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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to heat a wood-fired pizza oven?
In the Faster Greta it takes 45 to 60 minutes to reach pizza temperature, 300 to 400 degrees. It depends on the type of wood, the amount and the outdoor temperature.
Start with kindling and firelighters. Build the fire gradually. Use dry birch or beech for the best results. You know the oven is ready when the stones in the oven section have turned light grey. That means they have stored enough heat to bake pizza in two to four minutes.
Can you cook things other than pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven?
Much more. Faster Greta is really a wood-fired all-round oven. Bread, focaccia, gratins, whole roast chicken, root vegetables, even dessert. Anything that works in a regular oven works here, with the addition of wood smoke flavour.
The key is to use the oven's temperature curve. Pizza first, at the highest heat. Then bread and gratins when the temperature has dropped to 200 to 250 degrees. Finally slow cooking and drying in the residual heat. One firing session can provide food for the whole day.
Where should I place my wood-fired pizza oven outdoors?
Choose a flat, stable and fireproof surface. Concrete, paving stones or natural stone work well. Avoid wooden decks without extra protection. Faster Greta weighs roughly 135 kilos, so the surface needs to support the weight without giving way.
Keep at least one metre from combustible materials. Never place the oven under a roof, pergola or tree branches. Think about wind direction. You do not want smoke blowing straight at the dinner table or towards your neighbour's terrace. And think practically: keep firewood, water and ingredients close at hand.
What dough works best in a wood-fired pizza oven?
A simple dough with flour, water, salt, olive oil and yeast. Nothing remarkable. What makes the difference is letting the dough rise for a long time, preferably 24 hours in the fridge. It gives better flavour and a dough that handles the high heat without burning.
Use pizza flour (tipo 00) if you can find it. It gives a supple, elastic dough that rolls thin and bakes quickly. Roll it thin. In a wood-fired oven like Faster Greta the pizza bakes in two to four minutes. Thick dough will not cook through before the top burns.
How do I clean and maintain a wood-fired pizza oven?
Let the oven cool completely. Brush out ash from the firebox with an ash scoop. Brush the pizza stone with a wire brush while it is still slightly warm. Food residue usually burns off from the heat, but stubborn spots come off with the brush.
Faster Greta is made from corten steel that needs no maintenance. The patina protects the surface. Never use water or detergent on the hot stones. They can crack from the temperature difference. Beyond that, it is essentially maintenance-free. The same material, year after year.
Can a wood-fired pizza oven stand outside in rain and bad weather?
Faster Greta is built in corten steel and designed to stand outdoors year-round. Rain, snow and frost do no damage. The patina that forms on the corten steel is exactly what protects the oven from rusting through.
You can bake in rain if you want to. The oven gets hot enough that the rain does not affect cooking. Some people use a roof or awning for comfort, but the oven itself needs no protection. Avoid covering it with a tight tarpaulin that traps moisture, though. Corten steel wants to breathe.
How do I bake perfect pizza in a wood-fired outdoor oven?
Heat the oven to 300 to 400 degrees. In the Faster Greta it takes roughly 45 to 60 minutes. Flour the pizza stone well. Roll thin bases. They bake in two to four minutes. Rotate the pizza halfway. Have all your ingredients ready before you start, close to the oven. It should go fast once the oven is hot. The wood smoke gives the pizza a flavour no regular oven can match. That is the real difference.
A good pizza starts with the dough. We have a simple base recipe for slow-rise pizza dough that gives really good results, especially in a wood fired oven like Faster Greta.
How do I use the pizza stone in Faster Greta?
The pizza stone is an accessory that sits on top of the built-in stones in the oven section. It protects the stones underneath and provides even heat for a perfect pizza base:
- Oil the pizza stone with cooking oil before first use
- Place the stone in the oven section on top of the existing stones
- Fire up the oven to a high temperature – for pizza you want at least 300–400°C
- For maximum temperature, you can remove the heat shield (the metal plate between the firebox and the oven) – this allows heat to radiate directly up towards the pizza stone
The pizza stone retains heat well, so you can bake several pizzas in a row. Brush the stone with a wire brush after use.
Wood-fired pizza oven: how to choose the right one
Choose a wood-fired pizza oven by four things: how hot it gets, the size of the baking surface, what it is built from and whether it can live outdoors all year. An oven in thick steel plate with a baking surface of roughly 47 x 47 centimetres is enough for pizza and bread for a whole family.
It sounds simple. Still, it is easy to get lost in looks and price. Here is what decides how the oven works in everyday use, point by point.
Wood, gas or electric, which should you choose?
A wood-fired pizza oven is not for everyone. Choose by how you will use it, not by what looks best on the patio.
On a tight budget? Buy a portable gas oven. It bakes good pizza for a fraction of the price. You get no fire to gather around, but the pizza turns out well, and it is the cheapest way there.
Unsure about open fire, or do you live somewhere you cannot burn wood? Choose an electric countertop oven. It can sit on the balcony, has no flame and needs no watching the way a fire does.
Want pizza on a weeknight with no preparation? Gas lights in a minute. Wood needs 45 to 60 minutes to heat up and rewards the person with time, not the one in a hurry.
Want an oven that lives outdoors all year, bakes bread, grills and warms like an open fireplace? Then thick-plate wood-fired is the way, and that is where Faster Greta belongs. The heat is what makes the pizza. A wood-fired oven gives higher temperature and more even heat than a grill, the base turns crisp in a way an indoor oven cannot manage, and when the pizza is done the fire keeps giving warmth long into the evening.
What should the oven be built from?
Look at the plate thickness. Thin plate warps in the heat and rusts sooner. Our pizza oven Faster Greta is built from 3 millimetre corten steel, a slow-rusting steel often used for outdoor artwork. Over time the surface takes on a red-brown patina. That is not wear. It is a protective oxide layer that lets the oven handle rain, snow and frost with no maintenance. The handles are oak.
How big a baking surface do you need?
A baking surface of 47 x 47 centimetres takes a family pizza or a couple of loaves at a time. Check the opening too. A 43 centimetre opening takes an ordinary pizza peel without a squeeze. Finally, look at the baking height, how high above the ground the hearth sits, so you know how you will stand while you bake.
How hot does a wood-fired pizza oven get, and how long does it take?
Pizza wants high heat. A wood-fired oven works at roughly 350 to 400 degrees, far beyond a household oven, and at that heat a pizza bakes in two to four minutes. Allow 45 to 60 minutes from lighting until the oven is hot enough. Use the time to roll out the dough and set the table outdoors. There is more on heating and baking in our guide to outdoor pizza ovens.
Where should the oven stand?
On a flat, stable and fireproof surface, with at least one metre clear of anything flammable. Think about the weight before you choose the spot. Faster Greta weighs 76 kilos without the loose parts and 125 kilos complete, so put it where it is going to stay. An oven in corten steel can stand outdoors all year, winter included.
Can you cook more than pizza in a wood-fired oven?
Yes. Bread, focaccia, gratins, whole roast chicken and root vegetables all work just as well. With a grill grate the oven becomes a grill. And as an open fireplace it spreads a pleasant warmth on chilly spring and autumn evenings. An oven that only bakes pizza stands idle most of the year. An oven that is also a fireplace and a grill gets to work more often.
What wood should you burn?
Dry birch is the best all-round choice. It burns clean, gives good heat and is easy to find. Beech, oak, maple and ash give even higher temperatures. Avoid spruce and pine. Softwood soots and can leave a taste of tar. The wood should be under 20 per cent moisture. Read more in our guide to the best wood for a pizza oven.
Faster Greta is designed in Tärnaby and built to last for generations. The name comes from a kind-hearted Sami woman who always had fresh coffee for anyone passing by, and with a bit of luck flatbread straight from the wood stove.