Best Wood for a Pizza Oven: What to Burn

The best wood for a pizza oven is dry, kiln dried hardwood — think oak, ash, beech or birch. It burns hot and clean, reaches the high temperatures a good pizza needs, and won't taint the flavour of your food. Just as important is what to avoid: softwoods, and anything treated, painted or damp.

Get the wood right and you'll hit those blistering, leopard-spotted crusts in a couple of minutes. Here's what to use.

What to look for

• Kiln dried hardwood. Dense hardwoods burn hot and steady — exactly what a pizza oven wants. Our pizza oven wood is sized and dried specifically for the job.
• Low moisture. Dry wood (20% or less) burns hotter and cleaner, with far less smoke to affect your food. Kiln dried is ideal here.
• Small pieces. Smaller logs and kindling catch fast and let you build heat quickly, then keep it topped up.

What to avoid

• Softwoods (pine, spruce). They're resinous, burn sooty and can leave your food tasting of smoke and resin.
• Treated, painted or reclaimed timber. Never burn these near food — they can release harmful chemicals. Pizza oven wood should always be clean, natural and untreated.
• Damp or unseasoned logs. They smoke heavily, struggle to reach temperature and make for a frustrating cook.

How to fire your oven

1. Light with kindling and a firelighter. Build a small fire in the centre to get going.
2. Add small hardwood logs. Feed the fire steadily until the oven is roaring and the dome turns from black to clear — that's your sign it's up to temperature.
3. Push the fire to the side. Once hot, move the embers to one side to make room for your pizza, and keep a small flame going for that top-heat char.

Fire up with the right wood

Ready to get cooking? Our pizza oven wood is dried and sized for hot, clean, fast fires. For more hardwood options, browse our oak logs or the full kiln dried logs range.