The 3 Biggest Mistakes New Pizza Oven Owners Make

There’s nothing quite like the excitement of firing up a wood-fired pizza oven for the first time. You’ve done your research, picked the perfect oven, maybe even practised your dough a few times in the kitchen. But that first proper bake can often come with a few surprises! A soggy base, a smoke fest, a pizza that’s burnt on one side and undercooked on the other. Don’t worry, it happens to almost everyone. Here are the three mistakes we see time and time again with new pizza oven owners, and how to avoid them.

Mistake 1: Not Preheating Properly

This is probably the number one mistake, and it’s an easy one to make. A wood-fired oven needs a lot more time to heat up than people expect, especially on its first run out. The stone and dome need time to fully saturate, especially when fresh out of the box. We know how tempting it is to launch the pizza in as soon as you see flames, but that’s usually way too early. 

You’re looking for the dome to turn from black and sooty to a lighter, almost white colour, and the floor should be sat somewhere around 350°C. All Igneus pizza ovens (except Minimo), come with a built-in temperature gauge that gives you a reading of the ambient temperature of the oven. However, if you want to take the guesswork out of the stone temperature, an infrared thermometer is a genuinely useful bit of kit. Point it at the stone floor, and you’ll know exactly where you stand. Skip this step, and you’ll likely end up with a base that’s pale and doughy, even if the top looks cooked.

Mistake 2: Using the Wrong Wood or Fuel

Not all wood is created equal, and this trips up a lot of new owners. Wet or unseasoned wood might light, but it’ll smoke like mad and won’t get your oven anywhere near hot enough. Soft woods aren’t much better because they burn fast but don’t hold heat well. What you want is a good kiln-dried hardwood, something like silver birch, oak, ash or beech, which burns cleaner and hotter and won’t leave a bitter taste on your food. 

It’s also worth building your fire up gradually rather than piling logs in all at once. A slow, steady build gives you much better control over the heat, and your oven (and your pizza) will thank you for it. Check out our video tutorial for how to build the perfect fire in your Igneus Pizza Oven here.

Mistake 3: Overloading the Pizza with Toppings

This one’s less about the oven and more about the pizza itself. Most of us are used to a regular oven pizza that takes 15-20 minutes to cook, so it’s natural to want to load it up with toppings. But a wood-fired oven cooks in 60 to 90 seconds. This means there simply isn’t time for a mountain of toppings to cook through properly. You’ll end up with a soggy middle and undercooked base, even if the crust is perfect. 

The trick is to keep it simple. A good quality tomato sauce, decent cheese, and two or three toppings max. Don’t forget to turn the pizza every 20-30 seconds too, since the heat isn’t even across the whole oven. Less really is more here, and it lets the crust do what it does best.

Final Thoughts

None of these mistakes is anything to worry about. Essentially, they’re all things that we’ve all got wrong when we were starting our journey in the world of pizza. Give yourself a test run or two before you invite anyone round for pizza night, and you’ll get a feel for your Igneus oven pretty quickly. If you want a hand picking the right accessories or fuel for your Igneus oven, just get in touch – we’re always happy to help. Call us on 01423 575885 or explore our full range of ovens and pizza oven accessories here.