Wood fired ovens have two characteristics that really influence the pizzas that they produce. First, they are usually extremely hot – often 400 degrees Celsius or more. This burst of heat makes the pizza cook extremely quickly, and the quick cooking time means that a lot of moisture remains in the dough after it is cooked. This produces a lovely moist, chewy crust with a crisp outside.
Second, the pizza is usually cooked directly on the heated brick surface. This porous cooking surface ensures that some of the moisture underneath the base is absorbed while cooking, rather than being trapped under he pizza and making the base go soggy!
While a genuine wood fired brick oven is not something we can all have at home, we can recreate some of the conditions in a wood fired oven by using a ceramic or terracotta Pizza Stone. Pizza stones can be found at most good kitchenware or department stores fairly cheaply, and they are the most essential tool for making great pizza at home.
If you don’t have a pizza stone and can’t get one easily, a common alternative is to use unglazed quarry tiles. Failing this you can preheat a heavy baking dish in the oven and slide your pizza onto this instead.
To use a pizza stone, you put the stone on a shelf in your oven, and then turn the oven to its highest setting for up to an hour before cooking pizza. It’s important to preheat the stone for a fair while, as it absorbs heat slowly. If you are in a hurry and don’t have time to preheat a stone properly it is better not to use one at all, as your pizza will take much longer to cook while the stone is absorbing all of the heat from the oven.
Once the stone is really hot, you slide your pizza directly onto the stone using a peel. The stone acts as a heat bank and radiates the heat that it has absorbed, cooking your pizza quickly and absorbing some moisture from the base, just like in a wood fired oven.
Most thin crust pizzas cooked on a properly preheated stone should be ready in as little as 5-7 minutes.
TIP: In ovens that have a top element for grilling (broiling), switch over to the grill on medium heat after 5 or 6 minutes of cooking. This gives a beautiful burst of heat to the top of the pizza to crisp up your cheese. The bottom of the pizza will continue to cook from the heat of the stone. Just keep a close eye on it so the toppings don’t burn.
Eager to try your broiling tip!
Another way to get more of a pizza oven experience in your home oven is using two pizza stones – one above the pizza, as well as the pizza stone it bakes on.
More heat retention in the oven and a source of high heat above as well as below.
Also, you can bake a second pizza on the top stone.
Good tip! I often do the same thing myself. Since the top stone is only there for extra thermal mass though, I often use a cheaper marble tile from a landscape store. Sandstone also works well.