Wood fired pizza ovens can be a wonderful addition to your patio or backyard, whether you are just a beginner or an experienced pizza chef. They cook food evenly and quickly while giving your indoor kitchen a break. They are also great for creating delicious, authentic pizzas at home.
Wood fired pizza ovens such as the ones on Wood Fire Land use wood as a fuel to reach high temperatures, which ensures that your pizzas are cooked quickly and evenly. The following is an in-depth look into these ovens along with the benefits they provide.
Types of Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
Wood fired pizza ovens are amazing tools for both professionals and amateur home chefs. They provide a unique way to cook pizza along with other dishes, which gives them a texture and flavour that cannot be achieved with a standard oven.
Here are the different types of wood-fired pizza ovens:
- Brick Ovens: They are traditional pizza ovens (Italian-style) built with heat-resistant bricks. They are typically rather large and will require a dedicated outdoor space. The brick oven design allows for excellent heat distribution and retention.
- Portable Ovens: Portable wood-fired ovens are generally smaller and more mobile than brick ovens. They are intended for personal use, which makes them ideal for smaller gatherings. They usually heat up fast and are easier to use.
- Terracotta or Clay Pizza Ovens: They are made from either terracotta or clay. They can be either large and permanent, or smaller and somewhat portable. The material used to make these ovens helps to ensure even heat distribution and better retention.
- Dome or Barrel Ovens: They are shaped like a dome or barrel, which ensures better heat distribution. They can be built from a variety of materials, which include clay, brick, or perhaps even metal.
- Pizza Oven Kits: Pizza oven kits are available for the DIY enthusiasts. The great thing about the kits is that they include all the instructions and materials you need to build your own wood-fired pizza oven.
Top 7 Benefits of Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
Here are the top reasons why you should consider switching to a wood-fired pizza oven:
- Fast Cooking – Wood-fired pizza ovens reach incredibly high temperatures (up to 500°C), which means that they can cook food far more quickly than conventional ovens. The materials used in the construction of the ovens not only absorb but also retain heat, which is why a fresh pizza can be ready to serve within just a few minutes.
- Texture – Wood-fired ovens are so hot and cook so quickly that the texture of the pizza changes in a way that’s impossible to replicate in a conventional oven. A wood-fired oven produces pizza that’s crisp and slightly charred on the outside, but chewy and moist on the inside.
- Nutrition Preservation – Pizza toppings such as mushrooms, onions, spinach, and peppers are rich in nutrients that make pizza appealing to even the healthiest of eaters. Vegetables, however, usually lose their nutrients if cooked for too long. Since wood-fired ovens get so hot and the food cooks so quickly, the nutrients are preserved for your benefit.
- Flavour – Cooking your pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven delivers results that are impossible to achieve through conventional cooking. The distinct but subtle smokiness in a wood-fired oven adds a layer of flavour, especially if the toppings and crust are slightly charred. The flavour of the cheese changes too when the bubbles brown in the heat.
- Versatility – A wood-fired oven can be a versatile addition to your patio, deck, or outdoor kitchen. These ovens vary in size from small to large. They can be used as a free-standing oven on a specially designed stainless-steel cart or mounted on an outdoor kitchen countertop. They can also be used to make just about anything you can make in a regular oven including pizzas, steaks, bread, etc.
- Social Factor – The great thing about having an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven is that it can be the centrepiece of your outdoor entertaining area. It can provide a fun, interactive cooking experience that helps bring people together. There’s something quite special about fathering family and friends to make custom pizzas and enjoy them together.
- Energy Efficiency – Energy efficiency and sustainability are top priorities for many restaurant chefs, home cooks, and even commercial kitchen owners. Cooking with wood-fired pizza ovens is much in line with such noble goals. Furthermore, because wood ovens don’t require electricity or gas, using them helps conserve energy usage. The only energy you would use would be that from a commercial pizza fridge.
Final Thoughts
Wood-fired ovens have grown increasingly popular in recent years especially among those that want to create authentic, delicious pizzas at home. Wood is the fuel source for these ovens, which reach high temperatures that cook the pizzas quickly and evenly.
Cooking with wood-fired pizza ovens provides numerous benefits as highlighted here. So, why not give them a try and see for yourself how satisfying and delicious it can be?
