 Wood and Coal
Mongo,
I'm in Ontario (don't wince), but my girlfriend is from Saskatoon. Saved. Although I grew up on the East Coast of the US, where coal fired ovens in NYC, Boston and Philadelphia were the norm, I don't think they are in any way superior to wood, especially for pizza, where you want a certain amount of smokiness in the finished piece. Anthracite coal will not give you that, although hard coal will burn hotter more consistently.
For woods in my bread oven, I'll burn just about anything that isn't nailed down. However, the best success I've had is starting with soft woods (yellow pine, white pine, cedar, fir, "Manitoba Maple," soft maple, etc., not red pine), then layering with hard woods like hard maple, locust, birch, beech, oak and so on. Trick is to make sure your sticks are not too thick; three to four inch diameter maximum. Otherwise, split it first.
By preference, I like to burn limb wood cut as standing dead, so there's no issues about seasoning.
There have been more than a few threads here about woods, types and seasoning, so maybe do a search.
I'll refrain from the eastern Canada suggestion that there are no trees in Sask.
Jim  |