Why does pizza taste better when it is cooked in a wood-fired oven?

Why does Pizza taste better when it is cooked in a wood-fired oven?

According to most chefs, wood-burning ovens can do things that gas or electric ovens cannot. Wood-burning ovens can achieve very high temperatures of 700—1,000 degrees, reducing cooking time dramatically.  An average 10” pizza will cook in 1 –2 minutes. The pizza will taste fresher and be crisp with a almost burnt edge, like authentic Napolitano pizzas.

The thermal drafts from the wood create a current of air
(convection), which allows the food to cook very evenly on all
sides. So the food cooks faster, yet evenly. 

But the most important factor is that the smoke from the wood infuses the pizza crust with flavor that can’t be beat.

Once you’ve tried wood-fired pizza it is unlikely that you will eat any other type again.

For these reasons, most homeowners are putting brick ovens in their back yards as a part of their outdoor kitchens. The advantages are multi-level since an outdoor oven can be used to cook anything - not just pizza. 
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Marge Padgitt is the publisher of Wood-Fired Magazine and is a wood-burning enthusiast. Reach her at editor@woodfiredmag.com

Shiny Bread from the Wood-Fired Oven

There has been  lot of talk lately on the Masonry Heater Association Chat list about bread baking and I thought I'd share some ideas about how I get a shiny bread from a wood-fired oven.
 
My niece traveled to France a few years ago and interviewed a baker there who was using a wood-fired oven - the same one used for generations by his family, and the oldest in France.  The baker said that he put a tray of water in the oven every time he bakes, and that is all he does.  The breads do come out with a nice shine to them.  You might try it and let us know if it works for you. 

I do know of another method which has been used by my Italian side of the family for years  - they make an egg wash, just a beaten egg - and brush it over the loaf before putting the bread in the oven.  Not sure where that idea started, but I use it when I bake egg bread every Christmas in the family tradition.  That may be considered cheating by the bread baking purists, but it sure does make a nice looking loaf of bread. When I find a picture of one I'll post it.  

The photo above is a loaf of egg bread I made last Thanksgiving without the egg wash and it is not shiny - but it sure tasted great anyway!