First fires: how a typical curing schedule works

You've read that curing takes days, and you want to know what a day looks like. Here's one maker's schedule, with a few points from a second guide. Your manual comes first. If it differs from this page, do what the manual says.

The idea in one line

One maker asks you to cure the oven slowly over a 5 day period. You build a series of five increasingly larger fires, starting with a low temperature. The first day's fire is no more than kindling and thin strips of wood¹. That's tiny sticks, nothing like a log.

A day-by-day example

This table is from a single maker's instructions for its own wood-burning oven. The maker gives Fahrenheit figures, with Celsius for the later days. It isn't a universal schedule.

The maker calls the first two days critical. It says not to go above the listed temperatures on those days¹.

Another guide gives a similar pattern but isn't identical. It suggests nothing higher than 300°F on day one, for 6 hours, with longer being better². That's a good reminder that makers differ. The numbers in your manual are the ones to use.

Where the fire goes

The maker says to start and keep the fire in the centre of the dome, not around the edge. The maker's reason is that you don't want the fire to get so high that it touches the dome¹. A second guide agrees that you should keep flames away from the walls and ceiling of the vault². The vault is the curved inner roof.

Feeding the fire

Small and steady beats big and fast. Add small pieces of wood in small amounts, which helps avoid temperature spikes². A spike is a sudden jump in heat.

Use solid wood fuels only, according to the first maker, which lists charcoal, pressure-treated lumber and liquid fuels among the things you must not use¹. Never use water to lower the temperature or put the fire out, either. The maker says it increases wear and can lead to spalling, pitting and cracking¹. Spalling is when the surface flakes off.

Ending each day

This maker gives two door steps. Once the fire is lit, leave the door partly open with about a 2 inch gap, which helps direct the smoke up the vent. Then close the oven door every evening to preserve dryness and heat¹. Those are that maker's own instructions. Follow your own manual for door use during and after the fire, and for cooling.

Where to find your own schedule

Look in the manual that came with the oven, and on the maker's support pages. If you built the oven from a plan or a kit, use the kit instructions. Finding the curing steps in your maker's manual lists what to look for.

A schedule is only the start of the story. You'll want to know what the oven does while it dries. Steam, smoke and damp patches in the first fires covers that, and the last page covers the finish.

Keep every curing fire outdoors. The safety page explains why.