Hello from Glasgow

[gerry1969]

Hi all, I’m a new member to the forum and relatively new to the wood fired oven life, I bought and installed my oven last May and so far have used about a pallet of wood. I love pizza and I love baking bread so the wood oven was always on the plan and I promised my self I would get one when I had my garden ready for it. 
I have great results with the pizzas but I feel that the bases could be crisper and was wondering if anyone had any tips or could help me on this. Also is it better to have the fire at the back or the side of the oven?

Thanks Gerry. 

[oblertone]

A soggy bottom is indeed unwelcome, but the causes are many and varied, from the flour you use to the wood you burn. A little more information regarding your build may be of use, particularly with reference to any underfloor insulation. I say this because a cool floor won't help your quest for a crispy bottom.

Welcome to the site anyway.

[downunderdave]

Mar 26, 2018 20:46:56 GMT gerry1969 said:

Hi all, I’m a new member to the forum and relatively new to the wood fired oven life, I bought and installed my oven last May and so far have used about a pallet of wood. I love pizza and I love baking bread so the wood oven was always on the plan and I promised my self I would get one when I had my garden ready for it. 
I have great results with the pizzas but I feel that the bases could be crisper and was wondering if anyone had any tips or could help me on this. Also is it better to have the fire at the back or the side of the oven?

Thanks Gerry. 

Some soggy bottom causes

1. Too much toppings. WFO pizzas need to have toppings sparse, because of the higher cooking temp. This means nothing overlapping. Cheese goes on after sauce, not over the top of toppings like a blanket, for same reason.
2. Too much tomato sauce can add too much liquid.
3. Cooking on pizza trays traps steam between tray and base. Should cook directly on oven floor.
4. Floor not hot enough. Do the semolina test. (cast a little semolina onto floor centre. It should turn black suddenly after 3 secs. 2 secs = too hot, 4 secs = not hot enough)

adding around 7% semolina by weight to your flour portion of dough imparts some crunch to the base.

If your oven is new then your floor maybe losing heat due to damp under floor insulation. The remedy is to keep firing, it will dry out, the water under the floor is the last place for the water to be eliminated. Always maintain a fire when cooking pizzas to maintain the high temperature required. A fire on the side is easier to work rather than at the back. You can swap the fire to the opposite side of the oven if the floor temp drops too much.The pizzas should be cooked for around 2 mins with a turn in the middle to keep them evenly cooked.

[gerry1969]

Mar 27, 2018 19:17:38 GMT downunderdave said:

Mar 26, 2018 20:46:56 GMT gerry1969 said:

Hi all, I’m a new member to the forum and relatively new to the wood fired oven life, I bought and installed my oven last May and so far have used about a pallet of wood. I love pizza and I love baking bread so the wood oven was always on the plan and I promised my self I would get one when I had my garden ready for it. 
I have great results with the pizzas but I feel that the bases could be crisper and was wondering if anyone had any tips or could help me on this. Also is it better to have the fire at the back or the side of the oven?

Thanks Gerry. 

Some soggy bottom causes

1. Too much toppings. WFO pizzas need to have toppings sparse, because of the higher cooking temp. This means nothing overlapping. Cheese goes on after sauce, not over the top of toppings like a blanket, for same reason.
2. Too much tomato sauce can add too much liquid.
3. Cooking on pizza trays traps steam between tray and base. Should cook directly on oven floor.
4. Floor not hot enough. Do the semolina test. (cast a little semolina onto floor centre. It should turn black suddenly after 3 secs. 2 secs = too hot, 4 secs = not hot enough)

adding around 7% semolina by weight to your flour portion of dough imparts some crunch to the base.

If your oven is new then your floor maybe losing heat due to damp under floor insulation. The remedy is to keep firing, it will dry out, the water under the floor is the last place for the water to be eliminated. Always maintain a fire when cooking pizzas to maintain the high temperature required. A fire on the side is easier to work rather than at the back. You can swap the fire to the opposite side of the oven if the floor temp drops too much.The pizzas should be cooked for around 2 mins with a turn in the middle to keep them evenly cooked.

Thank you for your reply, I’ll definitely give them a try and I will switch to the fire at the side as the point you made about easier to manage the fire makes sense as does moving it from side to side.
Gerry

[albacore]

Thank you for your reply, I’ll definitely give them a try and I will switch to the fire at the side as the point you made about easier to manage the fire makes sense as does moving it from side to side.

Put the fire on the left if you are left handed, otherwise on the right. This will make it easier to load pizzas - a useful tip courtesy of Cannyfradock!

In my experience, WFO pizzas do not necessarily have crisp bottoms, even when baked in commercial ovens. However, they should have dry, "non-soggy" bottoms and Downunderdave's tips will help to achieve this.

Lance