What can go on a pizza? Or rather, what can’t go on a pizza? Hancock-based Blackfire Farm’s wood-fired pizzas are testing limits and exceeding expectations with locally sourced toppings that aren’t on the average slice.
The owners of Blackfire Farm, Liz White and Doug Higley, believe that a pizza is a pretty blank canvas.
“It’s a good opportunity to showcase and use farm products people may not be familiar with,” White said. She and Higley are focused on creating food that is “not just being locally assembled but is also locally sourced.”
Their pizza toppings change based on what foods are growing in the area that time of year. In the summer, almost all of the toppings are grown on Blackfire Farm, and with their newly constructed greenhouse, they are hoping to be able to grow more during the cold months next year.
So when someone orders a pizza, depending on the season, it might include kohlrabi, rabbit or daikon radish. The couple tried out an Asian-style veggie pizza that became a popular pick.
“What’s in the garden is what drives our menu,” White said.
She hopes this will help customers start to be more aware of eating locally and sustainably in their everyday habits as well.
“Pizza is a nice gateway to help people try foods they’ve never tried before,” White added.
The couple was so busy every time they took their mobile wood-fired pizza oven to an event that they have had to upgrade to a much larger setup. Instead of being able to cook three to four pizzas at a time, they will now be able to have nine to ten in the oven, making 100 pizzas per hour.
Blackfire Farm’s pizza dough is made at The Bread Shed in Keene and they are collaborating with Main Street Cheese in Hancock to offer a local mozzarella add-on made from Keene’s Stonewall Farm milk.
When a customer orders a pizza, the process of creating it is fast. White or Higley will stretch out the dough and add on the sauce, cheese and desired toppings in about three minutes. Then they will stick the pizza into their 900-degree wood-fired oven. It takes as little as 90 seconds for the pizza to cook, but when there’s a line, it can take a little longer.
White said their mobile pizza oven has worked well during the pandemic. They have been able to serve people personalized pizzas in outdoor settings. With their larger setup, they plan to go to busier events this summer. Their first full-time employee will be joining the team, and they will start offering side salads. White and Higley are excited to be growing and sharing their food with the community while exploring events and businesses in the region.
Blackfire Farm makes pizza at Granite Roots Brewery in Troy every Saturday during the winter. Granite Roots also hosts live music that night. When it gets warmer, Blackfire Farm will sell pizza at Post & Beam Brewing in Peterborough and local events and live music in the Monadnock region. They will keep the public updated on their whereabouts over social media and on their website, blackfirefarmnh.co.