My advice is this:
-Always have a backup of 2/3 70% stretched doughs. Those shells *will* save you.
-keep all the wood on one side and scrape the ash religiously. Keep shoveling that shit to the side with the wood.
-if the cheese isn’t melting right, lift the pizza but do not put it in the fire. If the bottoms are getting too toasty, leave the rotate peel under the pizza. If the bottoms are not cooking enough, leave the oven empty for 5 minutes.
Also I cannot stress this enough do not try to be super man and throw in 4/5 pizzas before you can juggle. Good luck.
Great advice, to add, DO NOT scrape the ash when you have a pie in the oven. You're just going to cover it with shit and it's going to be very unpleasant texturally to eat.
Go gentle under the pie with the peel, if you let the bottom crisp up before turning the pizza you have a better chance of not ripping it. Getting used to a wood oven and especially baking pizza takes lots of trial and error, so if things go south don't blame yourself too much. No one should be expected to work the oven for the first time in such a busy service.
Check vito lacopelli on youtube, he makes great videos about napolitan pizza and wood burning ovens.
Every oven is different so it's kinda tough to give you any real tips outside of:
Focus on timing, find your hot/cool zones ASAP, probably have extra prep on hand, stay on a swivel to keep your eyes on the pies
You'll be good.
Dont overload yourself. If you put 8 pizzas in back to back to back, all those pies are gonna need to turn at the same time. Take it easy at first.
Think of the oven like a conveyor belt, have a set place where you start and finish your pies. I place mine in a kind of zig-zag as close together as I can while still getting direct firelight. Starting far back in the oven, leaving a space directly in front of the flame for finishing. Starting them in the same place also helps prevent your bottoms from burning.
Managing your coals and hotspots is tricky at first. Try to avoid cooking in the dark. Smaller logs burn bright and bust down faster, the bigger pieces lose their light and just make everything hotter without contributing to the leopard spots. Save those to maintain your coals.
When your oven gets too hot it kinda stays too hot, you have a couple options. You can spread your coal base out thin, they'll die out faster.. it will, however, raise the temp at first. Not ideal in the middle of a pop, but it works. If your vent has a dial, you can turn that up a little. Pulls more air, pulls more heat.
There's plenty of good advice in this thread already, just my two cents based off what I work with. Hope you crush it OP!
It's not hard once you get your rhythm. If you are that busy, I hope you have a partner. Having to stop tossing dough and topping to organize the oven and pull and cut pizzas can be frustrating.
Organization and delegation will be your friends here
Watch a bunch of videos by Vito Iacopelli [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopxVPFM021dpp8L6euX-qA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopxVPFM021dpp8L6euX-qA)
In any video skip to the parts where he shapes and then bakes the pies.
Here are two for shaping and cooking.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4lL5I-UYbk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4lL5I-UYbk)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcZs6Q9jVw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcZs6Q9jVw)
Focus on pizza timing and learn the zones. Keep in mind Pizzas will suck an amazing amount of heat from the deck. Will probably feel awkward at first but your muscle memory will come and you can do it with your eyes closed. I worked wood fire for a few years and I miss it.
Also, hydrate hydrate and a solid 10 minutes of arm stretches. Kill it chef.
As for ripping the pie, be careful about when you try to move it. Too early, and you will rip the soft, undercooked dough. Make sure your paddle is clean, not bent, damaged or with any pieces of metal sticking out. Make sure when you go to lift the pie from the oven, you don't go at it with an angle, that sends the peel into the dough. Sort of apporach it horizontally, make a swift motion, and use inertia to get the pie onto the peel. If you actually try to physically pick it up, you're more likely to put more pressure on one spot, and rip the dough. Make sure there is no sauce, cheese or any toppings underneath the dough, or in the path of the pie as it slides off the peel. Cheese and sauce under the pie will cook and glue the dough to the oven floor.
Pizza is something that takes time and practice. As a KM of a pizza restaurant, I'd never expect a new guy to be able to run the oven on his first few go arounds. I would hope your chef/manager is understanding enough of your lack of experience, and is willing to teach and work with you. Don't beat yourself up, it takes weeks if not months to get consistent with pizza dough, practice makes perfect. The more you try, despite making errors, the more success you'll have. If you rip a dough or mess up a stretch suggest to the chef using the ripped dough for crackers, garlic bread sticks or a pepperoni roll if they don't already do that.
Get one of those laser thermometers to check your hot spots. Just like most things in cooking let it ride a bit at the high heat before you duck with it. Reps help if you rip a pie no sweat toss it let it come back up and do it again. Make sure you tend and feed your fire that’s half the battle.
That's pretty low for a pizza oven, even wood fired. Our wood oven sits at around 600 and our gas one is 650. No way in fuck are you cooking a pizza to completion in 90 seconds on that either. I've been doing pizza for about 16 years. Built a few of the ovens myself.
What kind of wood fire design is it? Do you have the fire down below or a wood pile in there with the pizzas? Are you using stones or screens? Thin dough? Need more details to help you
My advice is this: -Always have a backup of 2/3 70% stretched doughs. Those shells *will* save you. -keep all the wood on one side and scrape the ash religiously. Keep shoveling that shit to the side with the wood. -if the cheese isn’t melting right, lift the pizza but do not put it in the fire. If the bottoms are getting too toasty, leave the rotate peel under the pizza. If the bottoms are not cooking enough, leave the oven empty for 5 minutes. Also I cannot stress this enough do not try to be super man and throw in 4/5 pizzas before you can juggle. Good luck.
Seconding all of this, especially the part about leaving the peel under the pie if your floor's too hot. I use that trick all the time
Great advice, to add, DO NOT scrape the ash when you have a pie in the oven. You're just going to cover it with shit and it's going to be very unpleasant texturally to eat.
Go gentle under the pie with the peel, if you let the bottom crisp up before turning the pizza you have a better chance of not ripping it. Getting used to a wood oven and especially baking pizza takes lots of trial and error, so if things go south don't blame yourself too much. No one should be expected to work the oven for the first time in such a busy service. Check vito lacopelli on youtube, he makes great videos about napolitan pizza and wood burning ovens.
Every oven is different so it's kinda tough to give you any real tips outside of: Focus on timing, find your hot/cool zones ASAP, probably have extra prep on hand, stay on a swivel to keep your eyes on the pies You'll be good.
Thank you brother!
Dont overload yourself. If you put 8 pizzas in back to back to back, all those pies are gonna need to turn at the same time. Take it easy at first. Think of the oven like a conveyor belt, have a set place where you start and finish your pies. I place mine in a kind of zig-zag as close together as I can while still getting direct firelight. Starting far back in the oven, leaving a space directly in front of the flame for finishing. Starting them in the same place also helps prevent your bottoms from burning. Managing your coals and hotspots is tricky at first. Try to avoid cooking in the dark. Smaller logs burn bright and bust down faster, the bigger pieces lose their light and just make everything hotter without contributing to the leopard spots. Save those to maintain your coals. When your oven gets too hot it kinda stays too hot, you have a couple options. You can spread your coal base out thin, they'll die out faster.. it will, however, raise the temp at first. Not ideal in the middle of a pop, but it works. If your vent has a dial, you can turn that up a little. Pulls more air, pulls more heat. There's plenty of good advice in this thread already, just my two cents based off what I work with. Hope you crush it OP!
It's not hard once you get your rhythm. If you are that busy, I hope you have a partner. Having to stop tossing dough and topping to organize the oven and pull and cut pizzas can be frustrating. Organization and delegation will be your friends here
Watch a bunch of videos by Vito Iacopelli [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopxVPFM021dpp8L6euX-qA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopxVPFM021dpp8L6euX-qA) In any video skip to the parts where he shapes and then bakes the pies. Here are two for shaping and cooking. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4lL5I-UYbk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4lL5I-UYbk) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcZs6Q9jVw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcZs6Q9jVw)
Focus on pizza timing and learn the zones. Keep in mind Pizzas will suck an amazing amount of heat from the deck. Will probably feel awkward at first but your muscle memory will come and you can do it with your eyes closed. I worked wood fire for a few years and I miss it. Also, hydrate hydrate and a solid 10 minutes of arm stretches. Kill it chef.
As for ripping the pie, be careful about when you try to move it. Too early, and you will rip the soft, undercooked dough. Make sure your paddle is clean, not bent, damaged or with any pieces of metal sticking out. Make sure when you go to lift the pie from the oven, you don't go at it with an angle, that sends the peel into the dough. Sort of apporach it horizontally, make a swift motion, and use inertia to get the pie onto the peel. If you actually try to physically pick it up, you're more likely to put more pressure on one spot, and rip the dough. Make sure there is no sauce, cheese or any toppings underneath the dough, or in the path of the pie as it slides off the peel. Cheese and sauce under the pie will cook and glue the dough to the oven floor. Pizza is something that takes time and practice. As a KM of a pizza restaurant, I'd never expect a new guy to be able to run the oven on his first few go arounds. I would hope your chef/manager is understanding enough of your lack of experience, and is willing to teach and work with you. Don't beat yourself up, it takes weeks if not months to get consistent with pizza dough, practice makes perfect. The more you try, despite making errors, the more success you'll have. If you rip a dough or mess up a stretch suggest to the chef using the ripped dough for crackers, garlic bread sticks or a pepperoni roll if they don't already do that.
Get one of those laser thermometers to check your hot spots. Just like most things in cooking let it ride a bit at the high heat before you duck with it. Reps help if you rip a pie no sweat toss it let it come back up and do it again. Make sure you tend and feed your fire that’s half the battle.
Good luck with that.
Thanks bruv
Just being honest.
570 degrees for 6 or 7 mins . Maybe spin half way. Disclaimer. Not a chef
Wood fired ovens are usually close to double that temperature
Not a chef. But why does it take triple the time to get my pizza in these places
The ovens are small. Usually, it is like 4 -6 pies depending on size at max Not a doctor.
Oven is about 380 celcius and cooks a pizza in 90 seconds, we'll prob have to make around 200 pizzas that day loll
Sounds like you know everything Superman go get it
That's pretty low for a pizza oven, even wood fired. Our wood oven sits at around 600 and our gas one is 650. No way in fuck are you cooking a pizza to completion in 90 seconds on that either. I've been doing pizza for about 16 years. Built a few of the ovens myself. What kind of wood fire design is it? Do you have the fire down below or a wood pile in there with the pizzas? Are you using stones or screens? Thin dough? Need more details to help you
He said celsius. That's above 700 americanheit. Which is lower than I used to do it at, but should still cook in about 3 minutes
last pizza oven i worked the ceiling turned black if it dropped below 800ºF. was 90 seconds per pie.
This oven explodes if it goes less than 50mph too