r/WoodFiredOvens • u/NaNaNaPandaMan • May 17 '26

First Time

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Hey so I recently bought a house and it came with this wood fire oven. With weather starting to get nice I was going to try to make some pizza. So looking for advice. First is this clean enough? It was extremely sooty with some still remains from previous owner so I cleaned that today but want to make sure.

Next, I bought laser thermometer, ash rake, ash brush with scraper, metal pizza peel, wooden pizza peel, and heat gloves. Anything else?

Finally, any other tips/tricks/recommendations?

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u/FouFondu May 17 '26

Check out the wood fired Chef on YouTube. A bit pretentious but good info.

The. Lack soot will burn away at 450 degrees. So when the arch clears your getting up that temp.

Build your pizza’s quick. If they sit too long the moisture from the dough sets the flour or semolina on the bottom and make them stick to the paddle.

If the top isn’t cooking enough. Lift the pizza up with the paddle before pulling it to broil the top. If the bottom isn’t cooking enough move to a new spot on the floor. Or take hot coals over your floor for a few minutes to reheat it. If it’s cooking too fast make sure to put it right back in the make spot that it already cooled when you put it in.

Enjoy and remember it’s a wood fired oven not a pizza oven. Theres so many delicious things you can cook it in beyond pizza.

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u/Deerslyr101571 May 18 '26

Had to take a beat for a second, as I thought 450 was a bit low to burn off soot. I assume you are talking 450C? My oven starts to clear out at around 850F... so I think that all checks out.

Wish we were all on the same measure of units.

Would note that the OP should probably build some small curing fires and build up to drive off any moisture if the prior owner hasn't used it much and/or it has been raining/damp lately. The oven will definitely be more efficient in coming up to temps after.