Taste And Smell

While stone cookware and baking stones is popular, the subtle smoky flavor of a pizza baked in a wood burning pizza oven is an exceptional experience. It evokes nights around a fire spent in the childhood, telling scary stories and listening to frightening sounds from the dark.

It adds a touch of romance to an already wonderful experience of preparing perfect, authentic pizza in a wood burning pizza oven, as it was done thousands of years ago below the Vesuvius volcano, near Naples, where the first pizza was baked. Moreover they go well with pizza stones that give even-heating for all-around crispiness.

The Most Common Woods

While there are many different types of wood fired pizza ovens, from clay to stainless steel, the wood burning pizza oven, heated by real wood, is the only one that adds delicate smoky flavor to other delicious flavors of true pizza. Baking pizza requires very high temperature - from 600 to 700 degrees, so it is important that the oven is made of material that can withstand such high heat - hard baked clay, natural stone or stainless steel. Wood burning pizza oven is heated by hard woods, such as almond, walnut, olive, pecan and particularly oak. Woods that contain resin, such as spruce or pine are not suitable for pizza ovens.

Design Consists Of Base, Dome And Chimney

Wood pizza ovens are mostly made of hard baked clay that is resistant to high temperatures. They consist of the base, dome and chimney, and often have a removable door to control the temperature in the oven. Some wood burning pizza ovens are made for indoor use, as a sort of fire place, but mostly they should be used outdoors, to avoid accumulation of smoke and extreme temperature.

The Baking Process Is Slow In A Wood Fired Pizza Oven

It is important to start the fire about hour and half before placing pizza in the oven. Use only non-toxic fire starter, such as Weber. Place several small pieces of firewood on top of the wood logs, over the starter. Make sure to build a good fire, especially if you are planning to bake more than one pizza. Don't worry if the fire comes out of the chimney and oven door. The oven is ready for baking when the center of the oven turns white and there is no more black soot. It might take about an hour. The temperature at that point should reach 750 degrees. Place your pizza on the peel and slide it directly on the wood burning pizza oven floor. It will take about 3 minutes for your pizza to be baked to perfection, with golden, crunchy and crispy crust.

DIY Assembly Kits For Ovens

Pizza oven kits are often significantly cheaper than the fully assembled models, but require certain amount of skill to be put together. Fully assembled models are ready to be used as soon as they are delivered from the manufacturers. Both types can come with the base or without one, so keep in mind that you might have to prepare secure, heat-resistant base for your wood burning pizza oven in the location you planned for this purpose.

Popular Styles

Since the trendy outdoor kitchens come in the variety of design styles, it is natural that not all types of wood burning pizza ovens would fit. Elaborate natural stone or clay ovens, particularly those decorated with colorful tiles in the Roman style, would not feel right in sleek, modern kitchens. For those who prefer modern over classical and rustic, Earthstone designed stainless steel wood burning ovens with super modern design, which look like something that belongs on a space ship. Whatever your style or taste, as long as your pizza oven is using natural wood to heat, you will be able to enjoy great, authentic, smoky, crunchy pizza.