There’s nothing quite like a homemade pizza cooked in your own wood-fired oven. It’s a brilliant way to show off your cooking skills – and the best part? It’s unbelievably quick and simple once you get the hang of it.

Getting the Temperature Right

Your oven needs to be properly heated to around 400–450°C. At this temperature, your pizzas will cook in just 1–2 minutes, depending on how thick your base is.

The floor of the oven does most of the cooking, so it’s essential to light the fire about an hour before you want to cook. This may vary slightly depending on your oven’s size.

Lighting Your Pizza Oven

Start with some kiln-dried kindling in the centre of the oven. Use either the top-down method or build a pyramid shape to create a strong fire base. Our natural firelighters are a great way to get the fire going quickly – and since they’re chemical-free, they won’t affect the taste of your food.

Once the kindling is burning, add a couple of kiln-dried logs and wait for them to catch. The dome of the oven will start to turn black from the smoke – this is normal.

Building Up the Fire

Keep adding logs gradually to build the fire. As it grows, the soot inside the dome will start to burn off and turn white – a clear sign your oven is reaching the right temperature.

Make sure the oven door and chimney vent are open throughout this process to keep air flowing and help the fire along.

Getting Ready to Cook

Once your oven hits the desired temperature, close the chimney vent to help retain the heat. By now, the flames should have died down, leaving hot embers behind.

Push the embers to the back of the oven to create space for your pizzas. Your oven will now stay at the ideal cooking temperature for a couple of hours – perfect for making multiple pizzas if you're feeding a crowd.

Time to Cook!

Now you're ready to cook your pizza. With your oven hot and ready, you’ll be able to turn out delicious, wood-fired pizzas in minutes. Enjoy!