Mother Oven Bakery in Times Record

Now he's making takeout wood-fired pizza on Friday nights with healthy Maine ingredients, and has hit the Crystal Springs Farmers Market in Brunswick Saturday mornings with bread, bagels and treats.

Last year, Zoulamis finished a clay sculpture encasing a wood-fired oven in his new bakery in the form of a mother earth figure. It appears as if the oven's mouth is the womb of the mother figure.

Friday pizza nights started July 18 and the bakery has sold more than a dozen pizzas the first few nights just by word of mouth. Zoulamis said, "This is our way to connect to the local people of our community, with our product."

He also has an apprentice, Jamie Hutchins, who lives at the Zoulamis family cabin near the bakery.

Mother Oven Bakery offers a choice of classic cheese pizza, Greek pizza, and an "Herbivores Dilemma" — a pizza with whatever local farmers are harvesting, which changes weekly. This Friday it is red pepper, basil and broccoli. The Greek pizza can be made with and without meat and Zoulamis makes homemade gyro meat — an Americanized Greek sandwich meat he makes at home. The pizzas are all made with wholegrain, sour dough pizza crust in the same fashion he makes all his bread. As many of the ingredients as possible are from Maine and the vegetables, in addition to those from Six River Farm for the Herbivores Dilemma, will come from local farmers as seasonably available.

People can also stop by the bakery Friday nights from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. who want to purchase other goodies including bread. Zoulamis said the bakery still offers all its breads including hearth-baked Peasant Bread, which produces a more caramelized crust than pan-cooked.

The menu is available at a new Web site, www.eatmainefoods.org (type in Mother Oven in upper right hand search box).

Pizzas come in one 14-inch size. Order as early as 3 p.m. by calling 666-3994. Prices start at $14.50 for the classic cheese pizza. Pickup is between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Mother Oven Bakery is located at 88 Carding Machine Road in Bowdoinham.
"Not to toot my own horn, but it's very good pizza," Zoulamis said.