Wood-fired ovens are outdoor ovens made from brick, stone or clay and used to bake and cook food at high temperatures. The ovens can be fired with fragrant smoking woods to impart flavors to the foods being cooked. High-temperature fires are used to quickly bake pizza, while medium-temperature fires bake crusty breads, desserts and meat. Take the time to experiment with your oven, as each one will vary in the time it takes to get to the desired temperature and bake foods.
Instructions
1. Fire the wood oven approximately two hours prior to cooking so it reaches a temperature of 700 to 800 degrees F for baking pizza or 375 to 400 degrees F for baking bread.
2. Start the fire in the center of the over with dry scrap wood, such as that from a pallet. Add dry oak or another fragrant hardwood once the fire is started. Continue to feed the fire until the center dome of the oven turns white in color with no black soot present.
3. Add wood to the sides of the oven to stretch the fire and heat toward the walls of the oven. The oven is approximately 750 degrees F once the entire dome has turned white in color. Use an infrared thermometer to verify the temperature.
4. Move the coals to one side of the oven in order to cook food. Place a pizza on a pizza peel set on the floor of the oven. A pizza peel is a flat shovel with a long handle used to easily move the pizza in and out of the oven. The pizza will be fully cooked in approximately 3 minutes.
5. Let the oven cool to approximately 400 degrees F to bake bread by removing the coals or opening the oven vents. Set the bread on a pizza peel placed on the floor of the oven. Monitor the bread closely to prevent it from overcooking. Bread will bake in approximately 35 minutes and is considered fully cooked at an internal temperature of 195 degrees F.
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