Best Wood for Pizza Oven!

Consequently, they became more widely used as migrants adapted their traditional recipes to life in New York instead of trying to find the best wood for pizza oven in the States. Coal ovens burn hotter, melt hard and, dry cheeses more evenly.

Additionally, they impart the distinctive New York style crust: crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. This crust texture is difficult to replicate in a wood-fired oven.

On the other hand, these ovens don’t burn as hot, and produce a more traditional Italian-style crust: very thin in the center, with fluffy edges.

But, the most important characteristic of a wood-fired oven is that the wood itself becomes an ingredient in the pizza.

Therefore, different woods give off flavors and smoke that can be imparted into the pie and create an extra dimension of smell and taste. It is this flavor dimension that makes wood-fired ovens so appealing and interesting to pizza makers, professional and amateur alike.

Ultimately, the opportunity to experiment and perfect temperature, smoke, and flavor with a wood fire is irresistible to some enthusiasts.

Using wood that is too green (moist types that sizzle and pop) reduces the overall temperature of your fire, and produces excess smoke and steam. The ideal moisture content for wood for your oven is about 20%, and not below 15%. Visually, the ends should be darkened and show radial cracks.

However, deep fissures may mean the wood is too dry and will be undesirably smoky when cooking with it. Therefore, a moisture gauge will help assess moisture, and give your pies consistency fire after fire.

If you are harvesting your own firewood to use in your oven, cut it during wintertime. Because, In the winter months, trees store sap down in the roots instead of the branches. And, a high amount of sap is undesirable.

Additionally, harvest at least 6 months before you plan to cook with it. Also, split it before storing it, allowing it to dry thoroughly. Namely, If you are purchasing wood, purchase a cord of kiln-dried hardwood and store it somewhere dry.

Starting your fire with leaves, twigs, or pine needles. These create too much smoke and have too much resin. Moreover, untreated chips and pellets can be used as kindling, but will not provide enough heat to effectively cook a pie.

High-sap or resinous type. These create soot and creosote. Also, they coat the inside of your oven. Also, avoid pine, fir, eucalyptus, white birch, or cedar. However, If you do choose to use an oily type, peel the bark back or remove it entirely to reduce resin and help it burn evenly.

Now, What kind to use:

Dried Hardwoods

For clean, even heat, use oak, maple, ash, beech, and birch. Moreover, oak is easy to find and burns very hot. Therefore, it can also be used to help burn off excess creosote that may have built up in your oven.

Fruitwoods

For flavor and fragrance, consider introducing dried fruitwoods in your oven. Olive, apple, cherry, hickory, pecan, and other fruit- and nut-woods all impart something special to pizza.

If you choose to use fruitwoods for flavor, build your fire with about 2/3 hardwood and 1/3 fruitwood. As a matter of fact, some pizzerias only use applewood in their fires, because it burns hot and clean, and imparts a sweet aroma and flavor to the pizza.

Essentially, they claim that applewood is the best type for ovens(and we see why!). Others recommend dry olive wood for a light smoky flavor and a long-burning fire.

Hickory is well-known as a flavor in barbecues, and the smokiness is welcomed in many pies. But, experiment and see what you like best. Furthermore, If your wood has gotten damp or isn’t fully dry yet, you can plan ahead by placing some into the used oven after the fire has gone out.

The residual heat of the oven will bake excess moisture out of it, drying it for use the following day. And remember, even if you are using low-resin woods, to have your oven chimney professionally cleaned once or twice a year, depending on the frequency of use.

While daily cleaning can be done on your own, periodic checks from a professional chimney sweep will reduce risk of fire and also help your pies remain consistent in flavor.

You can have the best wood for oven, but it won’t matter if you don’t take care of your oven.