My parents got a pizza oven this summer {although I should note that it's not just any old pizza oven, it's a Morso Forno Danish designed pizza oven!} and we've been having some fun, family pizza nights ever since. I posted a photo of this on Instagram the other night, and so many of you were interested in finding out how easy it is to use and what we think of it. I also wanted to share notes on our favourite pizza recipes for us to look back on after a few weeks of trial & error... 

We first discovered Morso at my Aunt & Uncle's last summer, they had bought one at the Grand Designs show after falling in love with the look of it and invited us over for a pizza lunch for my Grandma's Birthday. That one lunch sold it to us {I say us - I mean my parent's but I'm collectively pretending that we own it as a family haha} and my Dad finally caved in August this year. They ordered it here  and as he ordered the full package, got the full 'white glove' service with delivery where the delivery guys will set it up for you & show you how to use it. 

I mean, it's certainly not cheap, but fits in so well in their garden and we hope to use it for many years to come. It comes with a five year guarantee too. He wanted the full table set up, included in that package, as the stand looked so great at my Auntie's with the wood stacked beneath. 

It's so much more than just a pizza oven, although we haven't tried it for anything else yet but look forward to, and comes with a cast iron grill, a smoker adapter and various tools to help you with your cooking or baking. The Danes behind Morso have been making ovens since the 1800s! 

There are so many variations of pizza that you can try. But the real key to good pizza is getting the oven hot enough. You need to start this around two hours before you want to cook. So we normally make an afternoon of it, starting around 4pm and aiming to cook about 6.

You start by making a fire towards the front of the oven using kindling and let it burn down to embers, then you build it up again with small logs/kindling & burn it down again. Each time, you're pushing it further back a little. It will probably take three or four times before you build up to the slightly bigger logs. The chimney piece will help with the draw. 

We've found that it's really social thing, either with us five as a family or with family friends too. Everyone topping their own pizza is fun, although we've found with practice that it's better to make a few different ones that everyone can have a piece of rather than each person having a pizza or you all end up eating at different times!

Pushing the fire back.

and adding logs at this stage.

My Dad bought this infra-red thermometer to know when it's hot enough. Around 400c seems to be optimum. 

The set comes with a rake to push the fire back, creating a space for your pizzas and ensuring there's heat all around the oven space.

Mum, Dad and the pup <3

Ready to go! It's so mesmerising to watch. It was beautiful when the days were long & light and evenings warm back in August, but actually I think we all enjoyed it just as much the other night as it got dark and the fire glowed & kept us warm. I feel like we'll use it throughout the seasons and hope to cook other things within it too.

D O U G H 

We've tried a few different bases over the last few weeks. The easiest being ready made from Waitrose, the frozen dough which comes in wholemeal or regular which you defrost for a day and roll out. They've been pretty good although seem to be full of salt. 

Our favourite has been the Jus-Roll sourdough pizza dough from Waitrose, which we've cut in half {they come up thick} and rolled out. These are amazing as they puff up once they hit the heat and are just like those you'd get in a sourdough pizza restaurant. But... again, they're really high in salt {possibly only an issue because we've seen it on the pack, I'm sure those in the restaurants have even more and you don't question it?} and they do work out fairly pricey if you're buying a few.

So, in the end, we've started making our own dough using 00 flour, warm water and a sachet of yeast plus salt. It's from Jamie's new Italy show. Next time, we want to try this easy sounding Pizza Pilgrim's recipe and I'm desperate to start a sourdough starter to make our own sourdough bases. 

Sauce wise, we've tried a few and tend to prefer rustic passattas. You don't want too much on the pizza so we just ladle some out and circle it around.

Another little hack have been these non-stick pizza mats which have a size guide and make it really easy to stretch/roll the dough out.

Choose your favourite toppings and prepare the cheese.

A friend who runs a mobile pizza van told us that dry packed grated cheese is better for melting evenly but I'm not a fan. We much prefer the proper mozzarella. Again, it's all down to whatever you prefer. 

Then add your pizzas to your floured peel {which comes with the Morso set}, stretching them out once they're on.

Heart shaped!

Top and you're ready to put them in the oven.

And finally, this oil drizzler has been amazing for finishing them before putting them in the oven and makes us feel like we're in Italy. Don't forget the fresh basil either!

It definitely takes a little practice to transfer the pizza from the peel into the oven without the toppings shifting too much. But you'll soon get the hang of that wrist flick. {we leave this to Dad & Ben!} 

You can move them around with the peel when cooking so that they cook evenly. After about 90 seconds, they're done! Super quick when it's that hot.

SO delicious. These have been our best yet so sour dough is definitely the way to go, especially if you like those puffy cornicione {crusts}.

We serve it all with salad.

Toppings are great but sometimes, you just can't beat a wood fired margherita. 

We still have more to practice but every firing has been so delicious, and fun so far. It's a tasty way to practice and by next summer I hope we'll be pro. We're really loving this oven so far, and if my parent's didn't have one around the corner for us to use, then we'd be getting one for our garden! 

Are you into pizza? I mean, who isn't into pizza right?! 

You can find this full set online here which includes manufacturer delivery & installation.

R <3 xx 

{I received a discount on this Morso oven but this is not a sponsored/paid for post. All opinions are 100% my own and you should know by now that I'd only ever promote something which I'd buy anyway}