Bringing a wood-fired oven or a gas-fired oven with a Hybrid Kit up to heat is much simpler than you might think.
There are a couple of golden rules to follow:
- Always use kiln-dried wood. Never use treated wood, resin or scrap wood. Make sure the wood is dry, as damp wood will result in more smoke and less heat.
- Use natural, accelerant-free fire starters as these will not taint your oven and food. Never use flammable liquids or other fuels.
Stack a Jenga-like structure of wood in the centre of the oven, using small pieces of dry wood. Add some all-natural fire starters at the base of the pile and on top of the first layer of wood.
Ignite one of the embedded fire starters with a long match, or light one in your hands and insert it into the structure.
Once the starter pile has an established flame and a small bed of embers (for a guide, see the image at the top of this page), move the fire to one side and add a couple of larger logs on top.
With the door still off, bring the oven up to your target temperature. Depending on how hot you are looking to go, you may need to add more logs, but do so gradually, as the efficiency of the oven means that the heat builds remarkably quickly.
If using a Wood Holder or a Hybrid Kit, follow the same process but build your pile of wood in the middle of its rack.
