Three Alternative Ways to Use Your Wood Fired Oven
What is the first thing you think of when you think of an authentic wood fired oven? Was it pizza? Us too! There is just something about a wood fired pizza that everyone can get on board with.
While pizza is never a bad choice, do not limit yourself to just pizza in your wood burning oven! There are so many culinary experiences you won’t want to miss out on! We’ll break down three other experiences you can have in a pizza oven, how they compare, and the basics for how to transform your pizza oven into a well rounded authentic cooking machine! You’ll find these new ways to use your oven not only exciting but easy to master.
1. Pizza Oven For Homemade Bread
This is a MUST! Baking bread in your wood fired oven is not only possible but an absolute culinary delicacy. Best part? You don’t need to buy a separate bread oven to make fresh focaccia or ciabatta bread. Bake it right in your oven. Our recommendation is to bake the bread after your oven cools down to approximately 450 degrees F from making a delicious pie, which is the perfect temperature to bake most breads!
Check out our Pros and Cons chart on baking bread in a pizza oven versus a regular oven.
| Regular Oven (Bread) | Pizza Oven (Bread) | |
| Room | - | + |
| Prep Time | + | - |
| Energy | - | + |
| Taste | - | + |
+ Pro
- Con
FAQs: Baking Bread in a Conventional Oven Versus Baking Bread in a Pizza Oven
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Room: How much Bread Can I Bake in a Wood Fired Oven?
A pizza oven can cook multiple loaves (depending on the oven size), versus up to 2 in a conventional oven.
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Prep Time: How Much Time is Required?
A Pizza Oven will take MUCH longer to heat up due to building the fire in the oven and maintaining it to its desired temperature.
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Energy: What Kind of Energy is Required?
Good news on energy because using a wood fired oven uses green energy given that the heat comes directly from the fire you have created. Energy from a conventional oven will typically use gas or electricity.
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Taste: What Does Bread Taste Like in a Pizza Oven?
A pizza oven gives the bread a smokey, charred and overall more enhanced and deeper flavors. A wood fired oven can take your bread from average to that mouth watering bread from the bakery right from the comfort of your home!
If you’re looking to make bread in your wood fired oven follow these basic steps and feel free to get creative!
The Basics on How to Make Bread in a Pizza Oven
1. Make your dough
2. While the dough is proofing, bring the wood fired oven up to temperature
3. Let it cool down to your desired temperature (approx 450 degrees F) and make sure the flames are low
4. Put a little bit of flour on your pizza peel
5. Place your dough in the center of your pizza peel
6. Keep your dough towards the front of your oven and close the oven door
7. Rotate it every couple of minutes to get an even cook
8. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack (to ensure it doesn’t sweat underneath)
9. Allow to cool before cutting
10. Enjoy!
2. Pizza Oven Grill or a Barbecue
Love to barbecue? You can do it right in your pizza oven! Still unsure? We’ll break down the differences between using a traditional BBQ and barbecuing right in your wood fired oven.
The BBQ
BBQ’s operate at a lower temperature, and the fuel source can be wood, charcoal, or gas. They hold the heat for short periods.
Pizza Oven Grill
The pizza oven grill, which is the wood-fired oven used as a grill, cooks much hotter. It also remains hotter for an extended period of time. The wood-burning pizza oven relies on wood for its fuel source.
Check out our Pros and Cons chart on barbecuing on a grill versus a pizza oven.
| BBQ Grill | Pizza Oven | |
| Room | = | = |
| Prep Time | + | - |
| Energy | - | + |
| Taste | - | + |
+ Pro
- Con
= Equal
FAQs: Barbecue Versus Barbecuing in a Pizza Oven
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Room: How Much Food Can You Barbecue in a Pizza Oven?
Sizes can vary for both pizza ovens and barbecue grills. On average, standard residential pizza ovens and grills have similar cooking surface areas.
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Prep Time: How Much Time is Required?
In general, pizza ovens take longer to heat up due to building the fire in the oven and maintaining it to its desired temperature.
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Energy: Is a Pizza Oven or BBQ better on energy consumption?
Typically, BBQ ovens aren’t as efficient as pizza ovens due to their steel make up and they also can be lacking the extra insulation that pizza ovens have.
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Taste: What Does Barbecue Food Taste Like in a Pizza Oven?
A typical barbecue grill cooks food slowly over a flame and lower heat than a pizza oven. Whereas a pizza oven can reach extremely high temperatures and enhances the taste of your food with the type of wood you choose to cook with.
Unless you’re cooking with a smoker, you will not get that infused smoke/wood flavor into your food as you would with a pizza oven. It is important to note that barbecue grills typically do not include smokers so that would be another purchase you would need to get to achieve these flavors. Now the pizza oven, that does it all!
The Basics on How to Grill in a Pizza Oven
1. To BBQ on the grill in the pizza oven, bring it up to your desired temperature
2. Rake a layer of hot coals toward the front of your oven and place them into your grate by using your ash shovel
3. Set your Alfa BBQ Grilling Grate* over the coals (there should be embers but not any flame)
4. Place your choice of oil (olive oil is standard) onto the food being cooked and grilling grate**
5. Turn food regularly to prevent burning on either side
*We recommend the Alfa BBQ Grilling Grate as a premium accessory for your wood fired oven if you want that traditional grilling experience.
**Our recommendation is to use a piece of rosemary to spread the olive oil. This way, it spreads evenly and gives your food that extra bit of flavor.
3. A Pizza Oven as a Smoker
Another alternate way to cook in a pizza oven is a smoker. In a pizza oven you can cook up some crispy smoked chicken wings, smoked salmon, BBQ smoked potatoes, smoked corn on the cob and so much more!
The Smoker
A typical smoker oven uses low heat, around 180F to 220F. Smokers in general will not exceed 300 degrees F. They can use a multitude of different fuel sources such as charcoal (most popular), wood logs/chunks, pellets, propane, natural gas or electric. The food is then cooked slowly by the smoke and is infused in the food for several hours creating that smokey flavor.
Smoking in the Pizza Oven
The good news is that a traditional wood fired pizza oven can create the same flavors found in a smoker. The key to using your pizza oven as a smoker is allowing it to cool down a bit after reaching maximum temperatures.
Check out our Pros and Cons chart on smoking in a pizza oven versus a smoker.
| Smoker | Pizza Oven | |
| Room | + | - |
| Prep Time | = | = |
| Energy | - | + |
| Taste | + | - |
+ Pro
- Con
= Equal
FAQs: Smoker Versus Smoking in a Pizza Oven
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Room: How Much Food Can You Smoke in a Pizza Oven?
Smokers are built to handle large quantities of meat to smoke food more efficiently. Whereas, a pizza oven, although not specifically made for smoking, would best be used to cook single or family sized meals.
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Prep Time: How Much Time is Required?
In general, it takes approximately 30 to 90 (depending on the load) to heat up a smoker. This is parallel to the time it takes to heat up a pizza oven making this one a draw!
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Energy: Is a Pizza Oven or Smoker better on energy consumption?
In general, wood fired pizza ovens will take LESS energy consumption than a smoker due to the fact that they are just powered by wood. Since smokers can be fueled in different ways such as electric, propane, natural gas, wood, charcoal etc., it can depend on the type of smoker you are using to compare energy consumption. Even with that in mind, if you’re comparing a wood fired smoker to a wood fired pizza oven, a pizza oven will still end up taking less wood due to lower cooking times compared to a smoker that you’ll need to continue to add wood chips to.
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Taste: What Does Smoked Food Taste Like in a Pizza Oven?
Food cooked in a smoker is going to give you more of a smokey taste than a pizza oven given that it cooks food over a much longer period of time and infuses it with smoke. However, you can get a similar taste with a wood fired pizza oven, but if you’re going for that ultra smokey flavor then a smoker would be the way to go.
How to Smoke Food in a Pizza Oven
1. Start the fire in the pizza oven using seasoned wood, bring it up to its maximum temperature
2. Allow the oven to cool down to approximately 250 to 300 degrees F.*
3. While its cooling down, prepare your food and soak your wood chips for a minimum of 30 minutes
4. Place your soaked wood chips on the embers inside the oven along with a pan of water
5. Once the oven is producing an adequate amount of smoke, push the embers to the back of the oven
6. Place your food inside the oven and close the door to keep the smoke inside
7. Allow time for your food to cook and ensure it is cooked thoroughly
*Use a Infrared Thermometer Heat Gun to ensure it is at the optimal temperature for smoking
Alternative Uses for a Wood Fired Pizza Oven: Final Thoughts
Get the most out of a wood burning oven by experimenting with all of the different ways it can be used! A wood burning oven can offer so much more than just pizza. These multi purpose ovens will bring you back to a traditional time of cooking over a fire with that succulent wood fired taste you and your guests will be drooling over.
If you cook up something delicious in your wood fired oven don’t forget to tag us at
ProPizzaOvens on instagram or ProPizzaOvens on Facebook for a chance to be featured!