There’s something completely magical about a wood-fired oven. The taste of the food that is produced near an open flame is tough to compare to anything else. The ambiance and warmth the wood-fired oven produces only adds to the experience.
Pizza, artisan bread, fish, and proteins all cook wonderfully in a wood-fired oven.
But talk to any chef or restaurant owner and you will quickly learn that there is one element that is absolutely required to producing amazing food. Consistency.
Consistency means being able to regulate heat, moisture, temperature, smoke, and other important factors involved in open flame wood-fired cooking.
One of the biggest complaints of restauranteurs is inconsistency in the wood they purchase for their wood-fired ovens.
If the moisture content in the wood varies from delivery to delivery, all of the other factors are affected. The most important is the heat the wood can produce. Wood that is wet just does not burn as hot since much of the heat is used to evaporate the moister.
Kiln-dried wood solves the problems created by inconsistent air-dried wood
So, how is kiln-dried firewood better? It’s simple. Kiln-dried firewood produces a consistent burn, every single time.
Kiln drying firewood removes more than moisture. It removes variables. The variables that can create inconsistencies in cook times and flavor of the food cooked in a wood-fired oven.
How? Kiln-dried firewood is dried in a controlled environment, so every batch of firewood leaves the kiln with the same level of moisture. That level of consistency eliminates one thing that a restaurant staff needs to think about. They know that each batch of wood will be the same as the last in terms of wood moisture level, burn temperature, time, and heat displacement.
It’s that level of consistency that produces delicious food, every single time.
Kiln-dried wood for wood-fired ovens is ready rapidly
If you were to get wood that was cut 24 hours ago to use in your wood-fired ovens, you’d be in an interesting spot. That wood is incredibly wet, it might not even ignite. If it does burn, the heat will be minimal and the smoke will produce creosote. No advantages to this, whatsoever. Plus your bread and pizza will taste “off”.
Kiln drive firewood, on the other hand, can be dried to a perfect 10% moisture level in about 24 hours. That makes kiln-dried firewood for your wood-fired oven the perfect choice in terms of availability.
Kiln-dried wood-fired ovens work best at high temperatures. To achieve this in a pizza oven or other type of brick oven, you need wood that burns incredibly hot. Kiln-dried is clearly the answer.
Give it a try
The best way to know if kiln-dried firewood is right for you is to give it a try. Call one of our kiln-dried firewood specialists and talk to them about how you can try kiln-dried wood in your wood-fired oven.