A pizza oven needs two things from the fire: a flame across the roof to keep the dome hot, and a bed of coals on the side to keep the floor hot. The wood you use decides how quickly you get there and how steady the oven stays.
What a pizza oven needs from its wood
It must catch and build up quickly, because you are heating a lot of brick or steel. It must burn with a clean flame, because the pizza cooks right next to the fire. And it must not burn too hot: a pizza oven needs a good, steady flame, not a fire that overheats the oven and burns the base before the top is done.
That is why the best pizza oven woods are the local ones. Dense Namibian hardwoods like kameeldoring and sekeldoring burn too hot for most pizza ovens; keep those for the braai.
The wood we’d send
Blue Gum (bloekom) – the main wood
Lights easily and keeps a nice, even flame going across the dome. This is the wood to run the oven on. Split it a bit smaller than you would for the fireplace and add a piece at a time. Blue Gum / Bloekom, ±20kg bag.
Blackwattle – a bit more heat
Denser than bloekom, so it burns a bit hotter and leaves better coals for the floor. Use it on its own or mixed with bloekom: bloekom for the flame, blackwattle for the coals. Harvested in the Western Cape from alien clearing. Blackwattle, ±20kg bag.
Swarthaak – for extra heat
When you want the oven hotter, add a few pieces of swarthaak to the fire. It is what they use in pizza ovens in Namibia. A few pieces are enough; swarthaak is not the wood to run the whole oven on. Swarthaak, ±15kg bag.
Wingerd stompies – for the smell
Dried vine stumps from the Winelands. They catch quickly and the smoke smells good. Two or three pieces on the coals before a flatbread or a white pizza is plenty. Wingerd stompies.
Keep these out of the oven
Kameeldoring and sekeldoring. Great braai wood, but too hot for most pizza ovens.
Pine and other resin wood. Fine as kindling to get the fire going, wrong as fuel. The resin smokes, covers the dome in soot and you taste it.
Treated, painted or pallet wood. Offcuts, old furniture, anything with a stamp or paint on it. It gives off chemicals onto the food. Never, not even to heat up the oven.
Wet or green wood. It steams instead of burning: low heat, thick smoke and an oven that never gets hot enough. All our bagged wood is seasoned and kept under cover until it goes on the truck.
Running the fire
Start small. A handful of kindling and one firelighter in the middle of the floor. Add wrist-thick pieces of bloekom as it catches.
Wait for the dome to go white. The roof turns black with soot while the oven heats up. Keep a good flame going until the black burns off and the dome goes white again. That is when the oven is ready, not when the clock says so.
Push the fire to one side. Move the fire and coals to the side or the back, sweep the floor and keep one small flame going on the coals. From here, add one piece at a time, just enough to keep a flame on the dome. Too much wood now is the most common mistake: the top burns before the base is done.
Piece size matters. About 25–30cm long and as thick as your wrist works best. Our bagged blackwattle is about that size; bloekom you may want to split once more.
For a restaurant oven
A service is four or five hours, and the mistake we see most is feeding big flames all night. Build a good bed of coals with blackwattle before you open, then run bloekom on top for the flame and add a few pieces of swarthaak when you need more heat. The coals keep the floor hot; the flame is only there for the dome. You use less wood, the oven stays steadier and nobody is stoking at nine o’clock.
We supply restaurants, guest houses and function venues on standing orders. If you run a wood-fired oven, WhatsApp 060 978 8945 and we will set one up.
How much wood for a pizza night
As a rule of thumb, one ±20kg bag of bloekom or blackwattle is a full pizza evening for a family. For a crowd, with the oven running three or four hours, plan on two bags, plus a few pieces of swarthaak if you like it hot. Not sure? Build my order for me.
Ordering
Order online and we deliver across Cape Town, carried in and stacked, usually within 1–2 business days. Or collect from the factory shop at 35 Tredoux Street, Parow. Delivery is one fee per drop for your area, so a few bags cost the same to deliver as one.
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Questions we get asked
What is the best wood for a pizza oven?
Bloekom and blackwattle. For extra heat, add a few pieces of swarthaak. Kameeldoring and sekeldoring burn too hot for most pizza ovens.
Can I use braai wood in a pizza oven?
Some of it. Bloekom and blackwattle work in both. Keep the dense Namibian hardwoods, like kameeldoring and sekeldoring, for the braai.
Can I use charcoal in a pizza oven?
Charcoal gives heat but no flame, and the dome needs a flame. Use wood. A few pieces of lump charcoal on the coals can keep the floor hot if the fire is dying and you still have dough.
How long does the oven take to heat up?
It depends on the oven. A small steel oven can be ready in half an hour; a brick oven needs an hour or more. Watch the dome, not the clock.
Does the wood change the taste?
A little. Bloekom and blackwattle smoke is clean and stays in the background. Wingerd stompies are the one you notice, in a good way.
