General information and Care and Cooking Instructions

Create authentic Italian pizza in your home using one of the oldest methods around, the clay pizza stone BPS1 (optional accessory of Baumatic ovens).

Why use a Pizza stone?

Use your pizza stone to re-create the kiln-fired crispness of a traditional brick oven and rediscover natural flavours, without the risk of burning!

How does it work?

Millions of microscopic firebrick pores absorb moisture from the dough and evenly distribute and retain high oven heat, eliminating hot spots, helping you achieve a crisp light pizza crust.

How do I use a Pizza stone properly?

Your pizza stone will darken and season with use enhancing its cooking properties. You can use your pizza stone for cooking Hard Rolls, Bread, Biscuits, Tortillas, Croissants, Bagels, Calzones, Meat or Fish and many other dishes. Use the grooved side for cooking frozen food and the smooth side for fresh food.
• Position the stone in the centre of the oven.
• Cover with greaseproof paper to prevent sticking.
• Suitable for use on Gas Burner, Oven and Barbeque.
• Do not use oils or fats on the stone.
• When cooking meat or fish, wrap with aluminium foil to retain the fats and juices.
Pre-heat your oven and stone, place your food on the stone in the centre of the oven cavity. Use a medium heat for a pizza!

How do I look after my Pizza stone?

Durable and long-lasting, you will love the results these pizza stones will provide.
• Handle the stone with care.
• Do not use detergents when cleaning only hot water.
• Use a scraper or brush to remove any debris. Alternatively place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the stone between it and your food. This will virtually eliminate the need for cleaning and will provide an easy way to remove the food once cooked. 

ITALIAN FOCACCIA WITH ROSEMARY

Ingredients:
• 500 g fine flour • 200 ml milk • 200 ml water • 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary • 25g yeast • 1 teaspoon sugar • 20 g butter or olive oil • 15g salt

Preparation:
Mix the yeast and the sugar into the milk and leave for 10 minutes. Then carefully mix together all the ingredients, working the mixture into a fine dough, and leave to rise at room temperature for more than an hour. Roll a thin layer of dough, and place in an oiled baking tray. Sprinkle with coarse salt and leave to rise for 30 minutes. Bake on the pizza stone, with the oven set to use „the top and bottom heating element - with or without ventilation“, at 220°C for 10-15 minutes. While baking, sprinkle it with water.

REAL ITALIAN PIZZA BASE 

Ingredients:
• 450 g of Strong Flour • 25 g of Fresh Yeast or 2 sachets of fast acting dried yeast  •  1 Tsp of Sugar • 175 ml of warm Water • 1 Tsp of Salt • 3-5 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast in half the water. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Then add the remainder of the water, olive oil, salt, sugar and remaining water, mix together with your hands. Next knead well until the dough has become elastic & stretchy. Leave in a lightly dusted bowl and cover with a damp tea towel and put in a warm place for approximately 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Knead the dough again and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Roll into a round.
Pizza Toppings
Neapolitan: Peeled Plum Tomatoes, Anchovy Fillets, Olive Oil, Oregano, Basil and Sea Salt.
Margherita: Peeled Plum Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Basil, Olive Oil and Salt.
Marina: Peeled Plum Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic, Oregano, Olive Oil and Salt.
Also try Shrimp, Smoked Bacon, Rosemary, Onion, Pecorino Cheese and Fontina Cheese. Add quantities as required. Cook your pizza at 180ºC on a hot pizza stone programmed to „pizza function“ for approximately 20 minutes.

SAVOURY RAVIOLI FILLED WITH CHEESE AND SPINACH

Ingredients:
Dough: • 250 g shortening • 250 g all-purpose or fine flour • 250 g cheese • 2 eggs • 1 egg for glazing • 3 teaspoons salt
Filling: • 200 g cheese • 300 g spinach (broccoli or smoked salmon) • 1 clove of garlic • a pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation:
Work the dough thoroughly in a large bowl. You can combine all the ingredients at the same time. Leave the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then roll on a rolling board (sprinkled with fl our), into a 2 mm sheet. Cut out circles from the sheet, and with a spoon add the filling in the middle of each one. The filling is made of spinach steamed with garlic. Remove the excess water from the spinach, and mix with cheese. (The salmon filling is made from cheese, salmon cut into small pieces, and chives). Glaze the edges of the circles with egg whites and fold in half. Press the edges firmly together so that they stick well and do not fall apart. There is a special ravioli cutter on the market that can do this job for you. Place the raviolis on the pizza stone layered with baking paper, and glaze with egg yolk. Bake in a pre-heated oven on the pizza stone, programmed to use „the hot air function together with the bottom heater“, for 20 mins at 180°C minutes.

BAKED POTATOES

Ingredients:
•  4 mid-sized potatoes • 30 g ground pork •  2 spring onions • 30 g grated Emmental cheese • 4 table spoons cream • 4 table spoons olive oil • Salt and pepper (freshly ground)
• Chive for garnish

Preparation:
Boil the unpeeled potatoes for about 6-7 minutes until semi-soft. Then cool them down and cut off an edge of the potato, remove the inside and fill in with the filling.
Filling:
Mix ground pork with the cut onion, cream, and grated cheese. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Bake at 190°C in a pre-heated oven on a hot pizza stone programmed to „grill + convection“ for about 20 minutes.

BAKED STUFFED TROUT A LA SICILIANA 

(2 serves)

Ingredients:
• 2 mid-sized trout (2x250 g) •  10 g butter •  4 leaves wild garlic
• Freshly ground salt • Aluminium foil to wrap the fish in
Side dish ingredients: • 8 asparagus stems • 50 g butter • Herbal salt • 2 cloves of garlic

Preparation:
Clean the fish, remove the scales with the edge of a knife, filet and clean. Rinse under running water and dry. Salt the fish lightly, and place the chopped garlic leaves and a knob of butter inside the belly.
Wrap the trout in the aluminium foil and seal both sides tightly. Bake in a pre-heated oven on the hot pizza stone, with the oven set to the “pizza” mode, or the classic “top and bottom heating elements + ventilation” mode at 195°C for 18 minutes. After cooking remove the foil, "advanced cooks" may remove the skin and spine with bones. Serve cleaned filets with a small amount of the juice left over from baking. For a side dish we recommend baked potatoes, chips, steamed white asparagus, or green salad which can contain finely chopped wild garlic – it is very healthy and tastes great.

Side dish preparation (White asparagus):
Peel off a thin layer of the white asparagus as this is very bitter (this is not necessary with green asparagus). Boil the asparagus in salted water for 6 minutes. Drain and sauté the stems in butter with the herbal salt. This side dish not only goes well with fish, but also with a steak or fried eggs.

BAKED TURKEY BREAST WITH MUSHROOMS AND PARMESAN CHEESE

(2 serves)

Ingredients:
• 300 g turkey = 2 turkey breasts • 90 g cleaned wild mushrooms (can be replaced with fi eld mushrooms) • Freshly chopped chives • Salt and pepper • 2 tabelspoons olive oil or butter • 30 g parmesan slices

Preparation:
Cut the turkey breast in half, sprinkle with salt, and fill with slices of mushroom and parmesan. Add some mushroom to the top, and sprinkle with pepper. Add parsley, olive oil and wrap in aluminium foil. Bake in a pre-heated oven on a pizza stone, programmed to use both „the top and bottom heaters with ventilation“, at 190°C for approximately 30 minutes. Serve on a plate half wrapped in the foil. Garnish with parsley.

BEEF WELLINGTON

(4-6 serves)

Ingredients:
• 900 g Beef Fillet • 1 Packet of Puff Pastry • 55 g Prosciutto Ham (thinly sliced) • 1 Egg Yolk • Sea Salt • Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Firstly season the fillet with the sea salt and pepper. Now using a hot frying pan with a little oil seal the beef on all sides until it starts to brown. Set to one side and allow to cool. Next roll out the pastry and lay your thin slices of ham on top of the pastry and place your cooled fillet on top of the ham & pastry, then lift the ham up from each side of your fi llet and let it rest on top of the fillet. Next lift one side of the pastry up and place on top of the beef, and then roll the fillet over until it is covered with the rest of the pastry, making sure the edges have been sealed with a little egg wash.
Finally brush the pastry with the beaten egg yolk and bake on the pizza stone at 180ºC in „circular element with fan“ mode for approximately 45 -55 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.

APPLE CAKES WITH NUTS

(for 8 persons) 

Ingredients:
•  250 g flaky pastry • 5 apples •  80 g nuts (crushed) •  2 vanilla sugar •  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon mix •  3 tablespoon crystal white sugar •  20 g butter • 1 egg for glazing

Preparation:
Roll the flaky pastry into a thin layer of approximately 2 mm thick, and cut out circles with a small glass or a cutter. Put the circles in rows on a baking tray laid with baking paper, pierce them with a fork and glaze with an egg. Peel the apples, cut them into quarters, and slice into thin slices. Take three slices and make a fan, placing them on the cake. Sprinkle the apple with a ½ tablespoon of flavoured sugar, crushed nuts, and top it with butter using the tip of the knife.
Bake the cakes in a pre-heated oven at 180°C in „convection“ mode for approximately 25 minutes. The dough will slightly puff up and the apples will caramelise. Place the cakes on baking paper, and bake on the pizza stone.

STRAWBERRY TART

(for 8 persons) 

Shortbread - Ingredients: •  2 egg yolks •  50 g sugar •  1 vanilla sugar •  200 g butter • Lemon zest from 1 lemon • 380 g fine flour
Ingredients: •  1 Orange • Strawberry Jam • 1 Punet of Fresh Strawberries •  2-3 Tablespoons of Caster Sugar

Preparation:
Mix butter and sugar, yolks, and add fine flour and grated lemon zest. Knead the dough into a compact roll, and leave it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Then roll the dough into a 1 cm thick sheet with a 26 cm diameter. The edges should be higher. Pierce the cake with a fork. Bake on parchment on a pizza stone for 15 minutes until golden at 180°C „the top and bottom heating element“ programme.
Once the pastry is almost cool, brush with the juice of the orange, fill with the strawberry jam. Slice the fresh strawberries and arrange on top of the jam and sprinkle with caster sugar.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Ingredients:
• 100 g of high-quality baking chocolate • 120 g fine flour • 30 g cocoa • 100 g brown sugar •  1 tablespoon baking soda • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 1 egg • 100 ml milk or cream • 50 g chopped nuts • 50 g chopped dark chocolate • Pinch of salt

Preparation:
Melt the chocolate and butter in a cup placed in a saucepan filled with boiling water, or alternatively in a microwave (for 1 minute). In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda, cocoa, and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, whip the eggs with sugar into a white mousse, and add the vanilla extract for flavour. Mix the melted chocolate with the eggs and add flour. The result is a rather tough dough
into which pieces of nuts and chocolate can be added. With a spoon form scoops of the mixture, and place on the baking paper. Bake on the pizza stone in a pre-heated oven, which has been programmed to „convection“ mode at 170°C for 20 minutes. These cookies are great with tea. Store the cookies in a sealed container in a cool place.