WARNING

NEVER USE GASOLINE, GASOLINE TYPE LANTERN FUEL, KEROSENE, CHARCOAL LIGHTER FLUID OR SIMILAR LIQUIDS TO START OR “FRESHEN UP” A FIRE IN THIS OVEN. KEEP ALL SUCH LIQUIDS WELL AWAY FROM THE OVEN WHEN IN USE.

NEVER USE WATER TO LOWER TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE OVEN OR TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE. USE SOLID WOOD FUEL ONLY. DO NOT USE RESINOUS WOOD SUCH AS PINE OR SPRUCE.

Follow these instructions for curing your pizza oven. Curing handmade wood fired oven is critical to your pizza oven’s performance.  Failure to follow these instructions can result in damage your oven including cracking the dome, severely impacting heat retention.

The first step involves cooking the water out of the clay and the next step involves tempering the clay.

The curing process will take multiple small fires over a 3-day period. You build a series of three increasingly larger fires, starting with a low temperature. The third day fire is no more than kindling and thin strips of wood.

Overheating an uncured oven can cause thermal shock or cracks in the clay and should be avoided that why we recommend following “Curing your Oven instructions” step by step. Small hairline cracks in the surface may appear after normal usage and are not cause for alarm.

SELECTING THE PROPER FIREWOOD FOR YOUR OVEN

You should use only seasoned hardwood (moisture content of 20% or less). Olive, oak or ash are common hardwoods but fruit and nut woods such as apple, almond, cherry, walnut and pecan are all good choices. Avoid using soft resinous woods with a lot of sap and oil such as spruce, pine, eucalyptus or birch. In addition to hardwood, you can use kindling and fire starters that are very helpful for starting and refreshing a fire.

STARTING A FIRE

Start and maintain the fire in the centre of the oven, not on either side or back of the oven. The door and chimney must be open all the time.

You don’t want the fire to get too high and touch the dome as direct contact with the fire will spike temperatures. To start a fire, first place one small piece of firewood (5 X 5 X 30cm) on the oven floor aligned front to back. Lay 4 pieces of kindling across the first piece and place 3 fire starters in between the firewood and light. You may need to add a single piece of hardwood to the fire if the temperature is not increasing.

Add firewood very slowly ensuring the fire is very low, only a few inches off the oven floor. Run this fire for 6 – 8 hours and let the oven completely cool down. After this please fire the oven again with slightly larger pieces and bring it to a slightly higher temperature.

NOTE: The first two days are the most critical. Be careful not to over fire the oven. If this happens just use the long-handled peel to knock the fire down.

Day 1: For 6-8 hours at 100 
Day 2: Repeat process for 6-8 hours at 175 
Day 3. Repeat process for 6-8 hours at 250 

Important Notes:

• Do not use products not specified for use with this oven.
• If the exterior of the pizza oven is wet, start off by drying it out with a very weak fire. Once the oven is dry, the fire can be increased gradually to normal size.
• Never use water to lower the temperature inside the oven or to extinguish the fire.  This will increase wear and tear on your oven and can lead to “spalling” pitting and cracking your floor.
• Do not touch the stainless-steel chimney or metal door frame – these parts get very hot.
• Do not load so much firewood that fire will come out of the door. Begin each fire with small pieces of firewood and add firewood gradually.

Maximum temperature for cooking is 500. We recommend for cooking pizza no higher 350