Baking bread, pizza, or a delicious traditional dish in a wood-fired oven requires precise heating conditions. My Barbecue brings you the best tips for success!
Which wood should you choose for your pizza oven ?
The success of cooking over a wood fire depends on the correct use of the material.
Beech and oak are the most popular wood types because they have good density. Our specialists recommend starting with oak to raise the oven temperature, then stabilize the fire with beech.
Hornbeam and olive wood are also species perfectly compatible with wood-fired cooking.
The varieties to avoid are the conifers which crack and add flavor to food.
How do I turn on the oven?
1 – Like a barbecue, prepare your fire in layers:
Layer number 1: Place newspaper, twigs and dry grass.
Layer 2: add cut-out crates, thin wooden crate boards, small branches, etc.
2- Turn on your oven
Layer number 3: place the split logs preferably and check regularly that the flames are starting well.
3 – Watch the embers
To increase the temperature, open the oven door slightly; this will promote combustion.
How to check the oven temperature?
Wood-fired ovens are often equipped with a thermometer. To be even more precise, there are two solutions when it comes to putting a pizza in the oven:
1- use a kitchen thermometer;
2- do the flour test: throw a pinch of flour into the oven and close the door for 30 seconds.
> White flour = oven not hot enough.
> Brown flour = temperature reached, it's time to put in the oven!
> Burnt flour = oven too hot. Cool the baking stone by spreading water over it. Then repeat the flour test.