Wood type for wood fire pizza

[zach1234]

I have been having a great time using one of my old weber kettles as a pizza oven. I have used the various chunks of wood I have on hand (mainly hickory) but wanted to see if anybody had any suggestions for a nice wood flavour for pizz. Is there a predominant wood that pizzerias with wood-burning ovens use? I am quite happy with how the temps are running, but I find that using a hickory chunk, for example, has a bit more smokey flavor that I am aiming for.

Here is a description of my setup:

I bank a full chimney of lump on one side, and then place a stone on the indirect side (slide a small bunch of coals under the stone to get it nice and hot). Once the stone is nice and hot, I place some wood chips on the lump, and then place a nice chunk of hickory log on the chips. This gets the chunk lit on fire. With a slightly offset lid, the flame rides the lid towards the vent, right over the pizza. I'm sure many of you know this, or a similar set up - but if not, hopefully it helps. I've attached a (crappy) photo looking in when opening the lid on the indirect side.

Best Regards!! -Zach

 

[CharredApron]

Red Oak is my favorite. That is what I used in my WFO when I was in business

 

[Ol'Joe]

2nd on the oak, also its very high btu rating is a cooking plus.

 

[Ron_L]

My first thought when I saw the topic was "Oak" :-D

 

[zach1234]

Haha thanks Ron L, CharredApron, and Ol'Joe for the responses, looks like I'll be going out and finding myself some oak. Thanks

2nd on the oak, also its very high btu rating is a cooking plus.

Ol'Joe, thats great to know! Had not considered the burn temps of the wood. Thanks a lot!

Best Regards.
Zach

 

[MikeJ65]

Any good hardwood, I generally use a mix. At WFO temps there is really no flavor profile from the wood, proper heat is the key.

 

[IamMadMan]

The pizza isn't in the oven long enough to get a deep developed smoke flavor, so the type of wood for flavor isn't a factor. The wood is used to generate high heat, so the denser the wood the higher the btu factor.

Hickory, Apple, White Oak, Maple, and Red Oak are in the order of recoverable btu outputs. But you also need to be concerned with the quality of the coaling and the amount of sparks as well. You don't want sparks shooting directly into your pizza.. LOL

http://www.unitedfireplaceandstove.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/woodchart1.jpg

 

[Gulf]

I agree, that at normal pizza temps, wood burns too clean to get a smoked flavor. But, you can get some great! smoke flavor from your precooked (smoked) toppings :hungry:.

 

[NorcalBBQer]

I've found a couple chunks of pecan to work great for me.