[TDVT]

WOW, that IS alot! We pay around $165 a cord for "seasoned" hardwood around here. Be aware that the definition of "seasoned" can really vary from area to area. Here in Vermont "seasoned" typically does NOT mean dry, more like half-dry (but burnable).

I know that the small WF bakeries around here use all the slab & cull (basically waste) from local saw mills (usually softwood; hemlock, cedar, etc.) for their fuel, which is very inexpensive.

The historic Quebec ovens (very close to here) were supposedly fired with cedar for a fast, hot fire. I'm sure the fact we have alot of cedar around here figured in as well.

I'd think about the starting your fires with softwood to extend your supply of oak since it's not an issue in an oven.

We heat our house exclusively with wood, mostly maple up this far, as you might expect, but there is more oak in the mix in southern Vermont. We burn exclusively hardwood in the wood stove as the quick creosote build-up from softwood is a problem.

Oak is my favorite for my WF BBQ cooker, where the food is directly exposed to smoke making softwood not an option.

Time to throw another log on the fire!