Firing Up To Cook - Beech ovens REC Series Installation And Operation Manual

Beech Ovens Page 89 28/07/2011 (C)
RND-REC-RGO Manual (R1) Confidential and Proprietary

Firing up to Cook

From cold, allow the oven approximately 3 hours to heat up initially. Thereafter, warm
up should take about 60 minutes, depending on the size of the oven. This time can be
reduced by using gas.
The oven temperature is basically controlled by the size of the fire or the set point
temperature (SV) of the gas system and the draft up into the flue system.
The flue suction should be sufficient to not allow smoke into the kitchen during normal
operation. It is a fine balance. When firing with wood, the time of maximum smoke is at
ignition time in the morning. (To reduce the amount of smoke produced when lighting,
dry the wood in the oven cavity overnight. Be sure to keep the wood clear of embers.)
Optimum temperature for pizzas is approx 250-350°C. If pizzas do not cook in around
five (5) minutes, the oven is too cool and a larger fire may be required. Check the
troubleshooting guide if a larger fire does not increase the temperature.
The pizzas should be rotated and moved about to cook them evenly. The chef soon
becomes familiar with the radiated and reflected heat properties of the oven and moves
the pizzas around to suit these different heat zones.
Most restaurants place the pizza base directly on the oven floor although they can be
placed on trays for time enough to toast the base a little before finishing off directly on
the oven floor. Others leave the pizzas on trays for the whole process. This is a decision
for the Executive Chef.
The oven can be used for cooking foods other than pizzas and many chefs experiment
with different wood types to get interesting flavours. Food can be roasted in cooking
trays and fried in black metal pans.
If required, we can arrange the services of an experienced Wood Fired Oven chef for
training purposes.
For any enquiries please feel free to call or email Beech Oven‟s Head Office.
sales@beechovens.com.au