Making pizza in a wood fired oven is a fun and rewarding way to cook. It gives your pizza a special smoky taste and a crispy crust you just can’t get from a regular oven. One common question is how long to cook pizza in wood oven? Most pizzas cook very fast in a super hot wood oven, usually in just 60 to 90 seconds. This guide will show you how to use your wood burning pizza oven to make great pizza every time.
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Grasping the Wood Fired Oven
Wood fired ovens have been used for ages. They get much hotter than home ovens. This extreme heat cooks pizza quickly. It makes the crust puff up and get those nice charred spots. It also melts cheese perfectly and cooks toppings fast.
These ovens work by heating a thick stone or brick floor and dome. A fire inside heats the air and the oven structure. Once hot, the fire is moved or kept small, and the pizza cooks on the hot floor.
Kinds of Wood Burning Pizza Ovens
There are many types of wood fired ovens. Some are ready to use, and some you build yourself.
- Portable Ovens: Small ovens you can move. Good for small spaces or if you move often.
- Modular Ovens: Ovens that come in parts you put together. Easier than building from scratch.
- Built-in Ovens: Permanent structures made of brick or stone. They look great and hold heat very well.
No matter the type, the basic steps for using them are much the same.
Gathering Your Gear: Pizza Oven Accessories
You need a few tools to make pizza in a wood oven. Having the right pizza oven accessories makes the job easier and safer.
- Pizza Peels: You need at least one. A metal one is best for putting the pizza in. A wood one is good for building the pizza on. A turning peel lets you spin the pizza easily in the hot oven.
- Oven Brush: To sweep ash and embers off the oven floor before cooking.
- Infrared Thermometer: To check the temperature of the oven floor. This is key!
- Ash Shovel: To remove ash after cooking.
- Heat-Resistant Gloves: To protect your hands when managing the fire or tools.
- Wood Holder/Rack: To keep wood near the oven.
- Oven Door (optional): Helps control heat but is often removed when cooking pizza.
Using a pizza peel takes a little practice. You want to slide the pizza onto the hot stone smoothly. A little flour or fine cornmeal on the peel helps the pizza slide off easily.
Picking the Best Wood for Pizza Oven
The kind of wood you use matters a lot. Best wood for pizza oven is dry, seasoned hardwood. Softwoods like pine burn too fast and create soot. They can also make food taste bad.
Here are some good wood choices:
| Wood Type | Burn Time | Heat | Smoke/Flavor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak | Long | High | Mild | Great all-around choice. |
| Ash | Long | High | Very little | Clean burning. |
| Maple | Medium | High | Mild/Sweet | Adds a nice subtle taste. |
| Fruitwoods (Apple, Cherry) | Medium | Medium | Sweet/Fruity | Good for adding flavor, maybe mix with oak. |
| Birch | Medium | Medium | Mild | Burns well, use dry wood. |
Important: Use wood that is “seasoned.” This means it has been dried for 6-12 months or more. Wet or “green” wood creates lots of smoke, little heat, and makes cooking hard. It should have less than 20% moisture. You can tell if wood is dry if the bark is loose and it makes a hollow sound when hit.
Use smaller pieces of wood. Pieces about 6-8 inches long and 1-2 inches thick are good for keeping the fire going and controlling heat.
Lighting a Wood Pizza Oven
Now, let’s talk about lighting a wood pizza oven. It’s not like lighting a campfire. You want a clean, hot fire fast.
Step-by-Step for Lighting
- Start Small: Place a few small pieces of dry kindling or natural fire starters in the center of the oven.
- Add Smaller Wood: Put a few small pieces of your chosen hardwood on top of the kindling. Build a small log cabin or criss-cross shape.
- Light It Up: Light the kindling. The small wood pieces should catch fire.
- Build the Fire: As the fire grows, add slightly larger pieces of wood. You want a hot, clean flame.
- Move the Fire (Optional but Recommended): Once the oven starts to heat up (maybe 15-20 minutes), you can push the fire to one side or the back of the oven. This lets the oven floor heat up fully where the pizza will cook. Keeping the fire to one side helps maintain the temperature and lets you cook easily on the other side.
Avoid using lighter fluid or chemicals. They can leave bad tastes in your oven. Natural fire starters or small bits of newspaper work fine.
Heating a Wood Fired Oven
This is maybe the most important part: Heating a wood fired oven. It takes time and patience to get the oven to the right wood fired oven temperature.
The Heating Process
- Start the Fire: As described above, get a good fire going in the center.
- Let it Grow: Add wood slowly. The fire will grow and spread heat throughout the oven. The dome will start to turn black from soot.
- Reach Full Heat: Keep the fire strong for 60-90 minutes or even longer for larger ovens. You’ll know it’s getting hot when the black soot on the inside of the dome starts to burn off. It will turn white. This means the oven is very hot, around 800-900°F (425-480°C) or more in the dome.
- Check Floor Temp: Use your infrared thermometer to check the oven floor temperature where you plan to cook. For Neapolitan-style pizza, you want the floor to be around 750-850°F (400-450°C). For other styles, slightly lower temperatures might be better.
- Manage the Fire: Once the oven is hot, you’ll move the main fire to one side. Keep a few small flames licking up the side of the dome. This helps maintain the high dome temperature. Add small pieces of wood every 10-15 minutes to keep the fire going at the right level.
Understanding Wood Fired Oven Temperature
Getting the right temperature is key for cooking pizza in wood oven.
- Dome Temperature: This cooks the top of the pizza and makes the cheese melt and bubble. High dome heat is crucial for fast cooking.
- Floor Temperature: This cooks the bottom of the crust, making it crispy and spotted (leoparding). If the floor is too hot, the bottom burns before the top cooks. If too cool, the bottom is pale and soft.
Use your infrared thermometer often. Aim for your target floor temperature. If it’s too high, wait a bit or scrape away some hot embers. If it’s too low, add a little more wood to the fire.
A typical temperature range for different styles:
| Pizza Style | Floor Temp | Dome Temp | Cooking Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neapolitan | 750-850°F (400-450°C) | 850-1000°F (450-540°C) | 60-90 seconds |
| New York Style | 650-750°F (340-400°C) | 750-850°F (400-450°C) | 2-4 minutes |
| Roman (thin crust) | 550-650°F (290-340°C) | 650-750°F (340-400°C) | 4-6 minutes |
Remember, these are guides. Your oven might be different. Practice helps you learn your oven’s hot spots and how it holds heat.
Getting Ready to Cook
While the oven heats, get your pizzas ready.
Making the Dough
Good dough is important. You can buy dough or make your own. Many recipes use simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt.
- Use good quality flour, like ’00’ flour for Neapolitan style.
- Let the dough rise properly.
- Divide dough into balls. Let them rest before shaping.
Shaping the Pizza
Shape the dough gently. Use your hands or a rolling pin. Aim for a round shape. Don’t make it too thin if you are new to wood ovens; it can tear easily.
Adding Toppings
Keep toppings simple for wood fired pizza, especially when starting out.
- Use good quality ingredients.
- Don’t overload the pizza. Too many toppings make the center wet and hard to cook fast.
- Add sauce, then cheese, then other toppings.
- Put wet toppings (like fresh mozzarella) on a little earlier so they dry slightly before going in the heat.
Build your pizza on a lightly floured wood peel. Make sure the dough is not sticking to the peel before you try to launch it! A quick test is to give the peel a little shake. If the pizza slides freely, it’s ready. If it sticks, lift an edge and add more flour or cornmeal under it.
Cooking Pizza in Wood Oven
This is the fast part! Cooking pizza in wood oven is exciting.
Placing the Pizza
Make sure your oven floor is at the right temperature (check with your thermometer!). Sweep any ash or embers from the spot where you will cook.
Use your metal peel to slide the pizza off the wood peel and onto the hot oven floor. Place it away from the main fire but close enough to feel the heat.
The Quick Cook
As mentioned earlier, how long to cook pizza in wood oven is usually very short, 60 to 90 seconds for Neapolitan style.
The heat from the floor cooks the bottom. The heat from the dome and flames cooks the top. Because it’s so fast, you need to watch it closely.
Turning the Pizza
Use your turning peel to spin the pizza every 20-30 seconds. This helps it cook evenly. One side of the oven might be hotter than the other. Turning ensures the crust browns all around.
Lift the edge of the pizza with the peel to check the bottom crust. Look for nice brown spots (leoparding). Look at the top. Is the cheese melted? Are the edges puffed up and slightly charred?
Taking it Out
When the pizza looks done (golden crust, melted cheese, slight charring on the edges), use your metal peel to scoop it up and take it out of the oven.
Slide it onto a cutting board, slice it, and enjoy right away!
Tips for Wood Fired Pizza Success
Here are some extra tips for wood fired pizza that can help you get perfect results.
- Use Dry Wood: Can’t say this enough. Dry wood is key for heat and clean burning.
- Heat the Oven Enough: Don’t rush the heating process. A properly heated oven makes all the difference. Check the floor temp!
- Keep the Fire Going: Even after moving the main fire, keep adding small pieces of wood often to maintain the high temperature.
- Don’t Over-Flour: Too much flour on the peel can burn in the oven and make the bottom of the pizza taste bad. Just enough to slide the pizza.
- Master the Peel: Practice launching and turning pizzas without toppings first if you are new.
- Less is More with Toppings: Simple pizzas cook best and fastest.
- Rotate Often: Keep an eye on the pizza and turn it regularly for even cooking.
- Cook Back-to-Back: Once the oven is hot, it’s efficient to cook several pizzas one after another. Keep your dough and toppings ready.
- Troubleshooting: If the bottom burns but the top is pale, the floor is too hot compared to the dome. If the bottom is pale but the top burns, the dome is too hot compared to the floor. Adjust your fire. Add more wood to the fire for more dome heat. Let the floor cool slightly or sweep it clean for less floor heat.
Fixing Common Issues
- Pizza sticking to the peel: Use more flour/cornmeal under the dough. Make sure dough isn’t wet.
- Bottom burning: Oven floor is too hot. Wait a few minutes or scrape the hot spot. Cook slightly closer to the door.
- Top not cooking: Not enough heat from the dome or flames. Add more wood to the fire. Cook closer to the fire.
- Pizza shaped like a mess: You struggled with the peel launch. Practice makes perfect! Make sure the dough isn’t sticking before launching.
Cleaning a Wood Fired Oven
Once the cooking is done and the oven has cooled down, it’s time for cleaning a wood fired oven. Never clean a hot oven! Let it cool fully, which can take 24-48 hours.
Steps for Cleaning
- Remove Ash: Use your ash shovel to scoop out the cooled ash from the oven floor and fire area. You can put the ash in a metal bin. Ash is good for gardens!
- Brush the Floor: Use your oven brush to sweep the oven floor clean. Get rid of any leftover bits of food or small embers.
- Wipe the Outside: Clean the outside of your oven based on its material (stone, stucco, metal).
Most wood fired ovens are self-cleaning inside due to the high heat. Bits of food or soot burn away during the heating process. The main job is removing the ash.
Keep the oven dry when not in use. Use a cover if you have one, especially if your oven is outdoors.
Extending Your Wood Fired Cooking
A wood fired oven isn’t just for pizza! You can bake bread, roast vegetables, cook meats, and even make desserts. The unique smoky flavor and intense heat are great for many dishes.
For roasting, you might cook after the oven has cooled slightly, using the retained heat. This is often called “slow cooking” or using the “falling heat.”
Summing Up
Using a wood burning pizza oven is a rewarding experience. From lighting a wood pizza oven and heating a wood fired oven to choosing the best wood for pizza oven and mastering using a pizza peel, each step brings you closer to perfect pizza. Paying attention to the wood fired oven temperature and practicing your cooking pizza in wood oven skills will help you get great results every time. Remember the answer to how long to cook pizza in wood oven – usually just a minute or two! And don’t forget regular cleaning a wood fired oven to keep it in good shape. With the right pizza oven accessories and these tips for wood fired pizza, you’ll be making amazing pizza that tastes like it came straight from Italy. Enjoy the process and the delicious outcome!
Frequently Asked Questions
h4. How long does it take to heat a wood fired oven?
Heating time varies by oven size and design, but it usually takes 60 to 90 minutes to reach pizza cooking temperature. Larger or new ovens might take longer.
h4. Can I use charcoal in a wood fired oven?
It’s not recommended for traditional pizza cooking. Wood creates the high heat and flame needed for fast cooking and gives the special flavor. Charcoal can be used for different types of cooking or retaining heat, but stick to wood for pizza.
h4. How hot does the oven need to be for pizza?
For fast, Neapolitan-style pizza, the oven floor should be 750-850°F (400-450°C). Other styles can cook at slightly lower temperatures, like 650-750°F (340-400°C) for New York style.
h4. Why does my pizza bottom burn but the top is uncooked?
This means your oven floor is too hot compared to the air/dome temperature. Try sweeping the hot spot on the floor clean or waiting a few minutes for the floor to cool slightly. Make sure you have a good fire going to heat the dome properly.
h4. How do I keep the fire going while cooking?
Add small pieces of wood (1-2 inches thick) to the fire every 10-15 minutes. You want a small, active flame that heats the dome and air.
h4. What is the white stuff on the oven dome after heating?
That’s soot burning off! It means your oven is getting very hot. When the inside dome turns mostly white, the oven is likely ready for cooking pizza.
h4. How often should I clean out the ash?
You should clean out the ash after every few uses, or whenever the ash starts to build up on the floor and gets in the way of cooking. Always wait for the oven to cool completely first.
h4. Can I cook other foods in my pizza oven?
Yes! Wood fired ovens are great for roasting meats, vegetables, baking bread, and more. You often cook these items as the oven cools down after reaching peak pizza temperatures.