There are two main cooking methods I use in the wood oven:
1. The Panificio method: less commonly used to make pizza in modern domestic ovens & the method I discuss below. Commonly used in wood ovens of large Italian families to cook lots of pizzas in a short period of time. This is also used to cook roast meats and fish, bread, whole roasted pig and pastries where the food is cooked with a falling temperature.
2. The Pizzeria method: With a hot oven and open oven door, maintain a small fire on one side of the oven, whilst on the other side the pizza is cooked directly on the oven’s floor. This is commonly used by wood oven pizza restaurants and can be maintained over long periods. Discussion of this method is for another thread perhaps.
Panificio:
Heat the oven with a long burn to approx 50'C above the desired temperature or wait until the walls & ceiling of the oven turn completely white & maintain for about 1 hour (this would vary greatly from oven to oven), by burning enough wood down to small coals that can be spread evenly across the oven floor. Drag the coals out and remove with a rake & shovel. Before the next step ensure the pizzas are ready to go - close the door whilst making them to retain oven temp if necessary.
Using a very well rinsed wet mop & bucket (I have a dedicated mop for this, never touched chemicals) not gushing wet, but dripping a bit of water, 'mop' the floor of the oven well - I do this twice, rinsing the mop in-between. This limits ash getting on the pizza and adds humidity to the oven encouraging 'oven spring' from the dough.
Check the temperature with a laser thermometer, (I aim for about 360'C) then load up the oven with pizzas, and shut the door. Set the timer for 2 minutes and wait. After 2 minutes check the top for golden bubbly cheeseness, check under the base for a deep brown colour, and as I make a thick base, I sometimes check under a large piece of topping for signs of remaining dough 'gooeyness' to see if it requires a bit longer, when I'm uncertain. Repeat the process until all the pizzas are cooked, lengthening the cooking time between each cycle and checks and per cycle, as the temperature will drop.
