Traditional Wood Fired Pizza Ovens

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to cook a pizza in a wood fired oven?
Our ovens cook perfect wood fired pizza in 2-3 minutes - we operate them at around 400C. This high heat is one of the most important contributing factors of delicious wood-fired pizza.

How much smoke does the oven put out?
The oven really only 'smokes' when you first light it. Once it is up and going the smoke becomes minimal due to almost complete combustion that takes place at higher temperatures. Using well seasoned & dry hardwood is definitely recommended and we can put you in touch with a specialist wood supplier, Chris at Auckland Firewood Company.

What else can you cook in the wood fired oven?
Anything! Your imagination is the limit - chicken, roasts, steaks, bread, whole fish, suckling pig....BBQ. Real wood ovens store heat efficiently.

How long does the oven take to reach cooking temperature?
The wood oven takes from 45 mins to 1.5 hours to prepare for cooking pizza (approx 400) C - depending on the size of the wood oven and when it was last used. Usually we cook on the down heat. Roasting and baking bread, etc are at much lower temperatures than pizza baking.

Is it safe to operate the wood fired oven indoors?
Certainly it is safe and desirable fo all weather usage. They will need to externally vented and of course check your regional bylaws, etc. Wood ovens are classified as a solid fuel cooking appliance.

The heat radiated from the outer surface of our working wood ovens are minimal due to their modern refractory material and insulation. We have worked our mobile wood ovens at festivals over periods of 14 hours and the heat on the outside surface of the oven is surprisingly very little.

Is the prefabricated wood fired oven easy to assemble? 
Yes it is. Due to the great design and moulded components assemble is relatively easy. If you are reasonably 'handy' and follow the supplied instructions you should be right.

If you choose we can construct your oven. Usually it would take about a day to construct, providing a suitable platform is ready. Again it depends on your custom design of the oven and its surrounds. Curing the finished oven will take 4-6 days.

Which is the most popular domestic wood oven?
Our most popular size is the Lira 80; 700mm D x 800mm W. You can cook 2 large  pizzas at  once (remember it takes 2 mins to cook a pizza - faster than you can make it!) or cook a leg of ham in this size wood oven.

How heavy are your wood ovens?
Our wood ovens are upwards of 600 kg (Lira 80) completed, depending on size.

Why are they so heavy?
Our Wood Ovens are moulded with a very high quality modern refractory concrete material that has density and ability to absorb / store the heat energy and radiate it back into cooking your food. Try doing this with ovens that are lightweight.

What is the best wood to burn in the oven?
We use seasoned ti-tree in our ovens, our friends at Auckland Firewood are as passionate about firewood as we are about ovens and are excellent suppliers of a large variety of seasoned sustainable burning wood. They have one of our smaller models in their yard at Grey Lynn, Auckland.

I would recommend covering the wood oven as the amount of winter rain we get in NZ restricts its use.

Choosing the correct Wood Oven can be little confusing - what size? will it do what I want it to do? density? efficiency? We are only too pleased to answer any questions regarding all aspects of the Wood Oven to help you make an informed decision and get on with the pleasure of enjoying your oven.