Types Of Wood for Fuel
The ideal species of wood will depend on your state, as the preferred flavour and quality of wood varies. In general terms, you can opt for softwood or hardwood. Softwood has a quick start-up burn, ignites quickly but also burns quickly. Hardwood has a slower ignition but burns for longer, they also produce more heat per unit, so are more fuel efficient than softwood. Hardwood is also denser so has a lot more to burn.
Firewood To Avoid
It’s easy to think that a healthy-looking block of wood is going to produce a great burn, but the moisture of a lush, fresh looking piece of firewood is far too high to produce the authentic taste and crisp of a good woodfired pizza. Wet wood also produces a lot of smoke and take a long time to heat up. If you’re sourcing wood on your own, choose the dry pieces, cracking firewood is even better.
Does Moisture Content Impact the Cooking?
The ideal moisture for wood-burning ovens is 20%, and any higher can impact the cooking and the taste of your pizza. Wet or damp wood should be avoided, which means ensure you store wood in a dry place away from uncovered ground.
How Much Wood Do I Need?
The quantity of wood needed to cook your pizzas will depend on a few factors, and if you’re new to wood fired ovens it might be a matter of trialling what works best. A 12-inch piece of wood is usually the standard length, and generally speaking people will start with 5 small pieces to start up their oven.
Download Firewood Fact Sheet: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0580/1947/9723/files/Facts_about_Firewood-merged.pdf?v=1668213426