When it comes to creating the perfect pizza, few things compare to the flavour imparted by cooking with a wood-fired oven. The crackling wood, the smoky aroma, and the high heat all come together to create a deliciously crisp crust and beautifully charred toppings. However, not all firewood is created equal, and the type of wood you use in your pizza oven can significantly impact the result. Choosing the right firewood is crucial for maintaining the ideal cooking temperature and enhancing the flavour of your pizzas. So, what firewood should you use in pizza ovens?
1. Hardwoods Are the Best Choice
When selecting firewood for a pizza oven, it’s important to choose hardwoods over softwoods. Hardwoods burn hotter and more consistently, essential for reaching and maintaining the high temperatures required for cooking pizza. Softwoods, such as pine, spruce, and fir, tend to burn faster and at lower temperatures, and they can also produce more smoke, which is not ideal for pizza cooking.
Popular hardwoods for pizza ovens include oak, beech, hickory, maple, and ash. These woods burn hotter and slower than softwoods, allowing for a steady heat ideal for cooking pizza at 800°F (427°C) or higher. Hardwoods also produce less smoke and fewer sparks, which reduces the risk of uneven cooking or potentially harming the flavour of your food.
2. Oak: The Traditional Choice
Oak is one of the most popular types of wood used in pizza ovens, and for good reason. It burns at a high temperature, providing a consistent, steady heat perfect for cooking pizza. Oak also has a mild, subtly sweet aroma that doesn’t overpower the taste of your pizza but enhances it with a gentle smokiness.
In addition to its excellent burning qualities, oak is widely available and relatively affordable. If you’re using a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, oak is often considered the gold standard for firewood. It’s easy to handle, produces a clean burn, and is versatile enough for other cooking methods, such as roasting meats or baking bread.
3. Beech: A Great Alternative
Beech is another excellent choice for pizza ovens. Like oak, it’s a dense hardwood that burns hot and slow, perfect for achieving the high temperatures needed for pizza cooking. Beechwood has a slightly sweeter aroma than oak, which adds a different dimension to the cooking experience. While it’s not as widely available as oak in some regions, it’s still a great alternative for those looking for a subtly different wood with similar burning properties.
Beech also produces very little smoke, meaning it won’t interfere with the taste of your pizza. If you’re looking for a wood that provides a clean burn with a mild, aromatic flavour, beech is a solid option.
4. Maple: Sweet and Mild
Maple is another hardwood well-suited for pizza ovens. It burns at a high temperature and offers a mild, slightly sweet aroma that can complement the pizza’s flavours without overpowering them. Maple wood is often used for smoking meats, so it’s no surprise that it can also enhance the flavour of pizza in a wood-fired oven.
One major benefit of using maple is that it burns relatively slowly, ensuring a steady heat for cooking pizza. It also produces less ash than other woods, making clean-up easier after your cooking session. Maple is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a wood that won’t create too much smoke but still provides a mild, slightly sweet flavour.
5. Ash: Light and Efficient
Ash is a great wood option that burns efficiently and produces a steady heat. It burns hotter and cleaner than many other woods and is easy to light and maintain. Ash has a mild, neutral flavour that won’t compete with the taste of your pizza, making it ideal for those who prefer a clean, smokeless burn.
One of the advantages of ash is that it burns quickly, which means you can easily build and maintain the fire in your pizza oven without needing to add fuel constantly. This makes ash an efficient and practical option for regular use, especially when cooking in a busy commercial environment.
6. Woods to Avoid
While hardwoods are generally the best option for pizza ovens, there are certain types of wood you should avoid. Softwoods, as mentioned earlier, tend to burn too quickly and produce too much smoke, which can affect your pizza’s temperature and flavour. Additionally, resinous woods or sap, such as pine and fir, should be avoided. When burned, these woods can cause excess smoke and produce a bitter, unpleasant flavour.
You should also avoid chemically treated or painted wood. When burned, these woods can release harmful toxins, which not only pose a health risk but can also taint the flavour of your pizza.
7. Seasoned Wood is Essential
No matter what type of wood you choose, using seasoned (or well-dried) wood in your pizza oven is essential. Fresh, unseasoned wood contains a high moisture content, making it difficult to achieve the high temperatures needed for pizza cooking. It also results in more smoke, which can ruin the flavour of your food. Ideally, firewood should be seasoned for at least six months to a year to ensure it’s dry enough to burn efficiently.