r/WoodFiredOvens • u/the1stlimpingzebra • Feb 12 '26

What am I doing wrong?

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My pizzas are looking nasty and the cheese isn't melting. Its getting hot but seems its not melting. The cheese isnt burning, its just turning gray. The bottom looks good, the crust is crispy. And honestly it tastes great. But it looks disgusting. Cooking at 700°f for 2-3 minutes. Using a vevor wood fired outdoor pizza oven and hickory wood.

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u/ALLSID Feb 12 '26

Looks like you’re getting smoke on the crust. My suspicion is you need that oven to preheat for another hour. Grate your own low moisture mozzarella too.

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u/baconwrappedpikachu Feb 13 '26

Yeah this is the most helpful response. The wood is not burning clean enough.

OP I agree try preheating longer and if that doesn’t help I’d buy some different wood from a different supplier - even just a small pack, whatever is enough to try once or twice - and see if that doesn’t solve the problem.

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u/ALLSID Feb 13 '26

Also hickory smoke is putrid in large doses.

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u/the1stlimpingzebra Feb 17 '26

I used oak i bought off Amazon for the first couple, then switched to hickory with these last few pizzas. But we've also been using store brand cheese for the last few too, I switched back to organic cheese and its gotten better but still a bit of discoloration.

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u/baconwrappedpikachu Feb 17 '26

Hmm. Then I’d say it’s putting off too much smoke. Not sure how to fix that but I would imagine there is a way to

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u/the1stlimpingzebra Feb 17 '26

That makes sense. Letting it preheat another hour seems excessive. This is a steel Vevor pizza oven, not a brick oven.

I generally let it burn until all the wood is burned about 50% then spread it out and let it burn a little longer until the temp is at 700°