WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF DELIVITA

SETTING UP YOUR DELIVITA

Remove the packaging and use the side handles to lift the oven out of the box. Place your oven onto a stable surface; it can be positioned on the Fold Away Oven Stand or a solid hard level surface (such as a wooden table). The Fold Away Oven Stand or table must be situated on a solid and even surface and must be able to hold the oven weight of around 30kg.

WARNING – there is a risk of toppling over if the oven is not placed on level ground or if sited on soft ground. Make sure the oven is at a safe distance from any flammable items or surfaces and that there is enough space around the entrance of the oven for smoke to disperse.

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

Eco Firelighters – we recommend using wood wool eco lighters to start the fire. Do not use standard white firelighters as they contain chemicals that may taint the oven floor and affect the flavour of your food.

Kindling (Softwood Pine) – cut pieces approx. 2.5-3cm wide and 10cm long, this is used for curing and lightening your oven (not for cooking use).

Logs (Hardwood) – we recommend the use of smaller split pieces of log (approx. 8-10cm wide and 22-26cm long), as these will give optimum cooking conditions. You do not need a large flame or fire to build the heat in your oven, due to its efficiency you will require only one to two small pieces of wood at a time. Prolonged large flames could damage the oven.

Woods such as ash, beech, cherry, apple, pear, hawthorn, olive, or kiln-dried hardwood with a moisture content of less than 20% are recommended. (Oakwood tends to be overdense and therefore smoky whilst burning. Hardwood produces the most heat and less ash. Softwood has an unpleasant smell and is smoky, so will result in poor performance of the oven and will affect the flavour of the food.

CURING THE OVEN

Your wood-fired oven is made from heat-resistant clay, but the water used to form the clay must be slowly dried out before your oven can be used. This process is called curing. The first step involves drying the water out of the clay and the second is tempering the clay.

When curing small hairline cracks can appear on the surface of the clay, the oven can smell of plastic and small amounts of water may leak from the sides when curing and during first uses. This is completely normal and will not affect the oven’s performance, however, the water could stain wood and furniture. Please protect your furniture from warm water during the curing process.

Ovens should be cured when they are new, become damp, or as a precaution if stored for several months.

Step-by-step curing

  1. Start a small fire towards the front of the oven using a firelighter and a couple of pieces of softwood kindling, starting at a low temperature of 50C (we recommend that you purchase an Infrared Gun).
  2. Increase the temperature by approximately 25 C per half an hour, by gradually adding more softwood kindling.
  3. The curing fire should be kept alight for 4-5 hours and not exceed a temperature of 200-250 C.
  4. You can cure in one long slow burn, or several shorter burns. Use softwood not the hardwood as hardwood gets too hot and could cause cracks in the components and stain the outer shell.

HOW TO LIGHT YOUR OVEN

  1. Once you have cured the oven, ideally allow 24 hours to settle then you’ll be ready to start cooking.
  2. Place a firelighter towards the front/middle of the oven. Create a ‘Jenga like’ tower around the firelighter. Position two pieces of kindling lengthways and either side of the firelighter; place the third piece on top, and across the two pieces.
  3. Light the firelighter and add a fourth piece of kindling on top of the existing kindling. Then add a small piece of hardwood around 3cm width on top of your tower.
  4. After 10 minutes, the flame will have taken to the log, add another log. Nudge the logs together so they overlap one on top of the other and leave for approx. 20 minutes. TIP: Always allow airflow. If the wood is directly on the base with no embers underneath, the flame will go out creating a lot of
    smoke.
  5. The fire should now have taken. At this point, push the fire to the back of the oven using the wire brush or the prodder, add further wood to maintain the fire but not exceeding 2 small logs at any one time.
  6. Allow a further 7-10 minutes for the oven to reach its optimum temperature of 450 C to 550 C. Clean the area where you will be cooking using a metal wire brush and you’re ready to go.

TIP: If the flame goes out and/or you have a lot of smoke coming out of the oven; ensure the log has an airflow, then tear some bits from your eco lighter, position onto your prodder and light it, then place it onto the log in the back of the oven, this will light the log and stop the excess smoke. The new Prod and Blow accessory can also help you re-ignite the flame by gently blowing down the pipe handle with the base directed at the embers. NEVER suck up the pipe as this could cause serious injury or burns.

PLEASE NOTE – Monitor the level of fire during cooking: do not allow the wood to be consumed completely before adding further logs. A fire built too close to the front of the oven can cause a permanent separation of the metal frontage.

USEFUL VIDEOS

COOKING WITH MARCO

Looking to try something new or searching for some inspiration? Check out Cooking with Marco, a series of videos featuring recipes, tips and tricks to turn you into a wood-fired cooking master.

GET IN TOUCH

Got questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any help.

t: +44(0)1484 608989
e: [email protected]