In Italy wood fired ovens are

known as Forno a legna.

Two types of ovens are available

they are either black or white - this simply

refers to the inside colour of the

ovens when you are cooking with them.

In a white oven the fire is in a separate

compartment and this keeps the oven white.

However when you cook in a black oven

the fire is in the same space as the food

you are cooking.

Masonry Oven is actually the correct

term to describe pizza and bread ovens,

and they can be built with any materials

that can stand high heats.

If you are constructing a bread oven then

it will need to be quite robust as the idea

is to burn all the wood and then you should

finish up with quite a few hours of stored

heat in which to bake your breads.

Pizza ovens do not need to be quite

as sturdily built because you are not

using stored heat you actually have a

fire or embers in your oven while

you are cooking.

As it is really an oven it means you can

cook anything that would normally go

in an oven - it does not have to be

restricted to pizzas and bread.

The only requirements for the oven are

for it to be dome shaped with a space for

the wood and food to be loaded and

a hearth for the wood to sit on.

Although you do need to be accurate

regarding the ceiling height of the oven -

if the ceiling is too high then heat can

be lost or if it is too low then the oven

does not reach the necessary

temperature.

Our Olive wood is particularly

recommended for this type of cooking

as it gives a high long lasting heat.

Do not forget the wonderful

perfume and flavour of the olive wood as it

gently enhances your food.