This best wood for pizza oven guide breaks down what actually matters, based on real use.
The wood you use in a pizza oven has a direct impact on temperature, flavour, and how long your fire lasts. Use the wrong wood and you’ll struggle to reach temperature, produce too much smoke, or get chemical taints in your food. Here’s exactly what to look for.
The Most Important Factor: Moisture Content
More than species, more than size, moisture content determines how well wood burns in a pizza oven. You need kiln-dried or well-seasoned wood with a moisture content below 20%. Wood above this moisture level produces excessive smoke, burns at lower temperatures, generates more creosote, and is difficult to keep alight.
Buy a moisture meter (£10-15) to check any wood before buying in bulk. Alternatively, look for the Woodsure “Ready to Burn” certification logo on kiln-dried wood bags, which guarantees a moisture content below 20%.
Best Wood Species for Pizza Ovens
Oak
Oak is the gold standard for pizza ovens. It burns hot and long, produces very little smoke, and has a mild flavour that doesn’t overpower food. Kiln-dried oak splits are ideal for the main fuel in any wood-fired pizza oven. Available widely from wood suppliers and some garden centres.
Beech
Beech burns at a similar temperature to oak with a slightly cleaner, more neutral flavour. An excellent choice for pizza ovens and slightly cheaper than oak in some parts of the UK. Burns with a pale flame that’s easy to see inside the oven.
Ash
Ash is another excellent hardwood that burns hot and clean. It tends to be slightly less dense than oak, meaning it burns faster, but it’s easy to light and produces a good consistent flame. One of the most commonly available hardwoods in the UK.
Fruitwoods (Apple, Cherry, Plum)
Fruitwoods burn hot and produce a mild, sweet smoke that adds a subtle flavour to food. They’re excellent for pizza ovens and produce very little ash. The main limitation is availability and cost – fruitwood is harder to source in quantity than oak or ash. If you have access to apple or cherry wood from pruning or felling, it’s well worth using.
Wood to Avoid
Softwoods (Pine, Spruce, Fir)
Softwoods are not suitable as primary fuel for a pizza oven. They burn fast, generate a lot of smoke, produce excessive resin that dirties the oven and can taint food, and deposit more creosote in the flue. Fine as kindling to start a fire but not for sustaining a cooking fire.
Treated, Painted, or Chemically Preserved Wood
Never burn treated timber in a pizza oven. Treated wood contains chemical preservatives that produce toxic fumes at high temperatures. This includes fence posts, pallets (unless certified untreated), decking, and any painted or varnished wood. The risk to health is genuine.
Wet or Green Wood
Freshly cut “green” wood has a moisture content of 40-60%. It produces enormous amounts of smoke, can’t reach high temperatures, and is very difficult to keep burning. Even wood that looks dry on the outside can be wet inside. Always check with a moisture meter if you’re unsure.
Log Size and Preparation
For compact ovens like the Ooni Karu 12 or Gozney Dome, split your wood into thin pieces – roughly 3-5cm diameter and 20-25cm long. Smaller pieces catch more quickly and burn with a more controllable flame. In smaller Ooni ovens, you’ll be adding wood frequently (every 30-60 seconds) to maintain temperature.
A kindling splitter or small axe makes splitting logs to the right size much faster. Pre-split a session’s worth of wood before you light the fire rather than trying to split mid-cook.
Where to Buy
- Ooni’s own hardwood pellets and logs – conveniently sized and kiln-dried, available on their website and Amazon
- Local firewood suppliers – often the most affordable option for bulk buying; ask specifically for kiln-dried hardwood
- Garden centres – increasingly stock kiln-dried hardwood bags with Ready to Burn certification
- Online wood suppliers – sites like Wood Fuel Co-operative and Certainly Wood deliver directly
Using the right wood makes a significant difference to the ease of managing a wood-fired oven. Once you’re cooking with good kiln-dried oak or beech, you’ll notice how much cleaner and hotter the fire burns compared to wood with any moisture in it.
