Introducing our DeliVita Pizza Oven at Castaway
Look what we’ve added to the outdoor area …
It really doesn’t get much more delicious then this…
Inspired by Italy, made in Great Britain, the DeliVita pizza oven combines great design and modern technology with authentic wood-fired cooking to create the ultimate perfect pizza for you to enjoy during your Castaway stay
You can now add the Pizza Package onto your Castaway experience and enjoy restaurant quality pizza deliciousness with all the fun of home cooking. DeliVita’s artisan Italian pizza dough balls are crafted from the highest quality ingredients, partially frozen for freshness and delivered to Castaway for your arrival for ultimate pizza-ease
Fire up and ready to cook in just 25 minutes; the DeliVita reaches temperatures of 550 C, cooking a pizza in 90 seconds
Follow these steps to create your own piece of Italian Pizza Perfection
Click the box to add the Pizza Package when booking your Castaway stay
Stock up on your favourite toppings during your pre-holiday zoom round the shops
Arrive at Castaway to find your fresh dough balls and pizza making equipment waiting for you
Follow the steps for lighting and cooking with the Castaway DeliVita Pizza Oven
Create your own yummy pizza
Trying any new or fun toppings? – let us know what you’ve created
Provided in the Castaway DeliVita Pizza Package will be:
Use of the pizza oven
Use of the equipment including; pizza peel (large flat paddle for turning and lifting), prod (for setting the fire to the back of the oven once lit), brush (for cleaning the area to place your pizza once fire is lit), heat proof glove, pizza wheel for cutting
Logs and kindling, including eco firelighters specifically for pizza ovens (with no petrochemicals)
2 x yummy artisan fresh dough balls, pizza flour for stretching and shaping the dough
All you need to do is bring your favourite topping
Preparing and Cooking your Pizza:
Have your pizza flour, dough balls and toppings to hand
Take a dough ball and sprinkle on some pizza flour. You can either stretch the dough out over the back of your knuckles or place it down on the pizza peel, well adorned with your flour, and push the edges out to form a circle. Try to leave a 1cm / half inch band around the edge – this will form your crust and act as a barrier to stop any pizza toppings spilling off over the edge
Once your base is ready, you can add your toppings. Generally, the order is: base, tomato sauce, mozzarella, then other toppings. If you are using tomato sauce, be very careful not to get any on the pizza peel or it will stick as you try and slide the pizza into the oven
With the fire burning nice and hot, slide your pizza into the oven. Once you see the closest edges to the flame start to puff up (this will not take long – 20 seconds or so), bring the pizza out and rotate it. Continue this process until the pizza is cooked. To check that the base is nice and crispy, gently lift one side of the pizza with the peel – the pizza should lift as a solid disc and not flop over in the middle
DeliVita advice on mozzarella and pizza sauce:
from pg 168 of DeliVita’s book – Wood Fired Feast by Jon Finch
“A quick note on mozzarella and pizza sauce. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Franco, a 60-year-old pizzaiolo (master pizza maker) in the south of Italy several years ago and we discussed in some depth the pros and cons of different types of mozzarella, and also the best tomato sauce
There are two types of mozzarella: the fresh, wet, soft type that comes sealed in a little bag filled with water; and the dryer harder type that is formed into a block, and vacuum packed. Fresh mozzarella is delicious but, because it contains a lot of liquid, it will make your pizza soggy – we don’t want that soaking into our pizza bases. So, instead, use the harder type of mozzarella – you can buy this ready grated in bags from the supermarket. Save the fresh stuff for the salads
Franco’s legendary pizza sauce is simple. He finds the very best tinned tomato’s available – real Italian, high end, gourmet ones – and just lightly blitzes them in the food processor. There may well also be good brands of tinned / jars of pizza sauce – just use really good quality ones”
Building your Fire:
The best way to create a good base fire in a wood fired oven is to use the upside-down ‘Scandi’ method. In this method, the bigger pieces of wood sit at the bottom, the medium sized wood is next, then the thinnest kindling, and the firelighters perch right on top. This means that the fire gradually burns downwards, dropping embers and igniting the next layer down – it avoids the need to keep adding wood as the fire builds
Very importantly, you must stack each layer of wood at 90 degrees to the one below it and leave plenty of gaps for airflow. Think of it like building a small, wonky Jenga structure and you won’t be far off
You should use eco-firelighters in your oven, rather than any petrochemicals. The eco ones are generally made from wood shavings and won’t taint the flavour of your food
Build your fire near the entrance to the oven, then use the prod to push it to the back once lit
Inspired by Italian roots, British design and handcrafted in Yorkshire the DeliVita is eco-friendly, using less wood for cooking, it retains heat and promotes even heat distribution, lock in and enhances flavours and provides the highest efficiency
Thank-you so much to DeliVita for providing me with such mouth-watering and amazing pizza at The Glamping Show 2022, so much so that I couldn’t walk away without buying one of these beautiful ovens to have in our Castaway garden. I am sure guests are going to be as thrilled with it as I am
I have mentioned the DeliVita book – Wood Fired Feast by Jon Finch. This book is available in Castaway for you to read. It contains many recipes and ideas for cooking in the DeliVita wood fired oven, not just pizzas. Should you wish to try any of these during your stay then please do come and find me at the Farm, or contact me before hand, and I can arrange for the oven front and cast iron dish to be available for your stay too. Happy cooking and more importantly happy eating!” – Bryony x