Whether newly purchased or in regular use for years, a properly lit wood-fired oven is essential for even heat and successful results. The following practical tips are based on tried-and-tested practice and will help you start the season.
Choosing and storing beech wood
Why beech?
Beech wood is widely used in wood-fired ovens: it produces a steady bed of embers and supports a consistent heat output — important for predictable baking and cooking.
Drying and storage
Dry wood is crucial. As a guideline, aim for a residual moisture below 20 %. Ask your wood supplier specifically for well-seasoned, dry wood. In practice, a storage time of around two to three years has proved effective. Wood that is too fresh contains moisture, smokes heavily and burns unevenly. Very long-stored wood can lose calorific value. Well-dried beech wood burns cleanly and leaves comparatively little ash.
Building the fire: top-down
For a clean start, prepare your fuel and the oven.
Step by step
- Prepare firelighting material: wood wool pads or similar solid firelighters.
- Stack four to six small, dry logs crosswise in a loose, airy arrangement.
- Place kindling and 1–2 firelighters on top.
- Ignite from the top (top-down method). Avoid paper and cardboard — they create unnecessary ash and fly ash.
- Open your oven’s air supply fully to start. Depending on the oven’s construction, you can reduce or close the airflow later. Every combustion needs sufficient oxygen — correct airflow ensures an efficient flame and good embers.
Tip: Suitable firelighters and oven tools are available in our accessories range.
Controlling temperature and adding fuel correctly
Avoid unnecessarily high temperatures. Heating up is easy — bringing the oven back down to a suitable cooking temperature costs time and energy.
Wait to add more wood until the initial fire has largely burned down and the flames are just dying. Then add larger, dry logs. This stabilises the heat and helps you reach a cooking temperature of about 300 °C — a practical guideline for many uses. Depending on the oven, the recipe and your target, the optimal temperature may differ.
Quick notes
- Use dry beech wood (residual moisture below 20 %) — this supports clean combustion and steady heat.
- Light top-down, with airy stacking and solid firelighters instead of paper.
- Open the air supply when starting; regulate it later as required.
- Only add more wood once the initial fire has almost burned down — this keeps the temperature stable.