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Benefits Of Cooking In A Wood Fired Oven
Before I get into more details about the benefits of cooking in a wood fired oven, just a brief historical background.
Wood Fired Oven have been used since the beginning of human civilization. The earliest ovens were found in central Europe dated back 29000 BC, mainly for cooking mammoths and the likes.
Front loaded bread ovens were developed in ancient Greece. They also invented a wide variety of dough and loaf shapes.
Brick ovens in its modern form are dating back to ancient Rome. The original Roman design features a round, domed oven chamber and a front vent design.
Traditional Wood Fired Oven
The most traditional wood fired oven is called a “Black Oven” or “Masonry Oven” (wikepedia.com). Masonry ovens are made from fireproof bricks, concrete, stone or clay. It has one chamber that is heated by a wood fire inside.
After the oven is preheated enough, the burning wood is moved to the side to make room for the food. The food will be cooked in the same chamber in an incredible fast time.
Back To The Roots
Around twenty years ago, more and more people rediscovered the joy of wood-fired cooking. Wood collecting, preparation and ultimately celebrating the delicious cooked meals.
Old recipes and techniques used by many generations before gained a new popularity as well.
Many people seeking the simple pleasures in life and that involves being together with family and friends and enjoying meals cooked in a traditional way.
What Are The Benefits?
#1 The Food Tastes Amazing
That is probably the most important benefit when cooking in an wood fired oven. The smoke created from burning the wood adds an extra flavor dimension.
#2 Cooking Time
Once you reach the desired heat the food cooks very quickly. A pizza will be cooked in roughly 1 1/2 up to 2 1/2 minutes. That means you can cook pizza for a lot of people in a short amount of time.
Once the heat drops a bit it is time to put other dishes like a roast, vegetables or maybe bread into the hot chamber. You can basically cook everything in an wood fired oven, not just pizza.
#3 Healthy Food
Because of the quick cooking time the food e.g. vegetables or fruit are more likely to retain their nutrients. Otherwise it might be gone when cooking them for a longer time..
#4 Environmental Benefits
When cooking with a traditional oven you don’t need fuel like gas or electricity. So you become more self sufficient and independent from these other sources.
#5 Its Fun !
Yes, it is fun. Sitting around a fire, preparing food and cooking together – what an awesome way to spend time with the most important people in life, friends and family. And, the best part, they will be back for more. Who doesn’t want to make the best pizza in town. 🙂
Summary
There you go. Get the Summer season started with your very own wood fired pizza oven. There is no better way than celebrating good food and good times!
In my next post I will talk more about the different types of ovens available on the market. So stay tuned. 🙂
What is your favorite food to cook in a wood fired oven? Do you have any recipes you would like to share? Please leave a comment in the box below.
I can imagine how delicious food must taste cooked in a wood fired oven. How big is the wood fired oven? Will it take up a lot of space in the kitchen or does it have to be placed outdoors? I can’t wait for your next post on the different types of ovens!
Hi Yvonne, thanks for stopping by. Usually the pizza oven should be placed outside but there are also ovens available for inside use. The ovens can be a bit bulky size wise. If you get the chance you should try a pizza made in a wood fired oven. It is delicious.
By the way I just found your website 30 mins ago. I loved your chicken curry recipe. What a coincidence. The world is small!
Anyhow – all the best from Anke!
This is a very cool post. I never even thought about cooking food in something like this.
This is something I will absolutely have to look into. I mean who wouldn’t love a homemade pizza made in a wood fired oven.
How easy are these things to install into maybe a basement or even a kitchen?
Hi Jaime, thanks for stopping by. I found a great pizza oven that is easy to install into your kitchen. Here is the link. I hope you will try it out one day.
Best regards Anke
Oh my word Anke
Could there be a more worthy subject to write about than the making of pizza?
Ironically enoughI made pizza today for lunch…. IN AN OVEN!! ELECTRIC!!!
Oh the shame!
Summer is just starting here in South Africa… I’m gonna make a plan to make sure my next pizza is from a wood fire oven.
*droooling*
Great article
Hey Keith, cheers for your comment. Yes, you better make a plan to bake your next pizza in an wood fired oven. 🙂 If you make your pizza in an electric oven (nothing wrong with it) I would recommend to use a pizza stone. They give you great results (nice crust) and are inexpensive to buy.
Enjoy your Summer in South Africa; here in New Zealand we are in the middle of spring. Time to get the BBQ ready.
Happy Cooking!
Anke
I grew up in my father’s BBQ restaurant so I love cooking over wood! I think the wood fired oven’s are awesome, I want to build one at my next house.
I also like cooking my food fast over high heat which like you said this is perfect for. Even when I cook pizzas in my oven I turn it all the way up to 550 but it still takes 6-7 minutes.
Hi Jeremy, wow, that must have been awesome growing up in your dad’s restaurant. So I guess you are an expert in cooking over open fire? Did your dad use mainly charcoal or wood for the BBQ? To cook a pizza in 90 seconds you need around 700 F that you can only achieve in a wood fired oven.
Good luck with building a wood fired pizza oven at your next house. You can check out my post about Should you build your wood fired oven?
All the best and Happy Cooking from Anke
This is a good article on wood fired oven, I would love to have one in my back yard. I love to grill in the back yard but I know its different experience with a wood fire oven. I do agree with you that the food taste a lot better in a wood fired oven. We have a restaurant that uses a wood fire oven and the pizzas are delicious.
Thank you so much for commenting, Ricardo. I do hope you will have a wood fired oven in your backyard one day!
All the best from Anke
I thought it was interesting to learn that the quick cooking time from wood fired ovens can make the food healthier by helping vegetables keep their nutrients. Is this why a lot of good pizzerias use wood ovens to cook their pizzas? I’m sure the flavor the wood adds to the food only adds to the benefits of cooking with a wood fire oven.
Hi Finley, thanks for your comment. I would assume that restaurants mainly use wood-fired ovens because of the flavor it adds to the dish. The fast cooking time and health benefits are an added bonus.
For me personally, it’s the delicious taste and flavor that makes cooking in a wood-fired oven so worthwhile.
All the best and happy cooking!
Anke
I love how you said that smoke from the pizza oven adds extra flavor to the whole pizza. This seems like it is an amazing thing to do and my wife and I should definitely look into it. We love to eat pizza after all and being able to make it at home seems like a much better idea than buying it all the time.
Hi Todd, having a pizza baked in a traditional wood-fired pizza oven is really special. It is fun to make pizza at home even if you don’t have a pizza oven.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Best regards – Anke
That’s interesting that the fist cook time in the brick oven make sit so that the fruit and vegetables keep more nutrients. I would think that would be very nice to have when you are trying to eat healthier. Even though pizza isn’t exactly healthy, every little bit helps. I’ll have to consider getting a wood burning pizza oven for my back yard.
Great! Another benefit that wood pizza ovens have over barbecues and traditional ovens is that they impart a delicious flavor to food that isn’t possible with gas, electricity, or even charcoal.