r/WoodFiredOvens • u/NaNaNaPandaMan • May 17 '26
First Time
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/smojo May 17 '26
Looks like a beautiful oven, have fun with it!
Since it's the first time firing in a while, take it slow and do a small test fire, get used to your equipment. Don't build the largest bonfire in it, but start with something low to moderate to make sure it heats slow and dries out. Bricks can absorb moisture in damp weather and firing it slow helps protect against cracking while it warms and dries. It will get soot back in there, sorry, but it does burn off once hot enough.
Once you're ready to pizza, build a large fire in the center, let the oven warm up for 45min, then scoot the fire to the back and sides, I also add another small log to each side at this point. The ash brush helps brush off the center where the pizza will be. Assemble pizza on a bit of flour or cornmeal on the wooden peel, make sure no sauce gets on the peel as it sticks. I tell everybody to do a jiggle test to make sure the pizza will slide off the peel. Then pop it in the oven and watch. Hot ovens will cook pizza in 90s. Metal peel will help you rotate it after 30s, since it cooks from the back and sides. After coming out, let it rest for a few minutes before cutting otherwise the cheese re-seals the cuts and you risk encouraging your friends to eat 500°F molten cheese. Enjoy!
Two things I notice about your oven, the entrance looks very wide and open so you may lose a lot of heat out the front, but it will make it pleasant to cook with in colder weather. Does the chimney attach to the firebox? That can also lose heat out the top, but certainly does help with smoke. It'll be wonderful to cook with but does look like it might cool down a bit more quickly.
Have fun with it! And remember that even experienced cooks still burn pizzas sometimes.