Come Gather 'Round the Fire
Now.
Start a fire.

It all begins and ends with with fire. Controlling how the fire interacts with your food is the key. You cannot control the heat with a knob. As a general rule when adding wood, add smaller pieces rather than larger ones. Your oven will cool very slowly and heat up very quickly! Too much wood added too quickly and you will be at 900°F when you wanted to roast a chicken at 500°F.

Think of temperature and cooking time as a guide and try and adopt a "it's done when it's done" philosophy. The best practice is to keep an open mind and check your food early and often, all the while monitoring your fire. A very satisfying process. You most likely will learn something and improve your fire and cooking technique every time you use your oven. This is one of the great joys of wood fired cooking.

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• Build a larger fire with high heat - and keep adding wood as needed to maintain temperature. Avoid excess flour on peel as too much flour may burn and impart a bitter taste. For best results use fine semolina flour for your peel as it has a higher heat tolerance than regular flour.
• Keep an eye on your pizza as it cooks to prevent burning. Rotate pizza approximately every 20 seconds once crust firms on stone. Don't be afraid to experiment with different dough hydration levels. To get started, check out our recipe for 70% hydration pizza dough.
• The higher the oven temperature, the less moisture is drawn out of the dough, resulting in a softer, more tender pizza crust. If you prefer a crisper pizza, cook at a lower temperature for longer, 500°F to 600°F for a little over 3 minutes.

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• Bread baked in your Cru oven will usually take about 20-50% less time than in a conventional oven.
• Build a robust fire and let the temperature fall to about 50 degrees above desired baking temperature  before adding bread dough and closing oven.
• Add smaller pieces of wood to maintain heat. You want consistent heat - feeding with a large piece of wood produce an unnecessarily large and hotter fire and would cause the bread to burn.

• Experiment with different types of aromatic wood for added flavors. Roast beef or pork in ceramic or cast iron pan. Cover during cooking with foil and brown at end.
• Cook meat right on the stone, place directly onto hot coals or use a ceramic or cast iron pan inside your oven.  The Cru 32 Grilling Grid can turn your oven into a wood fired grill, broiler, or smoker.
• Remember that you should adjust the temperature depending on the type of meat you are cooking. For tender steaks, use high temperature to achieve a delicious crust. For tougher cuts, low and slow will render melt-in-your mouth results. If you're unsure, ask your butcher about the cut in question.

• Roast chicken in ceramic or cast iron pan. Cover chicken with a cover or foil if browning too quickly. Rotate approx. every 5 minutes.  Experiment with different aromatic woods for added depth of flavor. Expect to cook slightly faster.
• Grill chicken right on coals or in grill basket or on Cru Grilling Grid.  Chicken tends to cook slightly quicker in your Cru oven then recipe may indicate. Check frequently during cooking.
• If you intend to stuff your bird, try tying a truss around the legs to keep moisture in. If you're short on time, try spatchcocking.

• Roast in ceramic or cast iron pan or cook directly on the embers or whilst using a grill basket. Place small fish like fresh herring, sardines, anchovies, kippers, or sprats right on the stone
• Don't be afraid to experiment with seasonally available aromatics to give your fish an umami flavor. Be sure to check with your grocer to see which herbs, fruits, and woods are in season.
• Use a cast iron pan or dutch oven to stew shellfish, or use the Cru 32 Grilling Grid to grill larger shrimp or prawns.
• Grill using Cru Grilling Grid on Cr. 32 experiment with different aromatics on the coals to impart umami flavor - herbs, wood, fruits

• Roast vegetables are a delicious side or main course any time of year. Root vegetables are particularly well suited for fire roasting.
• Use a pan, grill basket, or simply place vegetables directly onto the coals.
• To ensure an even roast, build a large fire and the let the embers settle to around 350 degrees.
• Remember: Vegetables are mostly water, so check on them periodically until they reach the desired level of done-ness.
• Roast garlic and peppers in batches before preserving them in olive oil for later use on pizzas and more! Roasted garlic and roasted red peppers keep for at least a week in the fridge when they are preserved this way.

• Cook loose small fruits in a grill basket, remembering to toss frequently as sugar can burn quickly
• Cook larger fruits either in a larger grill basket or directly onto the embers or stone, checking frequently for caramelization