15, 2012 (all day for each day)
Cost: $250.00 (meals provided)
Location: 8400 Allegheny Grove Blvd, Victoria, MN 55386

Original source

Alan Scott-style Oven Class, near Twin Cities, Minnesota, May 4-6, 2012

Carrie Jennings will be holding a brick oven building course at her home in southern Dakota County.

The class will learn how to build an Alan Scott oven from oven-builder and rustic bread baker Derek Luchese. Derek teaches the oven-building course at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN and is owner of Both Hands Bread, South Gillies, ON.

The course is offered at a significantly lower cost and near the Twin Cities so that

• more folks can learn how to build ovens
• Carrie Jennings can get some help building his oven
• part of the course cost will go toward a donation to the Cannon River Watershed Partnership

During the course you will actually build an oven to near-completion, gaining experience with pouring the concrete hearth slab, setting the firebricks for the hearth, and building an arched oven vault. All materials will be provided; you just bring some gloves and dirty clothes.

If you or anyone you would know might like to take this fun course, have them contact Carrie Jennings at:
carriegeo@gmail.com

Dates: May 4-6, 2012 (all day for each day)
Cost: $250.00 (meals provided)
Location: map

Free camping or sleeping in the barn is a possibility.

Original source

Portable Oven Classes, 2012, Minnesota

I am now scheduled to teach my oven-building classes at four Minnesota locations in 2012 (updated 9/4/2012). So far, there has been only one class at each location.

The class at Silverwood Park on Saturday, April 28, 2012 was full, and we managed even though it was raining..

Silverwood Park has told me they won't be hosting my class again (they don't see it as being in line with their mission).

The class at Tunnel Mill on Saturday, May 5, 2012 was full, and we managed even though we had thunderstorms and rain.

The next class in Minnesota is Sept. 8, at Gale Woods Farm Park. (Registration is full.)
After that, the next class in Minnesota is Oct 13, at the White Bear Center for the Arts. (Registration is open.)

You can find out more about my class schedule here.

Olive Pizza, Minneapolis, Minnesota

While doing some shopping at Midtown Farmers Market in Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, I spied a tent with the legend "wood-fired pizza" emblazoned on it.

Checking it out I saw a pizza oven built into a trailer, and a crew running a wood-fired oven to make pizza.

This turned out to belong to a business I had not heard about, Olive Pizza, Mobile Wood-Fired Pizza.

Their web site doesn't give a lot of detail about their business. The earliest date currently showing on their calendar is August 27, 2011.

They were selling a variety of pizzas for $7 each. I did not have the opportunity to try one.

I did take a few pictures, but I'm not able to upload them at this point.

I wish them luck. (I can't say I'm impressed by their web site.)

June 28, 2012: I saw that their web site says that they are at the Bloomington Farmers Market, no longer at the Midtown Farmers Market.

Blue Moon Dine-In Theater, State Fair Grounds, Minnesota

An article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune mentioned in passing, "Food-loving fairgoers know to visit the five-year-old Blue Moon Dine-In Theater for fabulous wood-fired pizzas...."

The Blue Moon Dine In Theater is mentioned on the state fair's food finder. If you click to open the information about the Blue Moon Dine In Theater, it says, in part, "...wood-fired pizza (pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushroom, tomato bruschetta, salami sausage, margarita)...."

The Minnesota State Fair is only open 12 days of the year.

So if you happen to be in Minnesota and you happen to be attending the state fair (for which there is an admission charge), you might consider having some wood-fired pizza there.

Portable Oven Classes, Silverwood Park, Minnesota

My one-day oven building class at Silverwood Park in the Twin Cities is now available for registration through this link.

My classes at Silverwood have always filled, so if you want to take a class this year so you can build an oven this year, this is your remaining opportunity.

8/22/11: Apparently the class is full. We are planning to do a little deliberate overbooking, so you might still be able to sneak in.

Roma Restaurant, Bar and Market, Willernie, Minnesota Field Report

I made a lunchtime visit to the Roma Restaurant, Bar and Market, Willernie, Minnesota. They are located at 460 Stillwater Road, Willernie, MN 55090. (Note that they also have a Restaurant page on Facebook.) They are on my map of wood-fired oven businesses in Minnesota.

The outside of the building is directly in front of its narrow parking lot. From what I could see of the interior, it looks like they added the oven and expanded next door to their original location in 2008.

The oven is tucked into the front corner of the original space, back behind the counter and by the kitchen. You can barely see it from their dining room.

One can really see that this is a wood-fired oven. (A small image of one appears on their home page.) They don't really explain where the oven comes from (or why they wanted one), but it certainly does its job.

The menus for Roma Restaurant are available for downloading. I took my wife there for lunch, and we ordered the Balsamico (without the proscuitto, since we are vegetarians). Service seemed attentive and fast. My wife and I both thought it was delicious.

We found the crust to be very tender, not the hard, chewy crusts we often find with any pizzas, but especially with WFO pizzas.

There were several other pizzas on the menu we wanted to try, plus there are lots of other tasty-looking items that are not wood-fired oven pizzas.

There is a sign in their window that says they can par bake their pizzas so you can finish baking them at home. That would be an interesting option to try.

It's certainly not in our neighborhood, but if we happen to find ourselves in that corner of the Twin Cities Metro again, we will stop in for another visit.

Minnesota WFO Businesses

I have now assembled a map of wood-fired oven businesses in Minnesota. I am trying some new options with map construction. I am trying to color code information about the different businesses so that people with particular tastes in mind can better see where they can find the food they like.



The color key that I have applied to places on the map attempts to use the following
categories:

• green - VPN certified
• white - Neapolitan-style, but not certified
• red - hearth, but gas or electric, not wood
• yellow - farm
• blue - restaurant, possibly without pizza (e.g. wood-fired grill)
• brown - bakery
• gray - don't know

So of you want to find wood-fired oven pizza, look for the green or white markers.

Mobile Wood-fired Pizza Catering Twin Cities

I'm adding this post because it's a common search term, and I thought I would prepare an answer for it.
(Updated 6/8/2012)

I have identified mobile wood-fired pizza catering businesses in (and near) the Twin Cities that make the effort to be easily found. All of these are (or will be) listed on my Business Ovens page (local to Minnesota and Wisconsin) and on my Mobile Oven page in the Mobile Oven Businesses section (which is worldwide).

• Big River Pizza
• Olive Pizza (added 9/26/2011)
• Pizza Festa di Viaggio (permanently relocated to Nashville, TN; sorry)
• Red Wagon Pizza Company (added 07/09/2012)
• Russell Glover Farm (River Falls, WI, but also serving the Twin Cities)
• Thyme to Entertain
• Wandering Fire (St. Croix Falls, WI, added 6/8/2012)

I have not used any of these businesses. I don't know how much they charge.

If you find similar businesses in Minnesota (or elsewhere), leave me a comment, and I will add them to my link collection.

Round Barn Farm Bed & Breakfast & Bread, Red Wing, Minnesota

Several years ago now, I got interested in what I called "bread tourism." While there are obvious places for somebody interested in bread to go (King Arthur Flour and the Kneading Conferences for example), one place I discovered was much closer to home, Round Barn Farm Bed & Breakfast & Bread, Red Wing, Minnesota.

I don't remember where I heard about them, but I did want to pay them a visit, so my wife and I went there and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. I did put some info about them on my Quest for Ovens web site on the businesses page.

Their bread baking and breakfast have their own page.

If you are one of their guests, then you can bake some bread in their oven and later take it with you.

Their breakfasts include bread baked in their oven. (I forget the hearth size, but it's an Alan Scott design built into the oldest structure on the farm, an old smoke house.)

Bread Baking Link Collection

While normally I focus on brick ovens in this blog, I thought I would digress a bit by putting one of my own subsites forward.

In response to a question from somebody who heard me on Radio KASM's program, Afternoon Delight, I decided to publish my collection of links related to bread baking.

I added them as part of the web site that I maintain for the Saint Paul Bread Club.

I just called the pages Bread Links. They are built using a process similar to the one I use to build the links for the Quest for Ovens Ovens Links pages.

I also have a subsite for my baking and oven-building classes called Baking with escargo.That is mainly of interest to people near the Twin Cities, since that is where most of my classes are held (Minnesota and western Wisconsin).

If you are interested in bread baking, I hope you find the links useful.

Portable Oven Classes (Update), Minnesota and Wisconsin

I have put together a consolidated site for my classes, including my oven-building classes.

The site's index page primarily discusses class formats, and locations.

There's a locations page for class location and registration information.

There's also a schedule page for both the baking classes and the oven-building classes. (For simplicity, I put the oven-building class dates on the locations page as well as the schedule page.)

The Tunnel Mill location requested an additional spring date (May 14) because of "popular demand," (the May 7 class filled and they had a long waiting list). They also said they anticipate the May 14 class to fill.

It's going to be an interesting year for oven building.

Falconer Vineyard’s Vineyard Bistro, Red Wing, Minnesota

I heard from someone from Red Wing (Bill Hanisch of Hanisch Bakery & Coffee Shop) about a winery that recently installed a wood-fired brick oven. I thought he said the name was the Faulkner Winery.

Well, at least that's what I thought I heard.

In reality, my search turned up the Falconer Vineyards, near Red Wing. Minnesota.

They have a Vineyard Bistro, which does have a wood-fired oven (picture on their page).

Their page says in part, "We will reopen for pizzas in April." Apparently that is late April.

As of May 20, 2011, their site says, "Now open Fridays through Sundays during winery hours!" On July 1, the bistro hours show that it opens at noon, Friday through Sunday.)

I added pictures of their oven that they supplied to me on my Business Ovens page.

I definitely intend to give them a try sometime.

Portable Oven Classes, Minnesota and Wisconsin

My schedule for teaching my class on portable brick ovens is now mostly firm.

If everything goes according to plan, I'll be teaching my class in five different locations this year.

Three of the locations are in Minnesota (Tunnel Mill, Silverwood Park, and the annual meeting of the Minnesota Guild of Metalsmiths), and two are in Wisconsin (French Hill Folk School, Driftless Folk School).

I put together a page about the class here. The class dates scheduled are listed below.

• 05/07/11 Tunnel Mill (full)
• 05/14/11 Tunnel Mill (added by popular demand)
• 06/11/11 French Hill Folk School
• 06/25/11 Driftless Folk School
• 08/13/11 French Hill Folk School
• 09/10/11 Silverwood Park
• 09/17/11 Minn. Guild of Metalsmiths

It's a one-day class with everyone getting a chance to build an oven and watch naan, pita bread, pizza, and bread getting baked in the oven.

White Bear Lake United Methodist Church, White Bear Lake, Minnesota

The Minneapolis StarTribune has an on-line version of an article about the White Bear Lake United Methodist Church, White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and their community oven.

There is information about other community ovens here.

Pompeii Pizzeria, Elk River, Minnesota

A member of the family mentioned Pompeii Pizzeria, Elk River, Minnesota.

It's one of the newer Neapolitan pizza places in the Twin Cities area, although it's in a far northwest suburb.

My family reports that the pizza there is very good.

They got some recent coverage on KARE-11.

Another link on KARE-11.

They make their own mozzarella daily.

Update March 25, 2011: There was a restaurant review posted in the blog, Monica's Nest. It included some good pictures and had nice things to say about the place.