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In recent years, sales of wood-fired pizza ovens have risen across the UK, leading to increased demand for hardwood logs, seasoned logs and kiln-dried logs from log sales companies like LJN Firewood. Homeowners in places like Guildford are buying pizza ovens to add that extra visual appeal in the garden, but also because they recognise that cooking pizza with natural logs as fuel makes it taste so much better.
On this page, our firewood and log sales company will discuss the best woods to use as fuel to get the most out of your pizza oven.
While all types of wood fall into either the hardwood or softwood category, there is a wide range of species that offer unique or additional benefits as fuel sources. From oak to beech logs, we create a range of quality logs. Call us today to learn more about our log suppliers’ options and our quality control process.
When cooking at home in the Guildford and Surrey areas, it is essential to avoid using any fuel that releases harmful chemicals when burned. This eliminates laminated woods, such as plywood, anything covered in paint or glue, and chemically or pressure-treated wood. Using such materials risks releasing hazardous toxins into the air or the food itself.
It is also important not to use anything that will create a creosote or soot build-up that may become a fire hazard. If you have already used a resinous wood with a high oil or sap content, you can burn off the residue by using hardwood logs, seasoned logs or kiln-dried firewood.
Kiln-dried logs or seasoned logs from hardwoods are by far the best options for a wood-fired pizza oven. These include:
However, oak is often the easiest to source from log sales companies like ours, and it burns far hotter than some other types of hardwood logs. While softwood alternatives are still an option, hardwoods are far denser and weigh around three times as much, which means they give off more heat, pound for pound.
If you are planning to use softwood, it is important to use only properly seasoned logs or professionally kiln-dried logs, as the curing and drying process reduces sap content and moisture levels. Our expert log suppliers are happy to advise you on all aspects of the different air- and kiln-dried firewood we offer.
One of the most popular choices for natural logs among wood-fired pizzerias around Guildford is apple wood. Like other fruitwoods, such as hickory, pear, cherry, almond and pecan, apple wood emits a delightful fragrance when burned, infusing your food with a unique flavour and aroma. Hardwood logs made from apple wood burn incredibly hot, as with oak, creating the optimal temperature for cooking pizza.
While it is possible to substitute kiln-dried logs and seasoned logs with woodchips and wood pellets in wood-burning stoves and fireplaces, they produce far less heat than traditional firewood. This makes them a poor choice as the sole fuel source for a pizza oven in Guildford. However, adding apple wood chips, for example, will provide the same pleasant aromas as apple hardwood logs, which can be difficult to come by at many local log sales companies.
Remember that using green wood from a freshly cut tree contains a lot of moisture, which produces a lot of smoke and burns poorly. Due to the curing process, kiln-dried logs and seasoned logs make the best natural fuel because of their low moisture content of around 20-25%.
