WHICH WOOD TO SELECT FOR YOUR WOOD FIRED PIZZA OVEN
There is a saying that food tastes better when eaten outside. Maybe that is why so many of us are building our own pizza ovens. Freshly baked pizza, baked and eaten in the garden, makes every day a special celebration. Great for parties, when the family descends, and just perfect for days when you just want to relax in your own company.
In these moments a freshly baked Pizza takes centre stage.
Pizza ovens are becoming increasingly popular, and we can all understand why. There are increasingly great ovens available that can heat to the ideal temperature of 450° quickly. It’s at this temperature you get the crisp base and bubbly mozzarella but rain the moisture.
Contemporary pizza oven are generally gas or wood-fired. The wood-fired pizza ovens give that truly authentic woody flavour. Wood-fired ovens need not be any extra effort when ready dried wood is sourced in the correct quantities. Kiln-dried wood will get up to temperature quickly and deliver the superior finished wood-smoked pizza. My mouth is watering as I type. So which woods should you be buying to get the best effect from your pizza oven?
ABOUT HARDWOOD LOGS
Kiln-dried woods have been dried in a kiln to ensure a really low moisture content (less than 20%). If you dry your own wood naturally in a covered dry space for more than two years it is called seasoned wood. Sheltered from the elements woods naturally dry but don’t achieve the same low moisture as wood dried in a kiln. Reducing the moisture content gives you a more effective burning wood and is better for the environment than green wood that has not been seasoned or kiln-dried. The hardwoods, oak, ash, beech birch and maple give the best heating effect and you should select these over softwood for heat and a clean burn. Seasoned wood is no longer available for sale in the UK as kiln-dried is the better choice for the environment and for health.
KILN DRIED HARDWOOD LOGS
Again the hardwoods give the most effective burn, so go for the oaks, beeches, birch, ash and maple. Kiln-dried wood has been dried in a kiln and the moisture is reduced to 18% or less. This process makes the wood extremely efficient and is the most clean-burning. It is the only wood that should be sold in the UK. Kiln dried logs reach high temperatures so quickly giving you that sizzling pizza in no time.
