Craftsman from Italy fixes Lincoln Winebar’s pizza oven

MOUNT VERNON — At times while fixing Lincoln Winebar's wood-fired pizza oven Friday, craftsman Stefano Ferrara climbed all the way through the oven's small door, his son supporting his feet so Ferrara could reach the back of the four-foot interior.

The Naples, Italy, craftsman is considered one of the best in the business, said Lincoln Winebar owner Jesse Sauerbrei.

The oven he custom built for the Winebar in 2012 can bake pizzas in 60 to 90 seconds at temperatures of 900 to 950 degrees. However, a crack in the oven's floor led to a small pothole that needed repairs.

When Sauberi heard Ferrara was flying to the United States to repair another one of his ovens, he jumped at the chance to bring the oven maker to Iowa.

The Lincoln Winebar, at 125 First St. W in Mount Vernon, has one of around 200 Stefano Ferrar ovens in the United States.

The restaurant, which serves Neapolitan-style pizza, arranged for the craftsman and his son, Simone Ferrara, to fly to Cedar Rapids from Boston, where he had been repairing another oven. The restaurant is picking up the tab of that flight, but it is cheaper than having him fly all the way from Naples, which would have been an eventual necessity if the repair went unchecked.

Simone Ferrara, translating for his father from Italian, said they felt it was important to do the repairs themselves.

'We can change the floor. Nobody else can do it,' he said. 'It's better if we can take a closer look at the problem.'

To fix the oven, Ferrara shipped 400 pounds of new oven flooring material — a custom blend of twice-baked stone from Sorrento, Italy. On Friday, he dismantled the front of the oven, chiseled out the old floor and installed the new one.

The process involved lots of pounding, sanding and, at times, flying sparks.

During his visit, Ferrara also consulted with the Winebar's staff on the oven's 'fire dynamics' and maintenance to prevent future crack. Despite its 6,500-pound weight, the oven's floor is more delicate and needs careful handling.

Sauberi said he and his staff will be more careful about heavy pans and dripping oil that likely contributed to the cracked floor.

A third-generation Neapolitan oven maker, Ferrara built his first oven with his father when he was just 13. He worked with his family for several years to hone his skills, later starting his own business. His son hopes to take over the craft when his father retires.

Every Ferrara oven is made by hand. The materials include Santa Maria bricks from Campania and mortar made from volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius. More Vesuvian soil also lies under the oven floor to provide further insulation.

Holds heat better than most

Sauberi bought the restaurant last year from Matt Steigerwald, the chef who now head's New Pioneer Co-op's Cedar Rapids kitchen.

Steigerwald said the oven cost about $25,000 to build, ship and install.

Once made in Italy, it took the oven three months to travel by truck, ship and train before arriving in Mount Vernon. To lift the oven into the restaurant, the town had to shut down First Street to allow for the giant crane needed to heft it through the roof and into its new home.

Steigerwald said the investment, while significant, was worth it.

'There's just nothing like it. It doesn't have bells and whistles, it's just a solidly made piece of earth,' he said.

He said between the insulation, the oven's small mouth and its low dome, it holds heat better than most wood-fired ovens.

'If an oven is 800 degrees and you throw in a couple of pizzas, for the next few it's 750 degrees,' he said. 'The rebound time is slower.

'With this oven, there's no rebound time in terms of getting it hot again. That's really advantageous.'

He and Lincoln Winebar head pizza maker Aaron Hall developed their dough recipe specifically to work in this oven.

'It's a very wet dough, a higher hydration dough, meaning you have to have a higher temperature to cook it properly. That crack of heat allows that nice charred crust while allowing the inside to stay bready,' he said.

'When you lower the heat, you lose that thing people love about this kind of pizza.'

The exterior of each oven is customized and designed with colorful ceramic one-inch square tiles. The Lincoln Wine Bar's oven displays the establishment's Italian motto, 'Il cibo e importante,' which is translated as, 'Food is important.'

'It's definitely not an oven you see everywhere,' Sauberi said.

l Comments: (319) 398-8434; alison.gowans@thegazette.com