Which logs are best for a pizza oven?

Small, kiln-dried hardwood logs. A pizza oven needs a fast, lively fire, and dry hardwood cut small catches quickly, burns hot and keeps a flame rolling over the dome while you cook. Wet wood smoulders and smokes, and softwood burns away quickly. Our extra small logs are mixed hardwood, kiln dried to 20% moisture or less and cut for exactly this job.

How hot does a pizza oven get?

Hot. The official rules for Pizza Napoletana say it must be baked in a wood-fired oven, at around 485°C on the oven floor and 430°C at the dome, for 60 to 90 seconds (legislation.gov.uk). You don't need to hit those numbers for a great pizza at home, but they show why the fuel matters. The floor and dome have to soak up a lot of heat, and only a dry, flaming fire gets them there in good time.

Why dry wood matters even more in an oven.

Any water in a log has to evaporate before the wood will burn, which eats into the heat you get (Forest Research). Logs that aren't dry smoulder and make lots of tar and smoke, and GOV.UK says dry wood gives more heat and less soot than wet wood. In a pizza oven that's the difference between a clean, roaring fire and a sooty one sitting right next to your dinner.

Hardwood, and which kind.

Defra says hardwoods are denser and burn for longer, while softwoods light easily but burn faster and give less heat log for log. Softwoods also tend to contain more resin (Forest Research). For cooking, we stick to hardwood. Our hardwood vs softwood guide explains more.

• Silver birch lights easily and burns bright, which makes it handy for getting the oven up to heat.
• Ash burns hot, clean and steady: a good all-rounder once you're cooking.
• Oak is dense and slow burning. It suits big brick ovens that take longer to heat, or holding heat for bread and roasts after the pizzas.

Our extra small logs are a mix of hardwoods, so you get a bit of each job in one bag.

What size of log?

Size depends on the oven. Small portable ovens have a narrow fire box and want small pieces that catch fast and leave room for flame: that's what our extra small logs are for. Larger brick or clay ovens can take our standard 25cm logs to heat up, then smaller logs to keep a flame going while you cook. Always follow your oven maker's guidance on how much fuel to load and how big, and only burn logs in an oven built for wood, not a gas-only one.

How to fire a wood-fired oven.

1. Start small: a little kindling and a natural firelighter where your oven's instructions say to build the fire. Never use petrol or other fuels to get it going (North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue).
2. Once the kindling is burning well, add two or three small logs, then keep feeding a few at a time as they catch.
3. Give it time. Heat-up times vary enormously between a small portable oven and a thick brick dome, so go by your maker's guide. An infrared thermometer pointed at the floor takes out the guesswork.
4. When it's hot, push the fire to the back or side and brush the floor clean.
5. Keep a flame going. Add a small log every few pizzas so flame keeps rolling across the dome and cooks the top as the floor cooks the base.
6. Afterwards, let the fire burn out and make sure the ashes are completely cold before you get rid of them. The fire service suggests emptying them onto soil rather than into a plastic wheelie bin.

What not to burn.

Never burn painted, varnished or treated wood, pallets, fence panels or old furniture. Defra warns that treated waste wood can give off harmful fumes and toxic pollutants, and Forest Research says contaminated wood releases noxious chemicals into the smoke. That smoke is cooking your food, so keep it to clean, dry logs.

Smoke, neighbours and the rules.

GOV.UK says you can use outdoor pizza ovens in smoke control areas. If yours uses a chimney on the roof of a building, such as a summerhouse, stricter fuel rules apply. Smoke can still count as a statutory nuisance if it unreasonably interferes with your neighbours, though GOV.UK's nuisance guidance says smoke from an everyday activity like cooking is unlikely to. Dry wood keeps smoke down. This is a general summary, not legal advice: check with your council.

Our simple sourdough base.

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 350g water at room temperature
• 100g active sourdough starter
• 10g salt and a drizzle of olive oil

Mix the flour and water and leave it for 30 minutes. Work in the starter and salt, then knead for about 10 minutes until smooth. Cover in a lightly oiled bowl and leave for six to eight hours, until doubled. Divide into balls of about 250g, rest them for an hour, then stretch them thin, top and bake.

Pizza oven logs, delivered.

Our extra small logs come in a large bulk bag, delivered free and left where you ask, with a minimum order of £80. They're also handy for fire pits, wood-fired hot tubs and small fireplaces. We deliver across the Dales and nearby, including Skipton, Ilkley, Keighley, Settle, Bradford, Halifax and Burnley. Pop your postcode in to check.

Cooking more than pizza? See our guide to cooking over wood, or the fire pit logs guide for after dinner.

Questions people ask.

What we'd suggest.

A bag of our extra small logs, a bag of kindling and a box of natural firelighters will see you through plenty of pizza nights. For a large brick oven, a bag of standard logs for heating up works well alongside them.

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  Extra Small Logs for Pizza Ovens

  Small and dry, made for pizza ovens and fire pits.

  £150Add Extra Small Logs for Pizza Ovens to basket +
• 

  Kindling

  A bag of dry kindling

  £6Add Kindling to basket +
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  Woodcycle Natural Firelighters (50)

  Natural, no smell

  £8Add Woodcycle Natural Firelighters (50) to basket +