Very nicely done Sharlene! It is obvious you have bread making skills, so no wonder your first go at wood fired pizza was a success. Your oven is first and foremost a vessel for baking bread (what the French are really good at), so the heat retention capabilities are tremendous. To get up to Neapolitan temps, you will probably need to fire the oven longer. You really want a floor of 800 or so and an active flame on the coals, so your bake is 90 seconds or less. Now I know you said you were having problems with the pies scorching. Here are a few tips:
The oven will need time to even out. Over the next few firings you will notice less hot spots.
When you have the oven up to temp push the coals to the side, not the back. Right or left - does not matter. You then cook the pies on the other side, fully inside the oven. The coals should be made into a small pile and pushed as far to the side as possible. Then lay a new log on top of the coals for the cooking flame.
When rotating the pizza, keep the peel on the floor of the oven. As you make a circular motion under the pie the edge of the peel never really leaves the floor, and the pizza goes along for the ride. This helps you move the pizza quickly in place. You want to set the pizza, initially, as far from the flame as possible and then let it sit for 10-20 seconds. You will see it start to puff and set. Then gently slide the peel under and "release" it from the floor. Then start your turning. If you think it is going too fast, pick it up and turn it the mouth of the oven, and then place it back in the oven.
To get less of a rim, simply use a smaller size dough ball and stretch it thin.
Have fun!
John
