10 Best Wood Fired Pizza Oven Recipes (That Aren't Pizza)
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Here's a secret that every wood fired oven owner discovers within their first few weeks: the pizza oven is actually the most versatile cooking appliance you own. Once you've mastered pizza, a whole world of wood fired cooking opens up — and some of it is even better than the pizza itself.
The magic lies in how a wood fired oven cools. After you've cooked your pizzas at full blast (400°C+), the oven doesn't just switch off. It slowly drops through every useful cooking temperature over the next several hours, giving you the opportunity to cook completely different dishes at each stage.
Here are ten recipes that will change how you think about your pizza oven.
1. Wood fired focaccia
Oven temperature: 280-320°C
As your oven drops slightly after pizza, it hits the perfect window for focaccia. Press your dough into an oiled tray, dimple it with your fingers, drizzle generously with olive oil, and scatter with flaky sea salt and fresh rosemary.
The wood fired heat creates an exterior that's shatteringly crisp while the interior stays impossibly soft and airy. It takes about 12-15 minutes and the smoky flavour from the oven elevates it beyond anything your kitchen oven can produce.
2. Whole roasted sea bass
Oven temperature: 250-300°C
Score a whole sea bass, stuff the cavity with lemon slices, garlic, and fresh herbs, drizzle with olive oil, and slide it into the oven on a cast iron tray. The intense heat crisps the skin beautifully while the flesh stays moist and takes on a gentle smokiness.
A 500g fish takes about 15-18 minutes. Serve it straight from the tray with a squeeze of lemon and some crusty bread (ideally the focaccia you made earlier).
3. Slow-roasted shoulder of lamb
Oven temperature: 180-220°C (falling heat)
This is the dish that makes people fall in love with their wood fired oven. Season a lamb shoulder generously, stud it with garlic and rosemary, and place it in a deep roasting tray with root vegetables and a splash of wine.
Slide it into the oven after your pizza session, close the door, and leave it for 3-4 hours as the oven slowly cools. The result is lamb that falls apart at the touch of a fork, vegetables that have caramelised in the rendered fat, and a depth of flavour that no conventional oven can match.
4. Wood fired sourdough bread
Oven temperature: 200-240°C
There's a reason artisan bakers covet wood fired ovens. The combination of intense floor heat, retained moisture, and radiant dome heat creates bread with a spectacular crust and an open, airy crumb.
Shape your sourdough the night before, let it cold-proof in the fridge, then score and bake it directly on the oven floor once the temperature has dropped to bread range (after clearing the embers). A 1kg loaf takes 35-45 minutes. Listen for the hollow sound when you tap the base — that's how you know it's done.
5. Neapolitan-style roasted peppers
Oven temperature: 300-350°C
Halve red and yellow peppers, drizzle with olive oil, and roast them cut-side down in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the skins blister and blacken. The wood fire adds a smokiness that you can't replicate with a grill.
Peel them once cool enough to handle, then dress with good olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, garlic slivers, and torn basil. These are extraordinary on their own, on bruschetta, or piled into a sandwich.
6. Wood fired chicken thighs with lemon and herbs
Oven temperature: 250-300°C
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs are perfect for the wood oven. The fierce heat renders the fat and crisps the skin to glass-like perfection while keeping the meat juicy. Marinate in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and chilli flakes for at least an hour, then cook skin-side up for 25-30 minutes.
The combination of crispy skin, tender meat, and subtle wood smoke is absolutely addictive. Make more than you think you need — they disappear fast.
7. Baked pasta (pasta al forno)
Oven temperature: 200-250°C
Assemble a pasta al forno — rigatoni with ragu, béchamel, and mozzarella — in a cast iron pan or oven-safe dish and slide it into the oven. The wood fired heat creates an extraordinary crust on top while the inside stays rich and saucy.
This is the perfect dish for using the oven's falling heat after pizza and before bread. It takes about 25-35 minutes and feeds a crowd effortlessly.
8. Wood fired nachos
Oven temperature: 250-300°C
This one surprises people, but wood fired nachos are genuinely brilliant. Layer tortilla chips in a cast iron skillet with cheese, jalapeños, black beans, and whatever else you fancy. Slide it into the oven for 5-8 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the edges of the chips are toasted.
The wood smoke adds an unexpected dimension, and the speed of the oven means the toppings melt while the chips stay crisp. It's become a pre-pizza crowd pleaser for many of our customers.
9. Roasted vegetable and goat's cheese tart
Oven temperature: 200-250°C
Roll out puff pastry on a baking tray, score a border around the edge, and fill with roasted vegetables (courgettes, aubergines, cherry tomatoes, red onions) and crumbled goat's cheese. Brush the border with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes.
The oven floor gives the pastry a remarkably crisp base, while the residual heat and smoke add character to the vegetables. It's an impressive vegetarian centrepiece that takes minimal effort.
10. Overnight pulled pork
Oven temperature: 120-160°C (residual heat, door closed)
This is the ultimate low-effort, high-reward use of your oven's retained heat. After a full evening of cooking, rub a pork shoulder with spices, place it in a covered Dutch oven, and slide it into the oven before you go to bed.
By morning, you'll have the most tender, smoky pulled pork you've ever tasted — cooked entirely on residual heat that would otherwise be wasted. Shred it, dress it with your favourite sauce, and serve it in brioche buns. It's exceptional.
Getting the most from your wood fired oven
The key to using your oven beyond pizza is planning a cooking schedule that follows the temperature curve:
- Full heat: Pizza and flatbreads
- High heat: Roasted fish, peppers, nachos
- Medium heat: Chicken, pasta, tarts, focaccia
- Low heat: Bread, slow roasts
- Overnight: Pulled pork, casseroles, yoghurt
A single firing can give you an entire day (and night) of cooking. With a well-insulated oven like our Premier or Royal Max, the retained heat is remarkable — you'll be amazed at what's still possible hours after the fire has died.
Explore our full range of wood fired ovens and the essential tools you need to cook everything on this list.