Fresh Grills Pizza Oven Review? Quick Answer

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Are pizza ovens good?

In short, pizza ovens can be amazing, but not all pizza ovens are created equal. The best bake pizza at extremely high temperatures of around 450 °C!

Here’s one I used to make – in my Ooni pizza oven

This high temperature creates the amazing taste and texture of an authentic Italian pizza. In addition, pizza ovens can also bake pizza in just 60 seconds!

It’s true that a good pizza can be made in a regular oven. But traditional Neapolitan-style pizza can only be made in a pizza oven. Traditionally, a large brick wood stove was used.

A traditional wood-fired pizza oven

Extreme heat and open flames help create the unique flavor and texture of a Neapolitan pizza. For anyone looking to emulate this style of pizza, a pizza oven is more than good. It’s a necessity!

Fortunately, today there is a wide range of cheaper pizza ovens, such as B. the Ooni pizza ovens. You no longer need the space, time, and money to build a giant, traditional, brick, wood-burning stove.

The Ooni Fyra – a portable wood stove

The only disclaimer I should make here is that you really have to make your own dough. Store bought floors cannot be prepared in a pizza oven. They are designed to be cooked in a regular oven at lower temperatures. Cooking in a pizza oven would result in a crispy burn!

Making your own dough is probably easier than you think – and very rewarding!

While you can use store-bought batter, I would highly recommend making your own batter. It’s really not that difficult and you don’t need any special equipment. It’s a lot easier than most people think!

Fresh Neapolitan pizza dough generally produces the best results in a pizza oven.

A ball of dough I made in my Neapolitan Pizza school series

Check out my pizza school series here for everything you need to know to start making Neapolitan pizza dough. Along with a clearly written recipe with instructions, I’ve also provided detailed videos of each step.

Why are pizza ovens better?

In general, pizza ovens are better because they can recreate an authentic Italian Neapolitan pizza. This is the type of pizza you probably think of when you think of Italy.

Here’s a pizza I made in my Ooni Pizza Oven – I got pizza boxes to impress guests (and to save on washing up!)

This type of pizza is traditionally cooked in a huge wood-fired brick oven. They bake pizza at around 450°C in just 60 seconds!

The high temperature they generate, combined with the open flames, provide the perfect environment for baking pizza. A Neapolitan pizza is delicious. It’s soft and crunchy at the same time. This is mainly because it cooks so quickly.

In my Ooni pizza oven

The extreme heat also ensures a lot of “oven spring” in the dough. This creates the airy, airy crust that rises around the outside of the pizza. A Neapolitan pizza is truly a treat for the senses.

Exceptionally fluffy crusts on a pizza I made in my Ooni

The fact that the pizza is ready in just 60-90 seconds is also a bonus. It makes pizza parties a lot easier!

Ultimately, pizza ovens aren’t necessarily better at making pizza, it all comes down to personal preference. But they are better at making Neapolitan style pizza.

Real Neapolitan-style pizza can only be made in a pizza oven

In fact, they’re the only way to make Neapolitan-style pizza, as a regular oven doesn’t produce open flames and can’t reach the same temperatures.

Fortunately, there are many cheaper pizza ovens on the market today. Ooni’s pizza ovens are a great example. Although they are much smaller than a traditional wood-fired oven, they bake pizza in the same way.

How long do you bake a pizza in a pizza oven?

In a pizza oven, pizza cooks in just 60 seconds! That’s right, just a minute! The best pizza ovens are capable of making Neapolitan style pizza in just 60-90 seconds.

In my Ooni pizza oven – open flames and an extremely hot stone allow you to cook pizza in just 60 seconds!

60-90 seconds is the recommended time to bake a Neapolitan pizza. Many people think this is because the goal is to make pizza as quickly as possible. While this might be a nice perk, it’s not the only reason Neapolitan pizza cooks up so quickly.

When a pizza is cooked for such a short time at these high temperatures, it achieves quite a lot. First, the extreme heat combined with the open flames creates a tender (puffy and airy) and well-risen crust with a light char on it. This results in a wonderful taste and texture.

Second, because the pizza cooks so quickly, it doesn’t allow enough time for the bottom to burn or crisp up. Contrary to popular belief, a Neapolitan pizza should not have a crispy base. It should have a crispy crust but a soft and limp bottom.

This picture shows how soft Neapolitan pizza can be – baked in my Ooni pizza oven

It is this combination of being crunchy and soft at the same time that is unique to Neapolitan pizza. It makes a wonderfully light pizza that is very easy to eat. But at the same time, it still retains the crunchy texture and slightly smoky flavor in the crust.

And that’s why a good pizza oven bakes pizza in just 60-90 seconds!

The pizza oven I use

I use a pizza oven from a company called Ooni. They offer a wide range of pizza ovens for different needs. But crucially, they are all geared towards making authentic Neapolitan-style pizza. You can reach temperatures of 450°C/900°F and you can make pizza in just 60 seconds!

A portable pizza oven from Ooni

I think it’s worth noting that I get a commission from Ooni on sales made through this website. But I wouldn’t recommend them if I didn’t believe in their products. Almost every pizza I’ve made on this site was made in my very own Ooni pizza oven, which I bought with my own money. In addition, every money I make from sales helps me keep this website running.

I think the pizzas made in Ooni’s pizza ovens speak for themselves

Every Ooni pizza oven is a stand-alone oven designed from the ground up to bake pizza. Most of them are portable too, so you can make pizza anywhere! They also offer gas models that make cooking even easier.

The Koda 16, a large Ooni gas powered pizza oven

There are of course other brands of pizza ovens and I’m sure many of them are excellent. However, there are some bad ones out there too.

Ooni has been making pizza ovens for a while and I’ve been using them since the beginning. I actually still have one of their early models and it still works great after all these years. And thousands of pizzas later!

My old Ooni pizza oven that still works great!

But what I like about the company is that they stick to their ethos of making high quality, affordable pizza ovens. With every new pizza oven they release, they make incremental improvements to the last one. They listen to their customers’ feedback and continually improve and innovate.

What type of oven is best for pizza?

A pizza oven is undoubtedly the best oven for pizza if you want to make authentic Italian pizza in a Neapolitan style.

There are 2 basic types of pizza ovens:

Solid fuels (mainly wood, but also charcoal)

gas

Solid Fuel vs. Gas Pizza Ovens

The best one for you depends on what you want from your pizza oven. For the most authentic option, solid fuel is the way to go. But for ease of use, gas is probably the best option for you.

The gas powered Ooni Koda is a great option for ease of use

When it comes to cost, solid fuel options tend to fare better here. Gas models tend to be more expensive. Also, you need to buy a gas bottle to go with it.

With a gas pizza oven, you’ll need to get a gas bottle – although they’re fairly easy to come by

Of course, with solid fuels you still have to buy wood, pellets or charcoal, although these are usually quite cheap.

Portability is the other factor worth considering. The solid fuel models tend to be more portable since you don’t have a large bottle to carry.

The Ooni Karu – This solid fuel pizza oven is a winner when it comes to authenticity and portability

If your pizza oven will only stay in your backyard, then portability probably isn’t a big deal. But if you’re planning on taking it to parties or camping with it, then it’s a deal breaker!

Why are pizza ovens so expensive?

Pizza ovens are quite expensive in part because they have to be made out of materials that can withstand extreme heat. Also, the design needs to be considered very carefully to ensure proper cooking of the pizza.

A traditional wood stove is made of brick, clay and stone. They are very heavy and take a long time to set up. While they’re great at making pizza, they’re not practical or affordable for most people.

Traditional wood stoves are huge and expensive to construct

Fortunately, there are many affordable options on the market today. The cost can be compared to that of a decent grill. Although the two are very different.

A pizza oven tends to have a more complex design compared to a simple grill. Pizza ovens that use solid fuel (wood or charcoal) require a hopper in the back for the fuel and a chimney in the front for the flames.

A pizza oven’s careful design creates flames that lick over the pizza

This chimney helps create the draft, generates extremely high temperatures (500C / 950F) and directs the flames across the pizza.

In addition, a pizza oven has a stone on which the pizza cooks. These stones are usually ceramic and can easily reach temperatures in excess of 500°C!

The stone in an Ooni pizza oven gets extremely hot – just like in a traditional stone oven

Many of these wood-fired pizza ovens are also designed to be very portable. Usually the chimney can be removed and the legs folded away. Design elements like these make them more expensive but much more practical.

In terms of durability, the best pizza ovens can last for years if not decades! I still have one of the first Ooni pizza ovens ever made (back when they were called Unni) and it still works like a charm!

This is my old Ooni (Unni) pizza oven, still going strong!

After many years and thousands of pizzas later, I can safely vouch for the value for money that a quality pizza oven offers.

How much does a good pizza oven cost?

Prices for a great home pizza oven start at around $300. For this price you get an oven that replicates the very best authentic Italian Neapolitan style pizza. They allow you to bake pizza in just 60 seconds and should last for years if not decades.

Neapolitan-style pizza takes a lot!

The two pizza ovens that I recommend the most from the Ooni range are either the Ooni Fyra or the Ooni Koda. The Fyra is the perfect option for those looking for the most authentic option as it uses wood for fuel. It is also the cheapest model.

The Ooni Fyra – an affordable, authentic and portable pizza oven

The Ooni Fyra actually uses wood pellets, which are so easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and easy to source. Another advantage of the Fyra is that it is very portable. It folds up and can be taken anywhere.

For those looking for the greatest possible ease of use, the Koda is an excellent option. Like a gas grill, it is connected to a large gas bottle. This provides perfect and constant temperature control.

The Koda Pizza Oven – it connects to a gas bottle and offers great ease of use

Not only does it make cooking as easy as possible, but it also makes pizza parties a lot easier. Since you don’t have to worry about the fire, you can bake pizza all night! Or until you run out of dough!

The Ooni Koda is also available in 2 different sizes. There is the regular size Koda 12 (since it is 12 inches) which is perfect for baking 10-11 inch pizzas. Then there’s the Koda 16 (16-inch tall) that can bake any size up to a 16-inch pizza.

The Ooni Koda 16 – it’s quite a large pizza oven, but it’s light

There are also other Ooni pizza ovens, such as B. the multi-fuel Karu. If you want to use small pieces of wood or even charcoal in the oven, the Ooni Karu is the best option. It offers great flexibility and room for experimentation.

The Ooni Karu – it is an extremely versatile pizza oven

There are other brands that offer similar pizza ovens at similar prices. Having never used others, I cannot vouch for their quality. Although I’m sure a lot of them are great too.

I would also stay away from very cheap pizza ovens. There are some bad designs out there that either don’t last long or don’t bake pizza well. Or both!

Are BBQ Pizza Ovens Good?

Many people looking for cheaper alternatives to pizza ovens stumble upon the BBQ top pizza ovens. i know i did it But I wouldn’t recommend them, and here’s why.

The pizza ovens that are on BBQs may be cheap but I wouldn’t recommend them

The BBQ models do not encourage flames to travel across the top of the pizza like they burn in a traditional pizza oven. In general, the stone does not get anywhere near hot enough. After all, they are designed for grills and not pizza ovens that reach 500ºC!

The problem this causes is that the top of the pizza cooks faster than the bottom. So if you take the pizza out when the top is cooked, the dough will likely be raw!

Here you can see how much faster the top cooks than the bottom

Also, the pizza takes much longer to bake. It cannot cook in 60-90 seconds like a traditional pizza oven. Aside from the inconveniences, this also means that the crust is much crunchier and drier than a Neapolitan crust.

I also got a pizza that looks good until you turn it over. Then the base is completely black. Even the unburned dough can taste of soot. Unkind.

Essentially, it will produce pizza very different from traditional Italian pizza. So don’t think of this as a replacement for a pizza oven, because it isn’t. It doesn’t come close.

A cooking grate is not a substitute for a pizza oven, which produces huge flames to cook the pizza

What these ovens offer is a way to cook pizza on a grill, and that’s it. That’s not to say they can’t make nice pizza, but in my opinion they’re a lot more trouble than they’re worth.

If you find that the pizza ovens are too expensive I would just use a regular household oven. You can still make a great pizza in a regular oven, it just won’t be Neapolitan. But that’s okay, not all pizza has to be Neapolitan!

This was a pizza I made in a regular home oven – it’s not Neapolitan, but it was delicious nonetheless!

That’s how I started baking pizza in a regular oven. After some practice, I made some really great pizzas! But that was before I tried a pizza from my friend’s Ooni pizza oven. Then I just had to have one!

Final Thoughts on Whether Pizza Ovens Are Worth It…

In my opinion, yes! Pizza ovens are totally worth the cost and hassle. Like most people I love good food and for me Neapolitan style pizza cooked in a pizza oven is one of the best taste and texture sensations there is!

A pizza made in my Ooni pizza oven – it takes quite a beating!

You don’t have to find someone to build you an expensive brick oven (unless you want to, of course). You can buy one of the cheaper pizza ovens like the Ooni models. They work incredibly well. A lot of people have told me that my pizza was better than the pizza they had in Italy!

Pizza parties are also great fun. If you can make pizzas in just 90 seconds, you can feed a decent number of people in a relatively short amount of time. And everyone can enjoy your pizza with you. (Though sharing can be a challenge.)

It’s like a BBQ but everyone eats delicious homemade pizza. What’s not to love about that?!

I’m having a pizza party!

If you’re still not sure if it’s worth it, then there’s nothing wrong with baking homemade pizza in a regular oven. Keep practicing and your pizzas will only get better. Then one day you may decide to take the plunge!

Now I’m going to try a delicious pizza!

The Ooni Karu 12 is our pick for best overall outdoor pizza oven because it was easy to set up and use, and our testers raved about its ability to consistently cook pizzas to perfection, crispy and melt-in-the-mouth.

We also tested conventional and whole wheat pizza crusts in each oven to see if there was any variation. Finally, based on our testers’ detailed notes, we created a definitive list of the best outdoor pizza ovens and spoke to industry experts including Frank DePasquale, owner of DePasquale Ventures, and Matt Harper, who reviews pizza ovens for home use.

We used 18 of the best outdoor pizza ovens in our Birmingham, Alabama lab to see which options produced the most desirable results. During testing, our experts assembled each pizza oven and then rated its temperature range, preheat time, evenness of cooking, and consistency when the pizzas baked.

The best outdoor pizza oven allows you to create a deliciously crispy crust with lightly toasted ingredients and a melted layer of cheese. However, a pizza oven that doesn’t heat up enough or bakes unevenly can result in an inedible cake.

Making homemade pizza usually involves cranking up the temperature of your oven and then waiting for the cheese to melt and the crust to crisp up. This can quickly put your air conditioner on overtime in the summer months. And when you’re looking for Neapolitan-style pizza, you need a higher temperature than most standard ovens can handle. An outdoor pizza oven can help you save on AC costs while providing you with a perfectly charred pizza.

The oven bakes beautiful pizzas with nice charring and even cooking. It took a little longer than expected, but they raved about the melted, bubbly top.

Putting the pizza in the oven and flipping it is easy, just make sure to use a smaller spade so you have more room to adjust the pizza. Assembling the oven is also quite easy. Our testers found it to be a bit more complicated than other gas ovens we’ve tested, but nothing that would deter them from buying it.

Our testers found they were most successful at cooking with this pellet pizza oven by carefully following the instructions during setup, lighting, and cooking. There are always fluctuations in heat when using a wood-fired oven – we found them to range from 615 to 850 degrees Fahrenheit – but this model held the heat well overall and cooked the pizzas well.

If you love the taste of a wood fired pizza, this is a great oven to bring home. Our testers found that both traditional and whole wheat pizza crusts cooked very evenly for a delicious char, although wood heat sources can make even cooking difficult. You must monitor the oven closely during cooking, as keeping the flame warm by adding wood pellets is key to a successful pizza.

Why you should get it: This pizza oven bakes regular crust and whole wheat crust pizzas equally well. Remember: you need to keep a close eye on the stove while it’s cooking to make sure it doesn’t run out of pellets.

We’ve also noticed that the front of the oven has discolored from cooking after just one use, so keep that in mind if looks are important to you.

The oven comes almost fully assembled – just unfold the legs and start cooking – but our testers found it quite heavy for one person to lift. The pizza oven has a strap that makes it a little easier to lift.

Testers also liked how large the stone base of this pizza oven is, allowing you to place your pizza closer or farther from the heat depending on how you want to cook your pizza. During our testing, we followed the manufacturer’s recommended temperatures, and both the traditional crust and whole wheat pizzas came out crispy with nicely melted cheese.

This propane pizza oven has an impressive heat output from its propane fuel source, which wowed our testers by heating well over 700 degrees. This allowed our testers to achieve the perfect charred crust and bubbly melted cheese.

Why you should get it: This propane gas pizza oven is almost effortless to set up; Just unfold the legs. Remember: The front of the oven discolored during testing.

Assembling this oven wasn’t too difficult, but you do need to screw the pieces together and follow the instructions in the manual closely. Allow time for setup.

The size of the door made turning the pizza a bit more difficult to ensure even cooking, and our tester noticed that the sides of the oven cooked at slightly different speeds. However, the pizzas still came out charred with a crispy crust and gooey cheese.

This outdoor pizza oven uses propane gas to heat up the oven quickly, then you can add wood to the oven for wood-fired flavor. This oven reached 900 degrees Fahrenheit during testing, which cooks your pizzas quickly so you don’t have to wait as long for dinner. But you must turn your pizza carefully to avoid burning it.

The sleekest of the ovens we tested, our pick for the best wood-fired outdoor pizza oven, it earned our testers’ praise for its speed of preparation and the delicious pizzas it makes. It comes with a small bowl, a protective case and a thermometer, so out of the box you have everything you need to get started.

Why you should have it: This versatile pizza oven uses both gas and wood to produce the smoky, crispy flavor of a wood-fired pizza without uneven cooking. Keep in mind: Our testers found this pizza oven a little tricky to set up.

You’ll likely need to cook your pizza a little longer with this grill topper, but our testers found the casserole matched a good crust. However, there was slightly less char on the crust than some other pizza ovens. The regular crust came out perfect, while the whole wheat crust came out with a puffy crust that was a little crispier.

Just pop this hassle-free set out of the packaging and onto your cooking grate, and you’ll be baking beautiful pizzas with nice, crispy crusts in no time. Because the kit sits inside your grill, you’re limited by your grill’s heat output, but our testers saw temperatures as high as 700 degrees Fahrenheit in the pizza oven.

If you love entertaining in the backyard in the summer, you’ll appreciate how easy this portable outdoor pizza oven is to use and store. This kit turns your gas grill into a pizza oven, eliminating the need to find room in your home for another bulky appliance. And if you want to make a pizza on the go, this portable pizza oven is easy to take with you on road trips and camping trips.

Why you should get it: This lightweight and portable unit turns any gas grill into an easy-to-use pizza oven. Remember: this uses the heat from your grill, so expect a slower cooking time.

However, the oven doesn’t get very far above 600 degrees Fahrenheit, so expect a slightly longer cooking time and a pizzeria-style pizza.

Sliding and turning the pizza in the oven was easy as there is an oven-like opening and a fold-down lid. This allows you to maneuver the pizza around on the grill as needed throughout the cooking process, although our testers found this oven difficult to damage. It’s very easy to use and doesn’t require too much babysitting while the pizza cooks, allowing you to make side dishes or delicious desserts at the same time.

Our test team raved about the Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven’s pizza-making ability, which produced beautiful crusts with nicely charred spots. When making whole wheat and regular pizzas in this oven, we found that it produced beautifully puffed crusts with perfectly melted surfaces and the oven cooked them very evenly.

Why you should get it: This easy-to-use pizza oven doubles as an outdoor gas grill and griddle. Remember: the oven comes mostly assembled, but you’ll have to disassemble it to put the pizza stone inside.

Most importantly, the 12-inch regular and whole wheat pizzas we made in this oven were consistently evenly cooked and crispy on the bottom, with a nicely browned and charred crust.

Our testers found that this oven maintained a consistently high heat averaging 600 degrees Fahrenheit during cooking. The back of the oven was slightly hotter and the sides were slightly cooler when we tested it, but that didn’t affect cooking. The oven’s opening is larger than other models, making it easy to flip the pizza in the center to ensure even cooking (although you’ll need to buy your own pizza peel to flip your pie).

Easy to set up, this little stove cooks on gas, wood, or charcoal for fuel, so you can use whatever works best for you. It’s lightweight, weighing just 26 pounds, although our testers found it a bit awkward to carry due to the chimney at the top. It comes with legs that are non-slip and foldable to store the pizza oven indoors in winter.

Why you should have it: Compatible with multiple heat sources, this gas and wood-fired oven bakes pizzas evenly, delivering crispy crusts and melt-in-your-mouth cheese. Remember: This oven bakes very quickly, but it’s easy to burn your pizza if you don’t turn it regularly and pull quickly.

The final result

Of all our pizza oven picks, the Ooni Karu 12 burns the brightest because it bakes both whole wheat and traditional pizzas to perfection, consistently crispy and bubbly. We loved that it offers multiple heat source options so you can try different cooking methods depending on your preferences. It’s also fairly lightweight, making it easy to pack away when winter arrives.

Our testing process

Over the course of six days, two product testers tested 18 outdoor pizza ovens at our lab in Birmingham, Alabama. The testers assembled the pizza ovens according to the instructions provided, noting how long each oven took to assemble and the level of difficulty. The testers then used a predetermined methodology to rate each pizza oven from 1 to 5 in eight categories: Assembly, Preheat, Temperature, Consistency, Heat Control, Power, Portability, and Overall. They tested each pizza oven with a regular crust gourmet pizza and a whole wheat crust cheese pizza. The final rating for each outdoor pizza oven was determined by averaging the scores of each pick in the tested categories.

What you should know about outdoor pizza ovens before shopping

fuel source

When choosing the best outdoor pizza oven, consider what type of fuel you prefer. Different types of fuel can produce different results and require different levels of attention during cooking. A wood-fired pizza oven is more complicated because the high heat of a wood-fired oven requires you to constantly tend the flames and turn the pizza to cook it evenly. Gas pizza ovens offer a more even heat source, allowing all sides of the pizza to crisp evenly, but they can lack the deliciously smoky flavor that wood-fired pizza ovens offer.

size

To determine the size of the best outdoor pizza oven for you, consider the size of your patio, how much storage space you need to plan for a pizza oven, and whether you plan on regularly transporting your pizza oven on camping trips. Some are larger and heavier than others, making them difficult to move when not in use. For example, our top-of-the-line portable, the Only Fire Universal Stainless Steel Pizza Oven Kit weighs 10 pounds, making it super easy to store away on days you don’t need it. Other outdoor pizza ovens are a bit harder to move and take up more storage space.

size of the cooking surface

The size of the cooking surface is an important factor when choosing an outdoor pizza oven. Think about how big the pizza you want to make, then make sure the surface or pizza stone is big enough to handle the task. Most portable outdoor pizza ovens have a surface size between 12 and 14 inches. If you want a larger pizza, you may need to invest in a permanent, outdoor pizza oven structure.

Remember that you need enough space to bake, turn and remove your pizza from the heat. Our testers paid close attention to the size of the surface when making their assessment, because the last thing you want is for a pizza to get stuck in the oven and burn.

heating ability

It’s important to get your pizza oven as hot as possible when baking a pizza, as the best pizzas come from quick baking on a hot stone. For a thin-crust pizza, the recommended temperature is above 220 degrees, but you can bake a fine pizzeria-style pizza at 600 degrees. When shopping for the best outdoor pizza ovens, buy models that offer high temperatures and even cooking.

Additional functions

There are a few additional features that you might want to look out for when looking for the best outdoor pizza oven. One of the most important is a pizza scraper – the spatula-like tool you use to move the pizza in and out of the oven. Many outdoor pizza ovens come with a scoop that fits their own dimensions, allowing you to easily add and remove your pizza without having to make a separate purchase. Another great feature to look out for is a temperature gauge that lets you know when your pizza oven is hot enough to use. Other features to look out for are waterproof covers, stand, wheels and detachable legs for easy storage.

Pizza Art

For many, the appeal of a homemade pizza oven is the opportunity to experiment with different types of dough, but it takes time to understand how your oven works. Because whole wheat, regular, and even gluten-free pizza dough all bake differently on a pizza oven, it can take a few tries to achieve the perfect charcoal.

Other outdoor pizza ovens we tested

Ooni Karu 16 multi-fuel pizza oven

The Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven allows you to use both charcoal and wood as a heat source, and testers liked that this large oven lets you bake a larger pizza (up to 16 inches in diameter) than other pizza ovens we’ve tested have tested. The oven also heated up quickly and held its temperature. However, while the pizzas came out cooked with a crispy crust, the underside of the pies lacked color and there was very little charring.

Big Horn Outdoor Wood Pellet Pizza Oven

Big Horn Outdoors’ wood-pellet pizza oven produced a crispy, golden-brown crust during testing, but the pizzas lacked charring. The testers also said that this pizza oven was a bit tricky to set up and that they had to add twice as many pellets to keep the temperature high enough to cook a pizza for three minutes. Ultimately, this pizza oven seemed to constantly need pellets, making it less user-friendly than other ovens we tested.

Cru oven model 30

During testing, the Cru Oven Model 30 pizza oven took 90 minutes to heat up—twice as long as the next longest oven we tested. For comparison, the pizza oven with the shortest heat-up time was the Roccbox Gozney Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven, which took 15 minutes. The Cru pizza oven also requires you to know how to build a good fire, which limits who should buy this oven, and the bottom of the oven cools between pizzas, causing testers to have to wait for it reheated before adding a second cake.

Your questions answered

Where should I place my outdoor pizza oven?

Outdoor pizza ovens don’t tolerate rain and moisture, so the number one consideration when choosing a location for your outdoor pizza oven is keeping it dry at all times, explains Matt Harper of Harpland Productions, who reviews pizza ovens.

“You definitely need to keep it covered, because if the stone [in the kiln] gets wet, there’s a higher risk that it’ll crack when it gets hot,” says Harper.

The porosity of the wet stone means that the liquid will expand and your stone will crack when it gets hot. To avoid this, buy a cover for your pizza oven, place it under a well-ventilated patio, or plan to move it to a covered area once it cools after cooking.

Are outdoor pizza ovens worth it?

The best outdoor pizza ovens allow you to cook deliciously charred, crispy pizzas with very little effort. They can absolutely be worth the price if you use your pizza oven frequently, spend a lot of time outside in your garden or on your patio and are interested in upping your homemade pizza game.

According to Harper, portable outdoor stoves are ideal for people on a tighter budget who don’t want to invest in a permanent fixture in their backyard.

“I think the great thing about these more affordable, smaller pizza ovens is that for a few hundred dollars you can try [cooking your own pizzas at home] and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to give 3,000.” Dollars and have this giant cement oven in your backyard,” says Harper.

Note that most home-use outdoor pizza ovens make smaller, personal-sized pizzas, typically around 13 inches in diameter.

How do I use an outdoor pizza oven?

The first and most important thing is to get your oven hot. Unlike grilling or smoking, don’t go slow and low — you need to be well over 600 degrees Fahrenheit for a New York-style pizza and 750 degrees or more for a Neapolitan-style pizza. This requires some preparation.

“Pizza can bake at 600 [degrees and up], but a Neapolitan pizza should only bake for a minute and a half,” says restaurateur Frank DePasquale, owner of DePasquale Ventures.

Once the pizza oven is hot, which should take about 30 minutes depending on your oven, things move quickly, according to Harper. Most pizzas bake in just a few minutes. Harper recommends having all the ingredients on hand so you don’t have to run inside and risk burning your pizza.

“Make sure you only turn the pizza once as you cook it and that it stays where you put it,” says DePasquale. “Don’t move the pizza from one place to another. It cooks more evenly that way.”

who we are

Tanya Edwards is an award-winning writer and editor with bylines at Better Homes & Gardens and other publications. She spent half a decade directing culinary programs for Food Network Digital and has been writing about food, dining and food products for over a decade. For this story, Tanya researched the key features of the best outdoor pizza oven, spoke to industry experts and tapped into the insights of our expert testers from our Birmingham, Alabama lab. Tanya makes pizza at home at least once a week, and her favorite kind is New Haven pizza.

Look at a pizzeria’s menu and you can get a good idea of ​​how the pizzas are made. Some restaurants dig deep into their recipe, detailing each step of the cake process, from making the batter to serving the slice on your plate. Others like to keep their pizza recipe a secret and share few details about how they go about it.

In most cases, however, customers can learn a few interesting details about the process behind their cake, including whether it was baked in a wood-fired or coal-fired oven.

On the surface, the difference between a wood-fired and coal-fired pizza is relatively simple: wood-fired pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven, and coal-fired pizza is baked in a coal-fired oven. However, an oven’s role in the creation of a pizza goes beyond just baking and can have a major impact on the flavor and composition of a slice. Each specific method brings its own benefits to the cooking process, leaving a unique impression on a cake that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

For some pizza fans, it doesn’t matter how the pizza is made: as long as the cake is delicious, hot, and to their liking, the particular technique used to bake it doesn’t matter. Other lovers may have a preference, with some adamant that the type of heat source cooking their pizza is a determining factor in the deliciousness of the result.

To help you make a more informed decision on your next order, here’s a breakdown of the difference between wood-fired and coal-fired pizza:

Wood-fired pizza

Of the two cooking methods, wood firing is the most common among pizzerias in the United States. Ovens that use wood for fuel often fire to a temperature of 600 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the pizza at extremely high heat in a few minutes.

Coal oven pizza

Coal-fired pizza isn’t as commonplace as wood-fired pizza, with the former being more common in restaurants in New York and elsewhere than the Northeast. But just because it’s not as widely used doesn’t mean it’s a less revered method.

In fact, it’s a cooking method with historical significance, being a technique that America’s first licensed pizza restaurant, Lombardi’s, used to make their pies in New York City more than a hundred years ago.

And as Bloomberg News notes, using hot coals to cook pizza is a technique that’s been adopted by more and more establishments in recent years. Charcoal stoves are hotter than wood stoves: they burn at temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. And while a wood-fired slice is often praised for its smoky and woody undertones, some diners prefer coal-fired ovens for the crispiness and char it imparts to pizza. Blackened crusts are often a hallmark of coal-fired pizzas, and while it can sometimes confuse diners who mistake the pizza for burnt, many enthusiasts enjoy the taste of a coal-fired pizza.

So next time you order a cake, be sure to check how the pizza was made. By noting the quality and flavor of a particular oven, you can better understand if you prefer one cooking method over another.

What’s better than a homemade pizza on those hot summer days or cold chilly nights? Instead of ordering takeout, you can cook a restaurant-style pizza in your backyard with a charcoal pizza oven.

With the Goldline pizza oven, you can easily transform your garden into an outdoor dining area. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about cooking with a charcoal pizza oven.

With wood and coal

If you only use charcoal, your pizza may not get as hot as you need it to. The oven temperature should be around 250-260°C to properly bake a pizza. Using wood in addition to charcoal can help you get your perfect crispy pizza. Wood also gives the pizza a smoky, compelling flavor.

When adding wood to your charcoal stove, make sure to use logs instead of chips or pellets.

Using a pizza stone

A pizza stone allows you to cook in the grill yourself. It is essential for gourmet quality pizza as the stone allows for a higher, more even temperature.

The Goldline pizza oven conveniently comes with a pizza stone and a tray. This way you don’t have to buy an extra pizza stone, which can be expensive.

How much charcoal do you use?

Since you want the charcoal pizza oven to get very hot, you should use a generous amount of charcoal. It is recommended to fill the supplied drawer half to three quarters full to achieve the optimum temperature.

Cooking is all about experimentation, so feel free to add different amounts of charcoal until you find the right amount.

Find the right temperature

A common problem with charcoal pizza ovens is that the crust cooks faster than the top of the pizza. This is because there is usually a large amount of air at the top of the oven.

To fix this problem, try covering the insert with aluminum foil. This will reduce the amount of air circulating at the top and the pizza will cook faster.

Buy your charcoal pizza oven today

If you’re new to pizza making, you can’t go wrong with the Goldline Pizza Oven. The results will be far more delicious than baking a pizza in a traditional oven.

The Goldline 3 in 1 Charcoal Smoker BBQ Grill Pizza Oven fits perfectly into your outdoor kitchen. The setup rests on two wheels so you can easily move it to different locations in your garden. Thanks to the pizza stone and pull-out ashtray, it is also easy to clean.

The heat resistant handles make it safe in case you have kids or pets touching the pizza oven. There’s also a built-in thermometer that takes the guesswork out of the correct temperature.

A charcoal pizza oven has the potential to dramatically transform your garden parties. You can impress guests, family and friends by making delicious homemade pizzas. There’s also a 14-day money-back guarantee for worry-free ordering.

For more information do not hesitate to contact us on 03 9799 9660.

Do you often think about a diet but don’t stick to it when you see a pizza? If so, then we feel comfortable with you and welcome you to our exclusive club of pizza lovers. How can anyone resist or not fall in love with this delightful cheesy savory? When nothing can be more filling than a heavenly slice of cheesy Italian savory, generously topped with fresh veggies or meat. One of the best foods in the world, pizza is perfect for any occasion and can be had anytime, especially when there’s nothing to eat, just order pizza along with some drinks and you’re ready to party! “Pizza makes everything possible,” said Hery Rollins, who is not only a great singer and musician, but also a huge pizza fanatic. Pizza connoisseurs from all over the world prove again and again that pizza can make anything and everything possible. There is one such pizza that has been trending for quite some time and it is Black Pizza or activated charcoal pizza.

Activated charcoal pizza is a thing now, yes it’s true! Also known as gothic pizza, black pizza will definitely impress with everything from its texture and color to its distinct flavor. It has both a charcoal-activated crust and cheese, giving it a distinct smoky flavor. It’s a great battle between taste and function. According to health experts, activated charcoal detoxifies the body, aids in digestion, eliminates toxins and lowers cholesterol. Activated charcoal food trends have caused a storm last year, particularly the black and gray swirls of gothic ice creams that have been the main highlights of every food festival in and around Delhi, and now it’s time for black pizzas to rock Show.

Also Read: This Tasty and Healthy Instant Rava Pizza is Great for Those on a Diet

A charcoal activated pizza might look a bit like a burnt pizza, but interestingly it isn’t burned, just a dark, deliciously flavored pizza. This particular goth Italian savory is not only delicious, but photo worthy.

To give your regular pizza an interesting and quirky gothic makeover, try the following recipe:

Ingredients:

Warm water

Yeast

sugar

whole wheat flour

Refined Flour

A few grams of activated charcoal powder or capsules

Salt

rapeseed oil

Also Read: Know These Exotic Types of Pizza and Order Like a Pro

Preparation:

Take a bowl, mix 2 teaspoons spoons together with a pinch of sugar in lukewarm water. Cover with a muslin cloth and set aside for 8 to 10 minutes. Now take both whole wheat flour (1 cup) and refined flour (1/2 cup) in a bowl, add 2 grams of powdered activated charcoal or 4 activated charcoal capsules and a pinch of salt and stir by adding some of the prepared yeast to the mixture. Sieve the dough until smooth and elastic. Now cover the bowl of dough with a damp muslin cloth and keep in a warm place, let the dough rise for an hour. Take a sheet of parchment or aluminum foil to line a baking sheet and place a ball of dough on the sheet. Roll out the dough ball into a pizza crust. Grease the crust with some rapeseed or olive oil. Now it’s time for the toppings. Top your pizza with your choice of toppings, be it fresh veggies, leafy greens, succulent meats, or a combination of all, and don’t forget to sprinkle some cheese on top because “the cheesier the better.” Bake for 15 minutes, until crust crisps and cheese begins to melt. And your smoky-spicy gothic pizza is ready.

A pizza slice day keeps the sadness away, says a pizza lover from the bottom of his/her foodie heart. Can’t wait to try the smoky gothic pizzas. Right? For the best in gothic cuisine, try these restaurants: Jack Daniels infused Charcoal Pizza at Gastronomica Kitchen and Bar at GK and Russmunch in Pitampura.

(The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information related to this article. All information is provided “as is”. The information, fact or opinion contained in the Articles appearing do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV accepts no responsibility or liability therefor.)

Like some other fantastic products we’ve reviewed here at GearLab, the Bertello Outdoor was launched with crowdsourced funding, which tends to lend credibility to a product’s quality. This multi-fuel stove comes standard as a wood-burning stove (you can also use charcoal and pellets), but can easily be converted to include a gas burner attachment. The peculiarity of this conversion is that it still includes a wood firing tray. This addition allows you to preheat the oven and light the wood with the propane burner and then bake 12-inch pizzas as a wood-fired oven.

performance comparison

While gas is convenient, it’s just hard to beat both the aesthetics and the unique flavors that cooking with a wood fire offers. Luckily, with the Bertello oven, you don’t have to draw a hard line between the two options! Photo credit: Aaron Rice

cooking performance

The Bertello oven is perhaps the most versatile of those we’ve tested. As the lines between wood and gas stoves are blurred, we thought it best to look at each fuel type individually for an unbiased comparison. This model comes standard as a wood-fired stove, which is more forgiving but less convenient to fire.

Slower cook times, in the five to seven minute range, offer more time to learn how to cook pizzas properly and give you more time to prep between burns. But with average stone temperatures of just 552°F, it’s better suited to cooking pizzas on low to medium fires. Once you feel you have the skills required, gas switching will unlock the potential performance of the Bertello stove. With this simple change, average bake times drop to just 90 seconds, while average pizza stone temperatures climb to an incredible 774°F.

Shown here with gas conversion, there are other, more obvious signs that this stove is burning at incredibly hot temperatures. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

The hottest oven we’ve tested using the gas attachment, the Bertollo can cook perfect Neapolitan-style pizzas in just 60 seconds. Many companies market the performance of a Neapolitan pizza oven, but Bertello is one of the few that really delivers. While it’s entirely possible to achieve perfectly puffy, golden crusts when firing as a gas oven, the wood-fired style produces more brown, crispier — and sometimes ashen — crusts.

The difference between wood and gas stoves. Here is an example of the perfectly crispy bottom from the Bertello as a gas oven. While just as delicious, here’s an example of a slightly underburned crust that’s the result of not getting a wood fire up to optimal temperatures sufficiently.

output power

As a gas oven, the Bertello is at the top when it comes to maximum pizza stone temperatures. It is surpassed by very few other ovens, one of which is the Gozney Roccbox. The pizza stone is made of cordierite – the same material used in oven shelves – one of the few materials that can withstand temperatures in excess of 800°F.

Incidentally, cordierite is also incredibly heat resistant, which might seem counterintuitive, but is actually the reason for its ability to transfer heat directly to baking the pizza crust, creating a satisfying crispiness when it’s time to slice your meal. Despite the frosted exterior, the reflective stainless steel interior is excellent at radiating heat to cook pizzas evenly on all sides – but again, only when the fire is burning.

Not only does a rolling flame throw convection heat across the pizza, but reflective stainless steel side panels also contribute to this oven’s radiant heat. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

Therefore, it is more important to control the heat output of the Bertello oven because if you put out the fire, both the pizza stone and the inner oven temperature will quickly follow suit. Surprisingly, even the inside temperatures of the oven drop slightly in contrast to the pizza stone. The average operating temperature of the furnace chamber is around 670°F.

While an oven’s internal air temperature must be in the 800°F range to qualify as a Neapolitan-style oven, these near-optimal pizza stone temperatures approach 750°F. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

control

While it’s not as hot as a traditional Neapolitan pizza oven, it’s capable of producing high-quality cakes in this style thanks to a few key factors. The incredibly hot pizza stone quickly rises the crust. At the same time, positive airflow directs flames that roll across the low ceiling of the oven chamber, cooking your prepared toppings evenly and efficiently.

Whether you’re heating with wood or propane, this stove will produce a rolling and boisterous flame. You have the option of overlapping the two types of fuel, which can be handy, mainly because the gas burner can support the wood fire. But the wooden tray that comes with the adapter is too shallow to make a fire big enough to even endure cooking a pizza.

A head-to-head comparison of heat sources, with the original firebox (left) alongside the gas conversion (right) still capable of putting small amounts of wood into its shallow fire bowl. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

While we won’t go so far as to say it’s just for show, we think it might be more for that “wood-fired taste”. For this reason, we recommend firing the Bertello as either a wood- or gas-powered stove, to avoid the kind of multitasking where you end up not doing both very well.

The hot Bertello oven definitely cooks up fast. Be prepared to turn this pizza many times during its short bake time to avoid burning the crust. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

user friendliness

As a wood-fired stove, the Bertello is a model that will almost certainly need the help of a dedicated firefighter. We feel this is a necessity, at least until you master the skills needed to tend to the oven while preparing batter and chopping toppings. That’s the paradox of an efficient wood-burning stove: the fire can burn hot enough to reach the extreme temperatures desired, but that heat means it can also burn the fuel too quickly. Due to the inconsistent performance, this oven received an average score for ease of use.

While the airflow moves in the right direction with the rear cap on, every time you remove that cap to load firewood, you experience serious — and frankly dangerous — kickback, resulting in flames erupting from the rear of the fire. Luckily, both can be avoided by using the more convenient gas burner. While the gas-fired option is somewhat simplified, the proximity of the flame to the top of the pizza means you need to monitor the pizza closely and turn it regularly to avoid turning it into a blackened lump of coal.

The recoil from the firebox can be both surprising and intimidating once you remove the rear cap. This deficiency makes it difficult to add wood fuel during the replenishment phase. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

A final criticism relates directly to the size and shape — and therefore portability — of the Bertello oven. A compact oven chamber nicely complemented by foldable legs makes it easy to store and convenient to carry…in wood-fired form. However, the gas attachment adds 10 inches to the length of the stove, hangs awkwardly from the back of the back, and makes the entire package much more delicate to handle and move compared to the tank-like durability of its original form.

Compact in its wood-fired (front firebox) format, the gas burner attachment feels unnecessarily long, making this otherwise streamlined stove a bit awkward to move. Photo credit: Aaron Rice

Should you buy the Bertello Outdoor?

The Bertello pizza oven could be considered a product with “added value”. We cannot recommend enough the additional purchase of the gas burner attachment – it will allow you to unleash the true potential of this compact powerhouse. With the conversion kit this is a truly versatile pizza oven and perfect for any cook who doesn’t want to limit themselves to just one type of fuel. This oven offers exceptional performance at a reasonable price, making it a valuable addition to any outdoor kitchen.

Regardless of how you decide to fire this stove, you can be sure that you will be mesmerized by this wonderfully effective rolling flame. Credit: Aaron Rice

What other pizza ovens should you consider?

A relative newcomer to the pizza oven scene, the Bertello Outdoor is an award-winning kitchen appliance that has the potential to be great. With a few design changes, both control and usability could be improved to the chef’s advantage. However, this model’s few downsides may put you off. If that’s the case, the Gozney Roccbox is worth a look as an alternative. It’s one of our favorite models that also runs on multiple fuel types and requires virtually no adjustments to produce the perfect pizza.

Nov. 11—Woodbury natives Andy and Eric Bert return on ABC-TV’s “Shark Tank” on Friday, Nov. 12.

The two first introduced their backyard pizza oven to investors on the show in March 2020 and were chosen by investor “Shark” Kevin O’Leary to commission their Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven. “If a company gets pretty successful and you’re lucky, they do an update on you,” Eric Bert said earlier this week.

Bertello was “quite successful”. Before Shark Tank, the pizza oven grossed about $1 million. Since the show, Bertello has grossed $6.3 million, Bertello says. The brothers started work on the furnace in 2017.

The portable outdoor pizza oven uses gas to quickly heat up, then wood can be added to create the flavor of wood-fired pizza, says Bert, who splits his time between St. Paul and New York. Andy Bert lives in Woodbury. Their pizza oven is the only one that uses gas and wood, he says, and can heat up to 900 degrees. It doesn’t require a large brick pizza oven construction in the backyard.

For Friday’s show, the Berts threw a 50-person backyard pizza party last summer.

Eric Bert says he cooks everything on his Bertello oven and goes beyond pizza.

And what kind of pizza does he recommend for viewers watching the show? Bert’s favorite pizza is topped with a simple tomato sauce, prosciutto and a mozzarella/parmesan cheese mix.

Shark Tank is a reality TV show that started on ABC in 2009. Inventors step in front of a group of investors and try to get help to fund their projects.

turn on

– What: The Woodbury brothers return for an update on their backyard pizza oven in Shark Tank

— When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov 12

— Where: ABC

‘AS SEEN ON SHARK TANK’

https://abc.com/shows/shark-tank

*Free shipping within the United States

*3 year guarantee

*Return Policy – 100% Satisfaction Guarantee

We stand behind everything we sell. If you are not satisfied with your Bertello purchase, you can return it used or unused for a refund within one year of purchase.

The Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven – Wood and Gas Fired Outdoor Pizza Oven is the most affordable, highest quality, portable wood fire, charcoal, pellet and gas outdoor pizza oven on the market. In addition to pizza, you can prepare a wide range of dishes, including fish, meat, vegetables and dessert pizzas. We offer various bundle options that allow you to cook with wood, charcoal, pellets, gas or the combination of gas and wood at the same time! Cook at over 900 degrees Fahrenheit for authentic Neapolitan-style pizza!

There are a few important things to consider when buying a pizza oven. First decide what type of oven you want. Are you looking for a wood stove? An outdoor pizza oven? A stone oven? Each type of oven has its own advantages and disadvantages, so make sure you choose the one that best suits your needs.

Are you looking for a new pizza oven? If so, you’re in luck! In this blog post we provide you with a checklist for buying pizza ovens for 2022. We give you all the information you need to choose the best pizza oven for your needs based on factors like budget, cooking style and space constraints. Whether you are looking for a gas fired indoor oven, an outdoor wood fired oven or a brick oven, we have what you need!

1. How does a pizza oven work?

Most well-designed pizza ovens allow for radiant, convection, and conduction cooking. Most of the time you use all three types of heat exchange at the same time, but some types of stoves are better than others when you use them.

Radiant heat comes from the fire itself and from the heated dome and kiln floor. This type of heat is similar to the heat from a traditional oven grill.

Conduction refers to the type of heat transferred between substances that are in direct contact with each other. A good example is the transfer of heat from the hot cooking surface directly to your pizza or cast iron skillet.

Convection heat comes from the air circulating around the oven dome and pouring over your dish. You can control the convection heat by opening and closing the pizza oven door.

2. What makes a good wood-fired pizza oven?

We are often asked what makes a good wood-fired pizza oven. There are a few key factors to consider when answering this question. First, the quality of the insulation is important – you want an oven that retains heat well so your pizzas cook evenly. Second, the size of the oven matters – you need one that can hold all of your pizzas at once. Finally, the construction of the stove is also important – you want a stove made of quality materials that will last for many years.

3. How much does a wood fired pizza oven cost?

A frequently asked question is how much does a wood fired pizza oven cost? The answer is that it depends on the type of oven you choose and the features it has. However, most high-quality authentic pizza ovens cost between $1000 and $5000.

PIZZA OVENS UNDER $2000 Name Fuel Price Alfa ONE Wood Check Maximus Arena Wood Check Pinnacolo Primo Wood Check Maximus Prime Wood Check Alfa Ciao Wood Check Alfa ONE Gas Check PIZZA OVENS UNDER $3000 Name Fuel Price Pizzaioli Wood Check Alfa 5 Minuti Wood Check DeliVita Wood Check CBO -750 Kit Wood Check Tuscan GX-C2 Wood Check Alfa 4 Pizze Wood Check PIZZA OVENS UNDER $5000 Name Fuel Price Premio Wood Check CBO-500 Wood Check Alfa Brio Gas Check Alfa Allegro Wood Check CBO-750 Wood Check Ibrido Gas/Wood Check

Questions to answer when buying a pizza oven

Below you will find the most important questions you need to answer before buying a new pizza oven.

1. What will you bake in your pizza oven?

2. How much will you cook?

3. Where will you place your oven?

4. What kind of experience do you want?

5. Do you want to do it yourself?

6. What is your budget?

Now let’s start finding the perfect oven for you!

1. What will you bake in your pizza oven?

Now that you have a better understanding of how a pizza oven works, let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular oven types on the market.

Pizza ovens can be made of brick, stainless steel or aluminum, among other things. While any of the ovens in your yard could work great, your cooking style can dictate which oven is best for you.

brick kilns

A brick oven is perhaps the most iconic type of pizza oven. These refractory kilns are built of brick or stone and often have domed roofs that help retain heat. Stone ovens are known for their even heat distribution and ability to produce high quality pizzas.

Faster cooking

The metal ovens take less time to heat up, allowing you to get your oven up to cooking temperature quicker. However, metal kilns don’t retain heat as well as brick kilns and cool faster if you let the fire die out. Metal ovens can still handle all cooking styles, but if you do a lot of slow cooking, like roasting a turkey or baking bread, you’ll need to hold the fire a little longer to keep the oven at the right temperature.

Slow Cooking

The advantage of a stone oven is that it keeps the heat longer. This means they can make much better use of the radiant heat source. Once heated to a certain temperature, they retain that heat for many hours.

On the other hand, brick ovens take longer to heat up because the bricks absorb the heat (to use later in cooking!). So you need a little more time, 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, to get the ovens up to their cooking temperature. Of course, this gives you plenty of time to prepare your food and have a drink while the fire heats up!

2. How much will you bake in your pizza oven?

Another thing to consider is how much you want to bake in your pizza oven. If you only use it occasionally, a cheaper model might be best for you. However, if you plan to use your oven regularly, it may be worth investing in a higher-end model that comes with features like temperature displays and large cooking areas.

Pizza ovens come in a variety of sizes and configurations, so you should choose an oven that offers the cooking space you want based on your needs.

When you cook at home, you don’t usually have to bake 30 pizzas an hour. Therefore, you can bake fewer pizzas more slowly than in a commercial pizzeria.

You might be thinking “ok so how many pizzas can he bake at once”. This depends on the size of the cooking surface of your oven. Many people measure a pizza oven by its pizza oven capacity, so think about it this way:

Cavity – Let’s say you have an oven with a cavity that is 32″W x 32″D

– Let’s say you have an oven with a 32″W x 32″D cavity

– Let’s say your wood takes up 6″W x 12″D inches of your cooktop. how many pizzas – You can slide your wood to the left side so you have 26″W x 32″D on the right side for cooking. If you are making 12″ pizzas, you can easily make TWO (2) pizzas in this space. You can also add another pizza in front of the fire.

That being said, we tend to make much smaller pizzas because the fun part of a pizza party is making lots of different types of pizza. We make pizzas from 15 to 20 cm so everyone can experiment with several smaller personalized pizzas that we can all try. The pizzas bake quickly in minutes, making it easy to keep pizza going!

For smaller meals

If you think you’ll only be making one Neapolitan-style pizza or dish at a time, for example as an occasional family meal or as a BBQ option, then a smaller oven is probably better for you. If you also want a faster heat-up time, a metal oven may be best.

Options that would suit this style of cooking include Alfa ONE, Alfa Ciao and Maximus Arena among others. These are smaller metal ovens that heat up quickly and can handle 1-2 cakes at a time.

Of course, there are also small stone ovens that heat up a little more slowly, but retain the heat much longer due to the heat storage in the stones. Pizza ovens like the DeliVita Oven have a modern look on the outside but a brick oven on the inside.

For enthusiastic entertainers

However, a smaller oven isn’t always enough and you may want to look at a larger one to suit different dishes. For the party animals out there (or the leaders of a large family pack), an oven with a little more capacity might be in order. A larger oven doesn’t sacrifice cooking time or quality, so it’s a win-win for someone entertaining large groups.

If you cook for long periods and enjoy the oven’s heat-up time, a stone oven might be your best bet. Some of the popular higher capacity stone ovens we stock include the Lisboa oven and the traditional Pizzaioli oven which can handle 2-3 pizza pies at a time, or for those who prefer stainless steel the elegant Alfa Allegro Brushed metal stove your choice.

3. Where will you place your pizza oven?

The location of your furnace is an important consideration for several reasons. One is whether or not you like it indoors or outdoors, and how your stove will look in comparison to the current aesthetic of your home or garden. To find the best pizza oven for sale, it has to fit your needs and fit in the space you like it in!

Indoor Ovens There are many considerations when looking for an indoor pizza oven. You must follow certain guidelines for indoor pizza ovens, e.g. B. Make sure the stove is certified for your local housing regulations. Plan ahead and validate your needs; Many ovens are not UL listed, so they fail inspection. In this case, you have no choice but to set up your new oven outdoors. There are several brands that make indoor wood and gas stoves, depending on the style you want and whether you want the stove built in or left on the counter. Indoor ovens such as the Earthstone Model 110 Gas Oven or the dual outdoor/indoor Chicago Brick Oven Countertop 500 wood-fired oven may be excellent choices. Just make sure the dimensions of your pizza oven are such that it fits in your home; Otherwise, you’ll have a pretty sad looking abandoned pizza oven on your doorstep. Outdoor Ovens Most pizza ovens are suitable for outdoor cooking! They make excellent additions to backyards and outdoor kitchens, and often serve as the focal point of entertainment. If you are considering an outdoor oven, think about where you will place your oven. Will it be under a cover? If this is the case and the cover is a lower structure, you may need to consider venting the stove’s chimney up through the structure or fishing outside the cover. Some of our best-selling outdoor stoves include the Buena Ventura brick-built wood stove from Portugal and the CBO-750 countertop wood stove from Chicago. If you buy a heavy brick oven, can a forklift or engine jack get into your yard? There are many ingenious ways to move a brick oven, but if your layout doesn’t allow it, you may need to consider a lightweight oven or pizza oven kit. Portable Ovens Occasionally you might need to take the show to the road, or simply need a lightweight freestanding oven that’s easy to move. Portable pizza ovens are often made of stainless steel to make them lighter. But there are brick ovens that come on brick oven stands or carts that allow you to have the baking power of a brick oven with the convenience of a portable oven. One of the most portable wood-fired stainless steel ovens, the Maximus Pizza Oven offers world-class portability without sacrificing wood-fired flavor and charm. Another steel portable outdoor pizza oven that is a bit larger and comes on wheels is the Alfa 4 Pizze. You might like this stove if you want a more modern look. If you’re looking to add an array of color to your backyard entertaining area, the Delivita Modern Countertop Pizza Oven is a perfect choice. The most popular brick oven for portability is the CBO-750 wood-burning pizza oven on a trolley, which not only gives you the ability to move the oven, but also gives you the option of using the gas burner and wood, depending on your preference.

4. What kind of cooking experience do you want?

There are two types of fuel for pizza ovens: wood and gas/propane. Some people prefer wood-fired ovens because they add a smoky flavor to food that cannot be reproduced with gas. Although purists insist that wood-fired ovens are the only way to bake a pizza, the fact that a traditional pizza oven works may not be for everyone. Choosing between wood or gas firing can depend on your lifestyle and needs.

Wood-fired classicism

No pizza oven guide would be complete without a few healthy swoons over wood-fired ovens. Wood-fired ovens are a great way to make delicious, crispy pizzas. They can be used to cook everything from bread and pastries to meat and vegetables. A wood-fired oven gives your food delicious flavors and unique cooked textures.

A wood fired pizza oven is also a great addition to any garden or patio because it’s fun and easy to use! Wood stoves allow you to have the full traditional cooking experience with all family and friends joining in the fun. You don’t need years of experience or cooking training – anyone can do it!

When cooking with wood, add more wood to reach the oven’s high temperatures and stop adding wood when you want to lower the temperature.

Some of our best-selling wood-fired ovens include the beautiful stone-effect stone Pizzaioli oven or the more atmospheric Buena Ventura Black oven.

If you want wood-fired flavor without the mess, check out a “white” pizza oven like the Tuscan Chef. Like traditional stone ovens, “black” wood-fired ovens house the fire directly in the cooking chamber where the food is cooking. “White” ovens, like the Toscan Chef ovens, have two separate chambers, one for the fire and one for cooking.

Pellet stoves, like the Pinnacolo SOLO pictured below, are great for consistently high heat and low maintenance.

Gas powered utility company

Cooking with wood isn’t always a feasible or efficient choice, and we understand that wholeheartedly. In some areas or neighborhoods, burning may be banned or indoor wood-burning stoves may be prohibited, so a gas stove would be a good choice.

Most people think that gas stoves heat up faster than wood stoves, but that’s just not true. Wood actually burns hotter. What they really mean is that using gas makes it easier to start a fire. Also, you can better maintain your temperature control by using gas instead of adding extra pieces of wood.

As such, gas can be a good choice when you are looking to meet longer cooking times (e.g. catering and large parties) as it can help with faster preheat times and less wood maintenance, which proves beneficial when entertaining crowds. The smaller gas stoves are also great for camping trips!

Our most popular residential gas fired pizza ovens include the wood or gas fired Chicago Brick Oven Countertop 750 Hybrid, the Brio Gas Pizza Oven and the equally best selling Alfa Stone Gas Oven.

5. Would you like to build a pizza oven yourself? A DIY project can be an invigorating way to while away a few weeks, especially when done in collaboration with friends or family. You will feel a great sense of accomplishment when all is said and done and your handiwork will last a lifetime. On the other hand, a huge project doesn’t fit on everyone’s agenda, and sometimes you just want to start making pizza. Luckily we have options for both ends of the manual work spectrum! DIY Kits If DIY sounds like a good time then you’ll be thrilled to know that we have a wide range of DIY Pizza Oven Kits that come complete with the necessary forms and in some cases other materials and instructions to build your own pizza oven delivered masonry pizza oven of the master class. Even if you want to build a stove yourself, we strongly recommend starting with a kit. Otherwise, you can spend a lot of time and money to get a nice pizza oven that can’t hold the heat or cook your food properly. These projects take advantage of your own creative abilities so that the end product can aesthetically match the garden of your home and be modified to make cooking other foods easier, such as a barbecue. The world is at your feet! Do-it-yourself pizza oven kits tend to be less expensive than buying a pre-built oven. They can also be transported to your location in pieces, so they are often required when you cannot accommodate a full furnace in your area. Even if you’re unsure about doing the construction yourself, a DIY kit might be a good candidate if you’re hiring a contractor’s help so that no matter what your contractor’s masonry skills are, you still get a professional masonry kiln. One of the greatest DIY wood-fired ovens is the commercially oriented Chicago Brick Oven 1000, which could be the star of your backyard gadgets. The Belforno brand is a popular brand of gas pizza oven kits and the Temp-Cast masonry heaters are very popular if you are looking to build an indoor fireplace with an oven. Prebuilt Ovens If you’re more interested in a ready-made oven so you can focus on baking the perfect pizza, a prebuilt oven is your best bet. When you buy a pre-built oven, you can rest assured that it will arrive ready for you to set up in its new home. You can also consider building around a pre-engineered oven, giving you the built-in look with the confidence that you have a perfectly constructed oven inside you. This is very similar to using a DIY kit, except it’s a lot easier. Our most popular prefab stoves are in the collection of handmade brick stoves from Portugal. Not only are they gorgeous stoves, but they are so well made that they hold the heat for hours! Our Round Grove pizza oven/fireplace combinations are extremely popular with contractors as they are supplied as one large unit, requiring only the exterior finish with your choice of material. This saves builders time and homeowners money. Mason-Lite pizza ovens are also favorites of our PRO professionals. Can you say “Wood-Fired Thanksgiving Turkey” for this year’s celebration? 6. What is your budget? Consider your budget. How much are you willing to pay for a pizza oven? Keep in mind that the higher-end models can be quite expensive, but they often come with features like temperature displays, larger cooking chambers, better insulation, and longer warranties that make them well worth the investment. Frequently asked questions about pizza ovens

Is buying a pizza oven worth it?

Many people wonder whether buying a pizza oven is worth it or not. The answer to this question depends on your needs and budget. If you are looking for an oven that can produce quality pizzas, a wood or brick oven may be the best option for you. However, if you’re on a tight budget, a smaller oven might be cheaper.

For people who enjoy creating meaningful dining experiences, the versatility of a pizza oven is totally worth it. The memories of cooking with friends and family far outweigh the initial cost of buying an outdoor pizza oven. Cooking with a wood stove helps you slow down the process to enjoy it. It’s also a healthy way to prepare your food, as the higher heat allows you to cook faster and lock in valuable nutrients.

Not only will you bake amazing authentic wood pizzas, but you’ll also enjoy preparing complete meals for holidays, celebrations, and every other day of the week!

How do you use a wood fired pizza oven?

Many people want to know how to use a wood fired pizza oven. The truth is that there is no universal answer as every oven is different. However, we can give you some general tips on using a wood-fired pizza oven. First, read the instruction manual carefully so that you know how to use the oven safely. Second, start by slowly preheating the oven before baking your pizzas. Third, experiment with different types of wood and temperatures to find what works best for you. And finally, have fun and enjoy!

Does a wood-fired pizza oven have disadvantages?

It is often asked whether wood-fired pizza ovens have any disadvantages. The answer is that there can be some downsides, such as the fact that they require a lot of wood to run and can be difficult to use. However, the advantages of wood stoves, such as even heat distribution and smoky flavor, often outweigh these disadvantages.

Now you know pizza ovens

Using all of the answers from above you can determine whether you want a brick or metal stove, light or heavy, indoor or outdoor, wood-fired or gas-fired prefab stove.

Now that you’re armed with this information, it’s time to go shopping! Luckily, we stock every combination of pizza ovens we’ve discussed in our 2022 pizza oven buying checklist so you can find the perfect one for you and your family.

Related Articles

Select one of the categories below to explore your options!

WOOD FIRED PIZZA OVENS GAS PIZZA OVENS PIZZA OVEN KITS

You can also take the pizza oven quiz to find out which oven options work best for you and your family.

Do you have anymore questions? Click below to visit our contact page to email or call us.

Across America, one name pops up when a new Neapolitan pizzeria opens: Stefano Ferrara. He is not the owner. He’s not the pizzaiolo. Stefano Ferrara is the man who hand builds the domed brick ovens that pizzerias are proud of.

The manufacture of stoves has been a Ferrara family business for almost 100 years; He is a third-generation oven builder. And Ferrara has been learning the craft since he was 13, when he helped his father build the oven at Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. In 2001 Ferrara founded his own stove business, Stefano Ferrara Forni.

Just as the Neapolitan style of pizza-making has boomed in America over the past five to six years, so has the presence of Stefano Ferrara’s ovens. Now well-known pizzerias such as Una Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, Paulie Gee’s in Brooklyn, Cane Rosso in Dallas and Motorino in Brooklyn and Hong Kong all own ovens with the Ferrara name. “The Stefano Ferrara name and the ovens themselves are synonymous with quality in the way [New York City butcher] Pat LaFrieda might be synonymous with good burger quality,” says I Dream of Pizza author Jason Feirman.

And pizza makers are willing to splurge on a Stefano Ferrara oven: a 120-centimetre-diameter mobile oven starts at 6,500 euros ($9,042), while a fixed (on-site built) oven of the same size starts at 12,000 euros ($16,693 ). Factor in the costs of construction, customization, shipping, and installation—all of which, by the way, can be a logistical nightmare in and of themselves—and a Stefano Ferrara stove can end up costing as much as the $25,000 Paulie Gee spent on his first oven.

Now, a handful of manufacturers here in the US are making wood-burning stoves that cost less and are easier to get. So why do restaurateurs covet these wood-fired ovens built of Italian brick and earth? Eater spoke to pizza makers, pizza obsessives, oven importers and Ferrara itself to discover the allure of the Stefano Ferrara oven and what it takes to actually get one.

The costs and the complications

In 2009 Paulie Gee imported his first mobile oven direct from Stefano Ferrara. He paid 7,800 euros ($10,850) for the oven and another 2,000 euros ($2,782) for a shipping container to ship it in. Customs held the furnace in Newark for two weeks and a fee of $750. Paulie Gee then paid Brooklyn-based Hulk Rigging & Hauling — at the recommendation of Motorino’s Mathieu Palombino — $5,500 to lift and install the oven at his restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Eventually he was forced to drop another $4,500 to vent the furnace.

At today’s exchange rate, that’s $24,382. In 2009, however, the exchange rate was less favorable against the dollar. The furnace cost about $25,000. It’s a staggering amount of money and one of the most expensive Neapolitan wood stoves on the market today. “But,” says Paulie Gee, “considering it’s the only thing I absolutely need in my restaurant, it was a steal.”

But even if the price seems worthwhile, consider the bureaucracy. Like a safety inspector who won’t approve your restaurant until you install an unnecessarily expensive range hood over that oven. Or the fact that the documents required to import a container – including logistics to the Italian port, US customs documents, ocean vessel information, insurance documents and logistics from the US port to the furnace’s final destination – total more than 20 pages of paperwork. Customs agents can take care of most of these formalities. Of course, according to Jay Jerrier of Cane Rosso in Dallas, a customs agent costs another $400.

For Jerrier, however, the real stress begins when the oven finally arrives at the restaurant. A 55-inch Stefano Ferrara stove — the size Cane Rosso uses — weighs more than 6,000 pounds and costs more than $10,000. One wrong move when lifting off the back of a truck and into the restaurant area could be catastrophic.

Cane Rosso’s first stove installation went smoothly. The second time they smashed two pallets trying to get them onto the sidewalk to the restaurant and had to demolish the storefront to get the oven inside. The third time, he says, they simply took the storefront off to bring the oven into the restaurant via forklift. That cost about $3,500. The installation process was such a “white-knuckle moment” for Jerrier that he couldn’t even bear to be present for the last two, he says. (And each time, the contractor texted Jerrier to apologize for dropping the stove before assuring him that everything had gone well. “They must all be comedians,” he says.)

The installation process was “a white-knuckle moment.”

However, removing the facade of the building is not an option for everyone. When Mathieu Palombino opened Motorino in Hong Kong, he knew he would never be able to wheel a mobile oven up the steep road and into his restaurant. Instead, he flew in Stefano Ferrara to build a fixed kiln on site, the first Ferrara kiln in China. But while fixed stoves take the stress out of importing and installing a £6,000 stove, they come at a price. Stefano Ferrara’s 120cm fixed ovens – with a capacity of five pizzas at a time, the minimum requirement for most restaurants – cost 12,000 euros ($16,693).

And that’s just the basic cost. Anyone wanting Ferrara to build them a permanent kiln on site will have to pay their airfare and that of their assistant, plus the cost of room and board for the 10 days it takes to build a kiln. The customer also has to foot the bill for shipping Ferrara’s building materials, which LA Weekly noted in 2011, when Sotto opened with a permanently installed Ferrara stove, weighs about 15,000 pounds.

Fixed ovens also don’t allow a restaurateur to avoid customs-related headaches. Boulder’s Pizzeria Locale experienced this firsthand when it opened in 2011. Owners Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson told Eater Denver in 2012 that their original plan was to bring Ferrara to Colorado to build their oven there. But when all the building materials hit Houston, everything hung together. Customs declared the three sacks of Italian soil to be “non-conforming goods” and quarantined the shipment for five weeks before Stuckey and Mackinnon-Patterson finally gave up and had Ferrara send an oven instead. So it’s not surprising that Paulie Gee estimates that 9 out of 10 pizzeria owners who have a Ferrara oven choose a portable one.

Purchase through an importer

There is a way around some of these complications that come with buying a Stefano Ferrara stove. You can always just go through Ellie Olsen.

Olsen is a consultant and trained pizzaiolo with a zest for pizza that’s evident upon entering her 2,000-square-foot import facility outside of Denver, Wood Fired Oven Baker. “Artisan pizza and import as a whole runs through my veins,” she says. After leaving a job importing products from India and Southeast Asia for a European politician, Olsen said she fell in love with the traditional way of cooking with a wood-fired oven while traveling around Europe.

Olsen began importing Neapolitan ovens (plus slicers, batter mixers, prep tables and accessories) to make money in the 17 months it took her to build a 1946 F6 truck with a Valoriani pizza oven, panini presses, a sausage cutter and a retrofit espresso machine. Now the food truck has pushed the import business into the background.

It’s cheaper to import a Stefano Ferrara stove via Olsen or their California-based competitor Michael Fairholme. On the one hand, an importer can reduce individual shipping costs by combining several oven orders in one shipping container. Olsen says a 40-foot container can hold five Stefano Ferrara ovens, meaning the cost of shipping the container can be broken down five ways. The prices that Olsen charges for stoves include all shipping and customs fees for a savings of approximately $1,000 to $2,000 compared to importing a stove directly.

Here’s what it costs in US dollars to buy a portable oven, tiled and unpaved, from Wood Fired Oven Baker:

Olsen also takes care of all the logistics and paperwork involved in importing these ovens for their customers. And even if a disaster strikes – say, a shipment damaged at sea – Olsen’s insurance will cover those costs. Your customers pay nothing. The only additional fee a customer must pay is the cost of shipping from their Denver warehouse to the oven’s final location, which varies by zip code. Although some customers order custom tiled stoves in advance — a process that takes 12 weeks — those who prefer to order a stove with a tiled stove can have it in eight weeks, Olsen says. Maybe even sooner if she happens to have the right size and type of stove in stock.

Ferrara declined to disclose the number of stoves he has shipped to and built in America since founding his company, but Olsen says the import business of Neapolitan stoves has picked up across the board. (She also imports the Acunto Forni Mario and Acunto Forni Gianni stoves.) Each month, Olsen usually brings two or three containers full of stoves. On any given day, she might get five or six requests from restaurants. And earlier this year, she placed an order for 18 more ovens, of which only two were promised at the time. Nine weeks after ordering, another 14 were sold out.

The allure

Customer service

It is no coincidence that some of the most famous Neapolitan pizzerias in this country use Stefano Ferrara ovens. An active network of pizza makers is at play here. When Motorino chef Mathieu Palombino was looking for a new pizza oven, he spoke to Anthony Mangieri, Executive Chef at Una Pizza Napoletana, as well as Paulie Gee. Jay Jerrier also sought advice from Paulie Gee when opening Cane Rosso in Dallas. And Paulie Gee went to Hopewell, New Jersey, to check out the Nomad Pizza Company’s Ferrara oven after being intrigued by one he’d seen years earlier at Caffe Calabria while vacationing in San Diego.

“All my Neapolitan friends generally agree that Ferrara is the best choice for making Neapolitan pizza,” says Jerrier.

There are a few reasons for this, perhaps the most important being the personal touch of Stefano Ferrara Forni. Francesca Ferrara, Stefano’s wife, plays a major role in this. As Stefano speaks limited English, Francesca is the one who answers all inquiries sent to the generic email address on the company’s website. “You can tell these guys want to make sure you know what you’re getting and that you’re asking for the right things,” says Jerrier. He compares choosing such a thoughtful manufacturer to the value chefs place on sourcing, noting, “You want to know where things are coming from and you want to know who is growing them and who is making them.”

Ferrara flew to Baltimore to patch the tiles.

And like a good front-of-the-house manager, Ferrara takes the time to connect with its customers. When Palombino first bought a pizza oven, he went to Naples to visit Ferrara. There, the stove builder took Palombino on a tour of his production facility and demonstrated his building process. Palombino immediately ordered his first stove from Stefano Ferrara. “I just felt like this was the right man for me to work with,” says Palombino. For him, buying a Stefano Ferrara stove is not just about the stove. It’s about Stefano Ferrara, whose personal service is included.

And that’s the key. As Paulie Gee puts it, “When I open a store, I want to make sure I have someone to turn to if something goes wrong.”

That proved to be a good thing last year when the two ovens destined for Paulie Gee’s forthcoming Baltimore location bumped into each other during shipment, messing up some of the tiles. The damage was actually pretty minor, he says, but the ovens still needed repairs. So Ferrara flew to Baltimore earlier this month to patch the tiles. It was a final assurance of customer service.

craftsmanship

Ferrara’s intensity and pride in his craft were evident when he was fixing those ovens in Baltimore, says Kelly Beckham, co-owner of Paulie Gees Hampden — a man perhaps better known in the pizza community by the alias Pizzablogger. “It was exciting to see Stefano personally hold up his mortar-covered hands and mention that he built the kilns with his hands… that each kiln is like one of his children,” says Beckham. “He was very passionate about explaining this and it was invigorating to see.” Just the fact that Ferrara would be flying from Naples to Baltimore should be a pretty good indication of the man’s dedication to craftsmanship, adds Beckham.

This craftsmanship goes back three generations in the Ferrara family. His grandfather began building these dome-shaped ovens in Naples in 1920 and later passed his craft to his son, who passed it on to his son. Although there may have been some small improvements in technique in this nearly hundred-year-old construction of kilns, Ferrara says the techniques and the materials he uses are the same as those of his grandfather.

How the Ovens are Made All Stefano Ferrara ovens are made by hand using materials that can withstand the high temperatures typical of Neapolitan pizza making, which range from 700 to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Ferrara explained in an email that the crown and dome of its kilns are made from hand-pressed bricks, while the bottom of the kiln is made from Biscotto di Sorrento clay, from the Sorrento region of Italy. “In this area,” he writes, “there are kilns which, for perhaps centuries, have been producing refractory bricks of a particular tone known for their [heat-absorbing] properties since Roman times.” All Ferrara ovens, including those locally built abroad, are held together by Italian soil. The masonry crown and dome are then insulated and plastered. Meanwhile, the base of the oven is fitted with a 10-inch metal rim, and an iron plate adorned with Ferrara’s name guards the oven’s mouth. Ferrara takes about a week to build a kiln, which can then be faced with either mosaic tiles or Palladiana marble. Fixed stoves are built on a tufa stand with space for wood storage just below the stove’s mouth, while mobile stoves stand on a reinforced and varnished iron base with four fixed legs.

So it’s understandable when Motorino Ferrara’s Mathieu describes Palombino as “very picky” about the way he builds a stove. “He makes every single one of his ovens himself,” says Palombino, but acknowledges that Ferrara has assistants. “Plus, he works so fast,” adds Palombino. “It’s just incredible. He doesn’t walk. He runs.”

When Jay Jerrier first opened Cane Rosso in Dallas in 2011, he knew he needed a pizza oven that would be more efficient than his Forno Bravo modular home oven. The Forno Bravo was fine, but the Cane Rosso oven had to be well built and able to produce pizza fast enough for a potentially high-volume restaurant. It would have to be built by hand.

After discussing this with Paulie Gee, Jerrier decided that a Stefano Ferrara stove was the right choice for Cane Rosso. The combination of a low dome height and small opening that characterizes this type of stove is ideal for maximizing convection and retaining heat, he says. Meanwhile, the flue is at the back center of the stove, not at the mouth, which would bring too much smoke into the restaurant. All this comes together to create an ideal Neapolitan-style cake. When an inspector from Vera Pizza Napoletana — the nonprofit organization that certifies pizzerias as authentically Neapolitan — came to Cane Rosso, he told Jerrier that there’s no better oven than a Stefano Ferrara oven for Neapolitan pizza.

Timed coordination

Stefano Ferrara came onto the American pizza scene at just the right time. As late as 2009, Beckham says it’s an oddity for a pizzeria to have a stone oven imported from Naples. Beckham began blogging about pizza in 2009, at a time when he says online communities were just starting to really get into all things pizza. It was also a time when the Neapolitan style was growing in popularity. Slice posted a photo of a Ferrara oven at the Nomad Pizza Company in September 2009, which Beckham says is the first time he’s seen one. Within months, Paulie Gee installed a Ferrara oven at his Brooklyn restaurant.

There were other Neapolitan stove manufacturers at the time who, in a Neapolitan boom, might have been willing to lead the American market if not for one factor: UL certification, a mark that independent safety inspectors give to products in America. Without them, Palombino says, there’s little chance a restaurant will pass local safety inspection. Beckham notes that restaurateurs can self-certify their equipment, but it’s just easier to buy pre-certified equipment. All you have to do is install it and get started.

Stefano Ferrara was one of the early adopters of UL certification, which Denver-based importer Ellie Olsen says was a key to his success. His stoves became more desirable to American consumers just in time for the aforementioned Neapolitan boom. Although other oven manufacturers are catching up – both Gianni and Mario Acunto received their UL certification last year – Ferrara has a lead that continues to drive its business forward. It is also still the only manufacturer to build stationary ovens with both UL certification and NSF International certification for food safety.

authenticity

The way the Ferrara family makes their ovens hasn’t changed in the last 90 years, Ferrara writes in an email. All his ovens respect the tradition started years ago by his grandfather and before that by other Neapolitan oven manufacturers. It is Ferrara’s responsibility to uphold this tradition. And more broadly, some pizza makers feel responsible for keeping up this tradition by using these ovens in their restaurants.

“That’s the way to go,” says Motorino’s Palombino. “You want to make a Neapolitan pizza, this is where it starts. Get a Napoli Neapolitan Pizza Oven if you have a passion for the pizza you had in Napoli and want to serve here in Brooklyn. … Get the real stuff.”

It wasn’t just the logistical nightmare of rolling a 6,000-pound oven up a steep hill that prompted Palombino to install a permanent oven at Motorino’s Hong Kong facility. It was also a nod to tradition. Owning a permanent pizza oven is a badge of honor that few pizzerias can claim. For those who can loudly proclaim it: In 2010, pizza nerds got into a frenzy over the construction of Donatella Arpaia’s golden oven in Donatella, the first solid oven Ferrara built in New York City. And in 2011, Steve Samson and Zach Pollack of Sotto in Los Angeles meticulously documented the making of their Stefano Ferrara stove on site.

While Palombino doesn’t think a stationary oven is technically better than a mobile oven, he likes that it doesn’t feel like it was made on an assembly line. “I think you have an oven that has a little bit more history,” he says. “You know you’ll never take it away. He was just born there. There is something noble about the fixed stove.”

Of course, he admits, the certainty that you can never remove a permanently installed oven from the restaurant area is something restaurateurs worry about. A fixed kiln invokes a frightening sense of permanence in a transitory industry. In January, just over three years after it opened, Donatella closed, leaving its gilded stove behind. Luckily, as Grub Street later reported, the group taking over this space will still be churning out Ferrara-oven pizza, as well as meat, fish, veggies and bread. When a fixed-oven pizza place falls on the ropes, an unofficial pizza-oven inheritance plan comes into play.

Looks

Finally, a certain superficiality explains the popularity of Stefano Ferrara stoves. Sure, the Neapolitan wood-fired oven can bake a pizza in two minutes or less at temperatures as high as 1000 degrees. It is hand built using techniques dating back nearly a century, by a man who prides himself on carefully crafting each and every piece to his customers exact specifications. But that’s not why Cane Rosso guests always try to snap photos in front of its red-and-white stoves, says Jay Jerrier.

While Ferrara ovens have a very classic dome shape, their competitors pursue a different aesthetic. Mario Acunto, for example, offers a couple of ovens with pointed domes. Appearance played a role in the choice of Stefano Ferrara’s stove. And it was also why Paulie Gee tracked down the maker of a stove he saw through a window in San Diego three years later. “I love the look,” he says.

There is also the personalization aspect of a Ferrara oven. Olsen, the Denver importer, points out that it’s quicker, and probably cheaper, for restaurateurs to order an unheated oven to customize themselves. But it is precisely this customization that leads these high-profile pizza makers to Stefano Ferrara’s ovens. They go back and forth with Stefano and Francesca Ferrera over the colors and styles of the tiles, emblazoned with their logos and restaurant names, before they even reach American shores. This customization helps Ferrara stoves stand out from their competitors, who generally prefer to ship their stoves unfinished. As Jerrier says, these contenders are “not nearly as sexy as Ferrara’s”.

The competition

But choosing a Ferrara oven is no indictment of its brick oven competitors. Olsen, who also imports two of Ferrara’s biggest competitors, Acunto Forni Mario and Acunto Forni Gianni, says it’s really “splitting hairs” when deciding between these stoves. “There is no better or best. There is something else,” she says.

Mario Acunto, for example, is an engineer. The bricks of his kilns are built at an angle to better hold the walls. He also offers three different oven shapes: Classic, Vulcano and Vulcano Extra. The legs of all these ovens can be retracted inwards. Gianni Acunto, on the other hand, only offers one stove shape but three different leg options: welded legs, removable legs or a stove set on a stand. Stefano Ferrara, Mario Acunto and Gianni Acunto stoves all have different heatsink sizes that allow for different cooling rates. And of course they all have different prices. But they should all make a delicious Neapolitan cake.

“If you look in the oven, there’s no difference,” says Palombino, who also owns an Acunto Gianni he inherited from Una Pizza Napoletana’s Anthony Mangieri in his East Village building. “There’s really no difference in the way they work. These guys buy all their bricks from the same brick factory. Of course I assume they have their own technique and way of doing things, but the final product is pretty much the same.”

And many cooks who use other ovens would argue that theirs are just as good, if not superior, to the Ferrara oven. Boston chefs recently spoke to Eater Boston about their love for their own pizza ovens — none of which were a Ferrara. Joe Cassinelli of Boston’s Posto and Painted Burro even went as far as to say that he believes his Valoriani Mugnaini kiln is more durable than the Ferrara he’s said to have had processing issues with. (No one interviewed for this article had heard of such problems.) Internet forums such as feature threads over threads discussing the relative merits of other competitor ovens such as Marra Forni, Forno Napoletana, Forno Bravo, Wood Stone and more .

For Palombino, the main difference is that these guys are not Stefano Ferrara. “If you go to Napoli, he shows you great places around,” says Palombino. “He comes with all the service. It’s not just the oven. The guy himself is very helpful for someone like me.”

A badge of honour

You can walk into a pizzeria without knowing anything about it, take a look at the oven and feel reassured when Stefano Ferrara is into it, according to I Dream of Pizza blogger Jason Feirman. “I think the first thing that comes to mind is, well, they must be doing something right.”

Feirman writes about pizza every week and is active in a community of pizza experts. However, Ferrara is the only oven builder whose name is so closely linked to a specific type of pizza. In a way, Ferrara is famous among stove builders, he says. “Is the quality that much better than an oven made in the United States? Probably not,” says Feirman. “But it’s an honor to have one of these because it has a reputation for being the best oven.”

And Stefano Ferrara stoves continue to spread across America. Paulie Gee will be exclusively using Ferrara stoves in its forthcoming national expansion. Jerrier also plans to stick with Ferrara on future Cane Rosso expansions, perhaps even a fixed stove next time. Ferrara says he doesn’t like counting the number of ovens he builds and ships overseas. “I believe the importance is in the details, not the numbers,” he writes. “Would it make sense to claim to have built a thousand kilns if those kilns were poorly made and might not satisfy customers?”

But Feirman says pizzeria owners seem content with their Ferrara ovens, which offer an experience. They offer a customer service experience that allows a pizza maker to build a relationship with Naples. They give a pizzeria the look and feel of Naples. And they produce pizza that tastes like you might try in Naples. All of these things may come with a cost — and a lot of effort — but for some of these pizzeria owners, it’s all worth it.

“Those guys have been making it over there in Napoli for so long,” says Motorino’s Palombino. “You know it’s the right stuff.”

When testing the best outdoor pizza ovens, two devices stood out: the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox. Each was propane powered, highly effective, easy to set up, and relatively portable. But when it comes to the very best outdoor pizza oven, which one makes the most wonderful margherita? Who is the char champion? Which… okay, we’ll stop.

If you’re considering an outdoor pizza oven as a gift or home improvement investment for 2022, we decided to take a deep dive into the two ovens to see which one really is the top crust of outdoor pizza ovens. We are guided by five criteria: price, structure, design, cooking performance and portability. This is how Ooni Koda 16 and Gozney Roccbox stack up.

Ooni Koda vs Gozney Roccbox: Price

The Ooni Koda 16 is more expensive, priced at $599 compared to the Gozney Roccbox’s $499. In addition, the Gozney Roccbox includes a stainless steel pizza peel with the oven; With Ooni, you have to buy the stainless steel bowls separately ($35). And since the Ooni Koda doesn’t have a built-in thermometer, we also recommend spending $39.99 on the brand’s infrared thermometer.

Should you opt for a smaller 12-inch Koda, you’ll only be spending $399, but you’ll still have to pay for a bowl and thermometer. So in that particular category, the Roccbox rocks for including the bells and whistles in its $499 price tag.

Winner: Gozney Roccbox

Ooni Koda vs. Gozney Roccbox: build-up

Both the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox have an incredibly minimal setup. With the Ooni Koda, all you have to do is unfold the three carbon steel legs and slide the cordierite pizza stone into the oven, which only takes a few seconds. The Gozney Roccbox pizza stone is already fitted in the oven, but the gas tank needs to be fitted in the back. Since the process only takes slightly longer, the Ooni Koda wins on the setup front.

Winner: Ooni Koda 16

Ooni Koda vs. Gozney Roccbox: Design

Compared to many other outdoor pizza oven models on the market, the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox both live in the sleek, modern homeware category. The Ooni Koda is certainly pleasing to look at with its black double-coated carbon steel body. The Roccbox’s overall design is more attractive, however, with its long, dome-shaped oven, perforated stainless steel legs, and domed oven mouth. In addition, the Roccbox has a few other features that combine form and function, such as: B. A colorful, easy-to-read thermometer and an outer silicone coating that’s cooler to the touch. The coating is also available in two colors – gray and olive – allowing consumers to personalize their ovens.

Winner: Gozney Roccbox

Ooni Koda vs. Gozney Roccbox: Cooking Achievement

Both the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox work by connecting to a propane tank, and both ovens have an open flame that will cook pizzas in minutes. However, the Ooni Koda’s heat source is an L-shaped flame at the back of the stove, while the Gozney Roccbox’s heat comes from a flame at the back of the stove, rolling through the top of the dome-shaped interior. Both have the ability to reach up to 950 degrees F and heat up to the desired cooking temperature for pizza (700 to 800 degrees) in 20-30 minutes.

We’ve found the Ooni Koda’s L-shaped tartes flambées cook more evenly and require fewer turns than the Gozney Roccbox – plus the larger cooking surface means you can make larger pizzas if you so choose. Both ovens were capable of baking beautifully charred, evenly cooked pizzas in just 2-3 minutes, but the Ooni’s L-shaped flame gives it the slightest advantage.

Winner: Ooni Koda 16

Ooni Koda vs. Gozney Roccbox: Portability

Today’s outdoor pizza ovens are lighter and more portable than their more traditional, freestanding counterparts (imagine building a wood-fired oven in your backyard). Both ovens weigh less than 45 pounds: the Ooni Koda 16 weighs just over 40 pounds, while the Gozney Roccbox weighs 44 pounds. Because of its slimmer shape and lighter weight, we call the Ooni Koda the champion of this model.

Winner: Ooni Koda 16

Ooni Koda 16 x Gozney Roccbox: Overall Winner

Make no mistake; Both the Ooni Koda 15 and the Gozney Roccbox make fantastic pizzas, are easy to use and look great. When choosing a winner, the smallest of factors mattered. Based on the five criteria above – price, facility, design, cooking performance and portability – the Ooni Koda 16 is our top pick for outdoor pizza ovens. It’s more expensive than the Gozney Roccbox, however, and you’ll need to buy a few accessories, further pushing the price up. If you want a smaller, more affordable oven, Ooni also makes a 12-inch version of the Koda; You still need to buy a pizza peel, but the overall cost is about the same as the Roccbox.

The best pizza ovens may be a bit out of season, but once summer arrives they always sell out. Combine that with the wait time on some of our top Ooni and Gozney ovens, and you’ll be glad you started your research now.

Many of the best pizza ovens have different fuel modes to choose from, and while it’s common to opt for a wood-fired pizza oven to cook your Neapolitan, we’re interested in a gas pizza oven because of the convenient controls. We’ve also included a Breville indoor pizza oven in our guide that can be plugged in whether you’re in the kitchen or out on the porch.

While we haven’t tried all of the best pizza ovens in our guide, we’ve included some of our Homes & Gardens-approved models. During the review, we made delicious margaritas and tested how evenly the pizza stone heated and how long it took to reach the higher temperatures. For more outdoor essentials, check out Best Grills and Best Gas Grills.

The best pizza oven of 2022

(Image credit: Ooni)

1. Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven The Best Pizza Oven Ever Specifications Fuel Type: Wood, Charcoal, and Gas (Gas burners sold separately) External Dimensions: 15 3/4 x 28 3/4 x 28 3/4 in (including chimney) cooking surface : 33 x 33 cm Best type of pizza: Homemade, especially Neapolitan pizza and deep dish pizza Reasons to buy + Can use four different fuels with this oven + Cordierite stone baking board is durable + Chimney flue can be adjusted Airflow reasons to avoid – Gas burner sold separately Today’s Best Deals View on Cuckooland (opens in a new tab) View on Amazon (opens in a new tab) View on John Lewis (opens in a new tab)

Buy the Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven and your home will quickly become the home of family and friends who will be blown away by the cooking power of this oven. What makes it the best pizza oven is that it is designed to use gas, wood, charcoal, or wood and charcoal fuel. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with an Ooni gas burner, but you probably won’t be in any hurry to make that purchase after cooking a pizza on charcoal or wood fuel. The taste is second to none.

what we love

The Ooni Karu comes already assembled, which means all you have to do is unfold the legs and make specific accessory adjustments depending on what type of fuel you’re using. For example, you would need to attach the chimney flue for charcoal or wood fuel and remove the flue and replace it with a cap if using gas.

There are advantages to using gas, wood or charcoal with this stove. Using a propane tank to fire the pizza oven is a quick and easy setup with virtually no cleanup time. Charcoal and wood require you to empty the ash from the fuel tray after cooking, but it’s hard to beat the incredible smoky flavor imbibed by the toppings, cheese and crust when using these fuel types. (Pro tip: Use charcoal to cook a deep dish pizza, wood for a Neapolitan pizza, and both charcoal and wood at the same time for the best of both worlds.)

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Made from Cordierite stone, the baking board is durable and can withstand extreme temperatures, which is good as the oven can reach up to 950 degrees. The board is there to cook the batter on the bottom and leave a charred, crunchy effect on the crust. As with most pizza ovens, it may take a few tries to figure out how to turn the pizza so it cooks evenly on all sides, but when you do you’ll be surprised that it only takes a minute to complete one to achieve cooked pizza and ready-to-eat Neapolitan pizza cake.

Homes & Gardens rated 5 stars out of 5

(Image credit: Gozney Roccbox)

2. Gozney Roccbox The Premium Pizza Oven Specifications Fuel Type: Gas and Wood (Wood Burner Attachment sold separately) External Dimensions: 16.3 x 21 x 18.6 inches Cooking Surface: 12.4 x 13.4 inches Best Type of Pizza: Homemade, special Neapolitan Reasons to Buy + Includes a professional pizza peel and carrying strap + Silicone sleeve makes it safe to touch + Can make a Neapolitan pizza in a minute Reasons to avoid – Wood burner attachment sold separately Today’s Best Deals See on Amazon (opens in new tab)

Portability makes the Gozney Roccbox a magical pizza oven. It arrives at your door pre-assembled in the box with a black Velcro strap wrapped around the unit. You can literally pick it up, put it outside, and start cooking soon after.

what we love

There’s a lot to love about the design. The built-in thermometer is handy, and the touch-safe silicone case (in green or gray) means you can touch the exterior without worrying about getting burned. This is important as the interior reaches 950 degrees.

Roccbox has retractable legs and when unfolded you can easily attach the gas burner to the chassis. While gas is the standard fuel for Roccbox, Gozney has a detachable wood burner if you wish to order it as an additional accessory. In reality, it may not be necessary. The flame power is intense and the unique rolling flame design mimics that of a wood burning stove.

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Although you can only fit one pizza (12″ diameter max) in the Roccbox at a time, this isn’t really a problem as the oven can cook a Neapolitan pizza in a minute. An added bonus? The Roccbox includes a professional pizza peel so you can easily put the pizza in and out of the oven. Gozney offers a rotary slider (at an additional cost) that comes in handy when flipping the pizza to get a quality crisp all around the edges of the cake.

Homes & Gardens rated 4.5 stars out of 5. Our full Gozney Roccbox review has more details

(Image credit: Breville)

3. Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven The best indoor pizza oven Pizza oven reaches 750 degrees + Can cook any type of pizza in this oven, including frozen pizzas + Preset buttons to cook different types of pizza Wood-fired oven Today’s best deals On very.co. View uk (opens in new tab) View on AO.com (opens in new tab) View Amazon (opens in new tab)

The Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo is the answer to a quick and hassle-free pizza night. This electric pizza oven is designed for indoor use, making it the perfect option for those who don’t have a patio or don’t need a large pizza oven. The countertop oven is the first of its kind to reach temperatures of 750 degrees Fahrenheit. What does that mean? It can cook a 12-inch pizza in just two minutes.

what we love

The intelligent Element iQ system regulates the power so that the oven mimics the type of heat produced in a brick oven. The idea is that the pizza tastes similar to a wood-fired pizza, without the wood. You can also set the oven to cook different types of pizza – like New York, skillet, thin and crispy, or frozen pizza.

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However, the independently steered deck of natural cordierite stone is the star of the show. It sits above an Incoloy heating element, which provides that leopard-spot charred finish you can typically only get from a wood-fired pizza oven. A manual mode lets you control the deck and top temperatures to your liking, although most people use the oven’s set functions for a more seamless cooking experience.

To top it off, the exterior of the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo can be touched while in use, making it a safe option for kids who want to help out with pizza night.

Homes & Gardens rated 5 stars out of 5. Our full Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo review has more details

(Image credit: Ooni)

4. Ooni Fyra The Best Wood Hopper Pizza Oven Specifications Fuel Type: Wood Pellets External Dimensions: 18.9 x 10.24 x 27.17 inches Cooking Area: 12 x 12 inches Best Type of Pizza: Authentic Wood Fired Pizzas Reasons to Buy + Innovative Wood Hopper Chute + Excellent Heat Retention + Modernity powder-coated carbon steel shell Reasons to avoid – You have limited fuel options Today’s Best Deals View on Amazon (opens in new tab)

The Ooni Fyra is Ooni’s flagship wood-fired pizza oven. It has a unique wood pellet hopper on the back for easy fueling, and the 12-inch dimensions are perfect for cooking generous pizzas in a modest oven.

what we love

Assembly was so easy we were ready to cook in minutes. It’s small, light weight and comes pretty much assembled. All you have to do is take the funnel and chimney out of the cavity and you can start filling the fuel basket with wood pellets.

The stove has a small viewing hole to help you see how well your fire is burning and thanks to the automatic funnel it is very easy to refill fuel. If you would choose a smoker as the ideal grill, you will also enjoy wood pellets in your pizza oven.

It took us a few tries to get our pizza absolutely perfect, but by the time we got to the third try, we felt like pros and the assembly line was running smoothly. The stove is also incredibly easy to clean, simply empty the ash and wipe clean.

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The chimney comes with a lid to protect the stove from unexpected rain and the same goes for the funnel. At only 22 pounds, it’s also very portable.

Homes & Gardens rated 5 stars out of 5

(Image credit: Ooni)

5. Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven The Best Ooni Pizza Oven for Multi-Fuel Cooking Specifications Fuel Type: Wood and Gas External Dimensions: 33 x 32 x 20 inches Cooking Area: 16.7 x 16.7 inches Best Type of Pizza : Speedy Neapolitans Reasons to Buy + Window for easy viewing + Very fast heat up + Extra large capacity + Multiple fuel types Reasons to avoid – Window has gotten a little smoke Today’s Best Deals View of Cuckooland (opens in new tab) View of John Lewis (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab)

We loved the Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven when we tested it. It’s a generously sized oven that’s not easy to store, but is surprisingly light and perfect for placing in an outdoor kitchen.

what we love

The door has a unique hinge feature that makes it easy to rotate your pizzas while they’re baking. It also has a see-through panel, meaning you can keep an eye on your pizza pie as it bakes. However, it smoked a bit while cooking.

Another great addition is the built-in thermometer, which is digital and shows the temperature variations as your pizza oven bakes. This is perfect for consistency between different pizzas.

features

The Ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven features cordierite pizza stones and a 16-inch cooking area for large pizzas. Note that the gas burner is not included, so there will be an additional cost if you choose to cook with gas.

Homes & Gardens rated 5 stars out of 5. Our full Ooni Karu 16 review (opens in new tab) has more details.

Buy direct from Ooni.com (opens in new tab)

(Image credit: Bertello)

6. Bertello Outdoor Pizza Oven The Best Pizza Oven Specifications Fuel Type: Wood, Charcoal External Dimensions: 24″ x 14″ x 10.5″ Cooking Area: 12.5″ wide x 13.5″ deep Best Type of Pizza: Authentically wood-fired and slow-cooked Charcoal meat and bread Reasons to buy + Reasonable price + Runs up to 930 degrees + No chimney makes it very portable Reasons to avoid – You can add gas but it costs extra Today’s best deals See Amazon (will be published in opened in a new tab) Check out Amazon (opens in a new tab)

The Bertello outdoor pizza oven is one of the most affordable outdoor pizza ovens you can buy. Its matte black exterior and wood-accented handle give balconies a modern and compact look, and since the legs fold away, it offers a great element of portability.

what we love

This oven heats up to 500 degrees, which is the perfect temperature for baking thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas. If you turn the temperature down, you can also make thick-crust New York-style pizzas or pizza pies.

features

The oven comes with a pizza stone insert, a scoop for wood chips and pellets, a tray for safe burning and removal, and a pizza scoop for safely adding and removing your pizza from the oven.

(Image credit: Ooni)

7. Ooni Pro 16 outdoor pizza oven The best multi-fuel pizza oven Specifications Fuel type: Wood, Charcoal, Gas External dimensions: 50 x 70 x 80 cm Cooking surface: 40 cm Best type of pizza: Large Reasons to buy + Large enough to fit a 16″ Pizza + Wood fuel produces unmatched flavor + Comes with the convenience of gas fuel Reasons to Avoid – Isn’t as portable as some of the smaller pizza ovens Today’s Best Deals Check out Amazon (opens in new tab)

The Ooni Pro Large Multi Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven is a large and powerful portable pizza oven with a variety of fuel types to choose from. You can cook on charcoal for slow and low meats, or use gas or firewood for a hot pizza that’s ready in less than 60 seconds.

what we love

The Ooni Pro heats up to 950°F in under half an hour, is insulated and comes with a pizza stone for large and even pizzas. It can be used to roast meat, fish and vegetable dishes, as well as pizza.

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The legs fold down for easier transport, but as it’s a larger option it’s not the most portable in our guide.

(Image credit: Talavera)

8. Talavera Tile Pizza Oven The best traditional wood-fired pizza oven suits many outdoor patio designs + Gives pizzas a wood-fired flavor + Offers a more traditional pizza-making experience Reasons to avoid – Requires additional materials like sand – Pizzas take 5-10 to bake minutes Today’s Best Deals Check out Amazon (opens in new tab) Visit website (opens in new tab)

Ask any pizza connoisseur and they will argue that pizza is best cooked in a wood-fired oven. The taste is second to none. So if you’re a traditionalist at heart, you’ll love the Talavera Tile Pizza Oven.

what we love

This pizza oven was handmade in Mexico. The hearth is made of cement while the outer material is made of clay. The deep, rich brown color is complemented by colorful Talavera tiles, resulting in an almost southwestern design that easily blends into many outdoor settings.

A 15″ x 15″ homemade pizza – not a frozen pizza – is best prepared for the Vesuvius pizza oven. To start you will need to purchase a small sandbag to place in the 1 inch of the bottom of the pizza oven before lighting a fire. The sand forms an isolation barrier. The oven comes with two volcanic pizza stones that should be placed on the sand. Choose from seasonal hardwoods like maple or ash, although oak is always a good choice. For a nice smoky flavor, choose fruit woods like cherry or hickory.

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Once you light the fire you will have to wait 20-30 minutes before putting your pizza cake inside. The maximum temperature of the oven is 650 degrees, but you can start baking at 350 degrees by checking the temperature through the chimney function on top of the oven (you will need your own thermometer). It takes about 5 to 10 minutes for the pizza to be ready.

(Image credit: Alfa)

9. ALFA FX4PIZ-LRAM Wood Fired Pizza Oven The best professional standard pizza oven to buy + Seriously professional design + Capacity for four pizzas + Heat and weather resistant exterior + Large and premium design Reasons to avoid – Very expensive Today’s best deals.

If you want the best of the best, look no further than the ALFA FX4PIZ-LRAM wood-fired pizza oven. This pizza oven was designed to be displayed and has a huge capacity.

what we love

Bake up to four pizzas at the same time in the ALFA FX4PIZ-LRAM wood-fired pizza oven. It works just like a restaurant standard pizza oven, using wood-fired power and an enormous temperature range of up to 950°F.

It has two side shelves that can be used to store pizza peels and other tools. They even have plates ready to be filled with delicious pizzas.

Everything about it is pure quality. The two-layer dust coating is heat and weather resistant.

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The ceramic fiber insulation ensures long-lasting warmth, and the pyrometer helps you monitor the temperature of the interior.

Assembly is easy. Simply screw on the side shelves and the chimney. It is delivered on wheels, i. H. if you want to get it out of the way for different events, that’s easy to do.

What to look for when buying the best pizza oven?

fuel type and taste

Fuel is the most important factor when purchasing a pizza oven, as it determines the additional cost (for the fuel), oven heat-up time, cleaning procedures, and the flavor of the pizza.

Wood-fired pizza ovens produce the best pizza flavor because they add great smoky, charred flavor to the crust, cheese, and toppings. Some fruitwoods can add a slightly sweet flavor. A bag of lumber costs $5 to $15 a bag (depending on what size you buy), so it’s pretty affordable. However, it does require some cleanup and a bit of a learning curve. Lighting and nurturing a fire is sometimes easier said than done. Regardless of your fire starting skill, it will take 10-15 minutes for the fire to reach the right temperature for cooking.

Charcoal, which can be combined with wood to fuel certain pizza ovens, offers an almost similar experience and flavor to wood. Like wood, it’s not too expensive ($5 to $15). Most quality pizza ovens have a tray that catches the ash for easy disposal, but like wood, it takes time for the oven to reach the right temperature. Deep dish pizzas are best made with charcoal.

Electric pizza ovens are great, but they’re usually only designed for indoor use. Keep in mind that electric pizza ovens are not yet able to achieve that smoky woody flavor that only wood and charcoal can produce.

Types of Pizza

Most pizza ovens are designed to be able to cook homemade pizzas like Neapolitan and deep dish pizzas – not the pre-made frozen pizzas you would find in the frozen section of your grocery store. There are exceptions to the rule, like the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, an indoor electric pizza oven that can accommodate frozen pizzas.

(Image credit: Breville)

cooking time

If you buy a quality pizza oven like the one featured here, you can expect your pizza to be ready in as little as 1 minute and up to 10 minutes – which is a lot quicker than a pizza delivery company. For families that are always on the run, it might be better to buy a gas-powered pizza oven or an indoor electric pizza oven, as they heat up much faster and require a lot less prep and clean-up time.

size

It can be easy to overlook the size of a pizza oven, but take a moment to consider the measurements. If you are working with a small patio or no patio at all, an indoor pizza oven may be the right choice. While the Forno Venetzia Pronto 500 could perhaps be stored outside all year round, smaller pizza ovens like the Roccbox or the Ooni should be stored inside so make sure you have the space for it.

maneuverability

The quality and craftsmanship of the Ooni and Roccbox pizza ovens are great, but the fact that you can just pack them in your car and take them to a friend, on a camping trip or to the local park makes these two very special.

We independently research, test, review and recommend the best products – learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may receive a commission.

There is a wide range of pizza ovens available on the market, from brick, gas or wood-fired outdoor ovens to countertop models for indoor use. Some are small and portable, and some will make quite a statement in your garden. After evaluating the market, we selected 21 models to test side by side in our lab. We’ve made dozens of pizzas in a variety of styles and evaluated the consistency of the results. We also measured preheat time and maximum temperatures. Each pizza oven was evaluated for assembly, heat control, performance and portability. Knowing that home cooks use pizza ovens in a variety of ways—and to get even more hands-on observations—we also sent several models to our expert home testers for further review.

A good pizza oven is capable of reaching high temperatures without the long preheating times and extensive cleaning that traditional kitchen ovens require. In addition, a pizza oven is often much more versatile than the name suggests. It can be used to achieve perfectly seared steaks, fried fish with extra crispy skin, flavorful vegetables and more.

After rigorous testing, Ooni Koda 12 outdoor gas powered pizza oven is your best choice. This gas oven is easy to use, portable and will eject a cooked pizza in 60 seconds! For an indoor model, check out the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, which mimics wood-fired pizza ovens with incredible results.

Homemade pizza is often fun and delicious to eat, but a kitchen oven can’t quite replicate a restaurant pizza, made in pizza ovens over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. This is where a pizza oven comes in.

“This oven is so easy to use. You can’t screw him up. It cooked evenly, with a nicely puffed crust and a golden and crispy bottom.”

Our only complaint with this device was the setup, but once assembled it’s incredibly easy to use. While it’s not the lightest pizza oven on the list, you should be able to pack it in the car for camping trips, tailgate, and more.

When you want to sear steaks, cook hamburgers or fry eggs, there’s a double-hinged lid that folds up and down and built-in storage for the cooking grate and griddle.

In testing, it took 15 minutes to reach 600 degrees Fahrenheit at the front of the oven. It features a nice oven-style opening with a lid that folds down, and our testers found it easy to flip the pizzas, which you only have to do once halfway through the bake. That means you need minimal maintenance on your pizzas, but you still end up with evenly cooked cheese and a crispy crust.

If you want to get the most out of your outdoor pizza oven, the Cuisinart 3-in-1 Pizza Oven Plus offers versatility, portability, and performance—and it’s one of the more affordable options on the list. In addition to making pizzas with the included 13-inch cordierite pizza stone, this Cuisinart oven can double as a grill with 260 square inches of cooking space or as a griddle with 233 square inches of space. Despite all these features, our lab testers were most impressed with how easy this model is to use as a pizza oven and the consistency of the finished cakes.

You may have noticed a few versions of the Presto Pizzazz while browsing for used models. While the packaging and finishes have changed a bit from time to time, the pizza maker and its controls have remained essentially the same on each model.

In lab tests, it took a while to heat up and crust browning was a bit uneven, but the cheese melted well and the pepperoni on the frozen pizza crisped up nicely. We like that a timer automatically turns off the heat so you can walk away without worrying about a burnt pizza, and an audible beep lets you know your pizza is ready. The pizza tray is removable and has a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.

The pizza tray rotates continuously to cook the pizza evenly without burning. It heats from both above and below, and the heating elements can be controlled separately. So if the crust is browned before the cheese is gooey, you can turn up the top heat and turn down the bottom heat.

If you’d rather cook your pizza indoors but don’t want to heat up your oven and kitchen, the Presto Pizzazz Plus rotary pizza oven will get the job done – and it’s fun to watch. The main selling points of this model are its budget-friendly price and portability.

“It’s very easy to maneuver the pizza and you don’t have to turn it as often as you would with a typical pizza oven.”

Since this relies on the grill for the heat source, the maximum temperature will depend on the power of the grill. A similar kit is also available for charcoal grills.

While our home tester found this kit to be a much better option than trying to cook a pizza right on the grill, she cautioned about a learning curve and was disappointed by the lack of instructions. It’s worth noting that our lab testers didn’t report the same issues.

Our home tester has used the Onlyfire kit with her Weber grill as well as a smaller pellet grill with no issues. The included pizza stone is 14 inches tall and a 13.5 inch wide pizza shovel is included to get the pizza in and out of the oven clean. It’s also easy to flip the pizza while it’s baking.

The insert is made from stainless steel with a double walled roof to retain heat and has a thermometer on one corner for easy checking of the internal temperature. Our lab testers and home testers agreed that this insert yielded much better results than baking a pizza on a grill alone. It took about 15 minutes to get to 690 F at the front of the oven and we found the pizza stone held the heat well. This is a low and slow option for pizzas. In testing, the bake times were longer than other ovens (it took us 9 minutes to bake a top-notch pizza), but we found the baking process to be consistent and the results desirable.

If you have a gas grill, you might not just need another outdoor appliance for pizza. The Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit is an insert designed to be used in a gas grill – with the lid open. It provides a perfect spot to evenly cook pizzas on the top and bottom, which you can’t do by simply tossing a pizza onto the cooking grates or onto a pizza stone on the grill. The base is 17 inches square so it’s wise to measure your grill to make sure it will fit, but assembly couldn’t be simpler – pull it out of the box and tape it onto the grill.

This can be used for not only pizza but other baking or roasting projects and it comes with two probe thermometers that plug into sockets on the front of the oven. Accessories are coming later this year that make the oven even more versatile.

It may take a while to heat up, but the results are worth it, according to both lab and home testers. It’s definitely a waste, but fun to use. You can make a thinner, minimally topped pizza in just about 30 seconds! Our home tester found cooking with gas a little easier, but loved the smoky flavor that cooking with wood provided. In testing, we saw consistent results with both methods, as well as with all types of pizza.

In lab tests, it took 45 minutes to reach the maximum temperature, so plan ahead with this model. Because the oven is so big, you can play around with where you place your cake depending on how close to the heat you want it. After 45 minutes it was 750F on the back of the oven, 720F on the front, 900F on the left and 700F on the right. Its size also makes it easy to turn the pizza.

The Gozney Dome is a heavy beast, weighing 128 pounds, requiring two people to safely lift it onto a table or cart. While Gozney’s cart must be purchased separately, it is recommended as it is designed to support the weight of the oven and the four casters allow the oven to be repositioned. The oven comes mostly assembled, however you do need to insert the included battery into the digital display and then a short burn-in is required before first use.

If you want a high-end pizza oven but don’t want to build an actual brick oven in the backyard, the Gozney Dome can step up to the plate. It has a wide opening that can accommodate larger pizzas (15 or 16 inches), although the largest pizzas may be more difficult to fit and far enough away from the flames. The dual-fuel stove can burn propane or wood, and the stove has a built-in thermometer that makes it easy to check the internal temperature.

Before the Ooni Karu, there was the Ooni 3, which offered similar options for wood-fired pizza. The Ooni 3 was one of the first low-cost pizza ovens available to the public, which helped start the high-quality homemade pizza revolution we’re seeing now. It was discontinued in early 2020 to make way for two more advanced models, the Karu and the Fyra. If you still have the Ooni 3 and are interested in the gas burner connection, you can use the same attachment as with the Karu 12.

When it’s time to move or pack away, the legs fold up for a smaller footprint, and it’s light enough to move easily. Ooni offers a three-year guarantee when you buy direct from their website.

A chimney baffle controls heat by adjusting the flow of oxygen for high heat or for low and slow cooking. A rear port makes it easy to add more fuel for longer cooking sessions or add new wood for different flavors. There’s a bit of a learning curve and ways to play around with temperature control like moving the pizza from the back of the oven to the front, but both lab testers and our home tester described cooking with this oven as pure fun. And if you want to go beyond pizza night, our home tester successfully baked cornbread and grilled hot dogs.

While the manufacturer says this oven can get to 950F in just 15 minutes, we found it took a little longer. However, after heating up, the oven held the temperature well and baked the pizzas evenly as long as you turn them frequently (every 15 seconds). Supreme pizzas, whole wheat pizzas and veggie pizzas all came out perfectly in our tests. Pizzas can be made in just 45 seconds!

Setup is easy, but due to the multi-fuel capability, there are a few more components to consider than other models. The body is stainless steel with ceramic fiber insulation, so it retains heat, while the included Ooni brick retains heat for a perfect crust every time.

There’s something about the flavor of wood fire cooking that makes it incredibly appealing, and the Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven can deliver since it runs on wood or charcoal like many grills. You can take some hickory, mesquite, and maple wood for their unique flavors, or load it up with charcoal. It can also be used with gas if you purchase the gas burner (sold separately). This pizza oven delivered delicious results in both laboratory and home tests.

“The pizza is evenly baked and the crust is crispy and brown. The toppings were nicely done and the cheese had some great golden brown spots.”

It comes with a stainless steel pizza scraper to slide pizzas in and out of the oven and a carbon steel pan with detachable handle for thicker cakes. While the metal spatula works for taking pizzas out of the oven and is fine for frozen pizzas, our home tester said the dough sticks no matter how much cornmeal you use, which is why she recommends a wooden spatula. The oven itself is attractive enough to stand on the counter, and while it’s a bit larger for a toaster-oven-style oven, it’s still easy enough to move or store on a shelf.

The pizza stone is designed to produce the essential charcoal you would find on a wood-fired pizza, while radiant heat creates the attractive leopard-spot crust. Convection heat cooks the cheese and toppings perfectly. Unlike ovens that only allow general temperature control, this one has separate controls for the top and bottom heating elements for custom cooking options. Our tester used these controls to make nachos and called the Breville “the ideal nacho machine.”

Like other Breville smart machines, this one has user-friendly settings so you can easily choose between a thin-crust frozen pizza, a deep dish, or a wood-fired pizza. It is also possible to adjust the settings to achieve the perfect results for each style of pizza and personal preference. In lab tests, we’ve successfully baked a frozen pizza in 15 minutes using the oven’s preset option, with fantastic results – nicely browned crust and golden brown cheese. Our home tester successfully baked everything from a frozen pizza to a thin margherita pizza to a pan pizza with cheese and a meaty Bolognese. You won’t get quite the same smoky flavor as you would from a wood-fired grill, but for ease of use and convenience, the Breville can’t be beat.

With an indoor pizza oven, you don’t have to worry about weather, fire, or lighting conditions, so they’re often easier and more convenient than outdoor options. Unlike a standard oven or countertop oven, this Breville pizza oven can reach 750 F, the temperature required for authentic pizza. It’s well insulated so the exterior feels pretty cool despite the super high heat, although it will smoke a bit.

If you need more space, this model has a bigger brother, the Ooni Koda 16, which can handle pizzas up to 16 inches and can also be converted to run on natural gas. It performed similarly well in lab tests compared to the Koda 12, but takes longer to heat up and is more expensive.

It’s not fully weatherproof, but it’s easy to move out of inclement weather and cleaning is easy. Ooni offers a three-year guarantee when you buy direct from their website.

Our home tester went beyond pizza and used it to cook whole fish, steak, lamb chops, pineapple, tomatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, beets and other vegetables and was happy with all the results. For pizza and more, our home tester called this oven “an exceptional oven at a reasonable price.”

We also rated its consistency when making multiple back-to-back pizzas with evenly melted cheese and perfectly cooked toppings. Our testers found that there’s a slight learning curve to turning your pizza evenly, but using a smaller bowl helped a lot. This cooks fairly evenly, but you have to turn the pizza every 20 seconds or it will burn. It takes a second to get the hang of it, but it’s easy to make the pizzas once you’ve got the hang of it.

In lab tests, the Ooni Koda 12 took 15 minutes to reach the recommended temperature. The manufacturer states that it takes 15 minutes to reach 950F, and although we measured the back of the oven at 830F during that period, we felt this was very hot and one of the fastest preheat times of all ovens tested by us. With super high heat, the Ooni Koda can bake 12 pizzas in 1 minute, which we found to be true when cooking our whole wheat cake. The best pizza we’ve made only took 30 seconds longer.

This is an attractive stove with a sleek, chimney-free design and three legs that keep it stable on any surface. The body is powder coated cold rolled steel with stainless steel accents. Our testers found it easy to carry, weighing in at just under 30 pounds. When it’s time to stow or travel, the legs fold down. It comes with a stone baking board for the perfect pizza crust that can handle pizzas up to 13 inches (pizza stone is 13 1/4 inches wide).

Ooni is a big name in pizza ovens, so it’s no surprise that the brand is at the top of our list. The Ooni Koda 12 is one of Ooni’s more affordable models, but after thorough testing in both the lab and at home, we felt it was our overall best pick for a variety of reasons. First, it couldn’t be easier to set up and use. Take it out of the box, open the legs and you’re good to go.

Final Verdict The Ooni Koda 12 Gas Outdoor Pizza Oven is our top pick for its unique combination of consistently authentic results, portability and eye-catching design. It has outperformed the other models in lab tests and comes at a reasonable price. If you’re looking for an indoor option, we recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo pizza oven. Offering versatile temperature control and user-friendly settings, it achieved excellent results in both lab and home tests.

As we tested

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

After researching top-rated pizza ovens from popular brands, including newcomers and long-standing favorites, we sent 21 models to our dedicated lab to test side-by-side. We looked at a variety of price points, sizes, and fuel types, and included both interior and exterior models in our tests. Dozens of pizzas were cooked, including plain cheeses and fully loaded pies, to test texture in back-to-back casseroles. We also measured the maximum temperature, preheat time and baking time. For our indoor models, we cooked frozen pizza according to the instructions on the packet. Each pizza oven was evaluated for assembly, heat control, performance and portability.

We also sent several pizza ovens to our experienced testers at home to put through their paces in their gardens and kitchens. Beyond making pizza, they tested its versatility, using it to sear meat, grill fish, roast vegetables, and more. They also rated maintainability and portability to assess whether these devices really deserve a place in your home.

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

Other options we tested

Ooni Karu 16: This is the newer, larger version of the Karu 12, which we rated Best for Wood Fired Pizzas. The Karu 16 performed well in lab tests, but it takes much longer to heat up than the Karu 12 due to its size. We also found that we got the best results with low and slow cooking – at higher temperatures our results were inconsistent. We would choose the Karu 12 because of the extra price and the fact that it requires two people to move.

Ooni Frya 12: If you are looking for a wood pellet pizza oven, the Ooni Frya 12 is definitely an option. In testing, it produced an evenly cooked pizza with nice charring and a gorgeous crust. You have to pay attention and make sure that the flame is where it should be and that there is always enough wood. We also found it to be on the slower end for the cook times. Structure and operation are definitely more complicated than gas models. In the end we decided that we preferred Ooni’s other offerings, but if you love the smell of a campfire, you’ll get exactly that with this one – and the pizzas taste good too.

Gozney Roccbox: Before Gozney launched the Dome, the brand was known for their forward-thinking Roccbox pizza oven, which could run on gas or wood. We tested the Roccbox in the lab and it got high marks for its thermal control and performance. In fact, it only took 15 minutes to reach the maximum temperature compared to the Dome’s long 45-minute preheat time. Our home tester also made authentic Neapolitan pies in 1-3 minutes, and the results were consistent and delicious. However, its portability is lacking at over £60 and the price seems high for what you’re getting. If you really want to splurge and are looking for a sturdily built backyard pizza oven that doesn’t require you to move much, we give the Dome a nod. And if you want something smaller and more portable, we’ve found that there are much cheaper options with the same performance as the Roccbox.

Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven: This oven was featured in an earlier version of this round-up because it received a glowing review from one of our home testers. However, it lacked performance compared to the competition in lab tests. Our home testers and lab testers agreed that there’s a serious learning curve with this oven, and it’s very easy to get undercooked or burnt pizza slices. It’s also bulky. So you may be able to make a better pizza than you can in your home oven, but our list includes much more effective and user-friendly pizza ovens.

What to look out for when buying a pizza oven

The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

location and size

Before considering anything else, you should decide where you will place your pizza oven and how much space you have to use it comfortably. If you live in an apartment or house with limited outdoor space, you probably need a smaller indoor electric stove. Electric ovens typically hold up to a 12-inch pizza and take up a moderate amount of counter space during use.

If you can invest in an outdoor pizza oven, you have many more options. Most of the pizza ovens discussed here simply require a sturdy wood, metal, or stone surface large enough to stand your oven on without the risk of it tipping over. The overall size of the oven largely depends on how large the cooking area is inside the oven. On average, most pizza ovens can comfortably hold a 12- to 13-inch pizza, while larger models can handle up to 16-inch pizzas.

The Spruce Eats / Stacy K. Allen

heating

When it comes to pizza ovens, you want the hottest you can afford. Ideally you want to bake your pizza at 750 F or higher. An authentic Neapolitan pizza is traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven at a minimum of 800 F and is ready in 60 to 90 seconds. This may sound extreme, but remember that most of these pizzas are made in large, wood-fired brick ovens that produce hundreds of pizzas a day. You can get pretty close to home with several outdoor models designed to burn wood and reach temperatures of 800 to 900 F.

To retain heat and achieve these high temperatures, many ovens have an insulated or double-layered ceiling to concentrate the heat in the oven. Some ovens have dual heating elements on both the top and bottom of the oven to regulate the baking of both the crust and toppings.

While many pizza ovens claim to distribute heat evenly throughout the oven, you’ll likely need to turn the pizza once or twice during the cooking process — even for pizzas that only bake for a minute or two. It only takes a few tries to get used to handling a pizza peel to move your dough.

The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

draft

Almost all small and medium sized pizza ovens on the market today have a streamlined, contemporary look with a stainless steel top and inner pizza stone baking surface. Some models come in black or gray instead of silver, but most don’t have a variety of color options.

The heat source in smaller pizza ovens is usually at the back of the oven. Open flame ovens typically allow the flame to extend partially across the oven roof to directly heat a larger portion of the pizza. The oven has a domed roof designed to mimic the heating pattern of traditional ovens.

Pizza ovens are turned on with an ignition knob for gas-fired ovens, which usually includes a dial to control the power of the flame. Wood and charcoal stoves use a starter and, like their barbecue cousins, are lit with matches. Electric pizza ovens are usually set to a specific time or temperature with a dial and have an indicator light to let you know when preheating is complete.

portability

Several small pizza oven models have foldable legs and detachable parts for when you want to cook or grill pizza at the park, on a camping trip, or while grilling in a friend’s backyard. Portable pizza ovens are designed to be quick to set up and take down and usually come with a carry bag to keep everything together. While the oven you choose can be portable, remember that it doesn’t necessarily have to be lightweight. Some portable ovens weigh as little as 25 pounds, while others can weigh as much as 50 pounds.

The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

Price

Pizza ovens come in a variety of price points depending on their versatility or convenience. Small outdoor gas-fired stoves can cost $300 to $400 at the lower end of the spectrum, and around $700 for a wood and gas combo stove. You can expect to use these ovens for years to come, much like investing in a quality grill.

Indoor and electric pizza ovens can also vary widely in price, from the budget-friendly Presto Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven, which costs around $50, to the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven, which costs closer to $1,000.

warranty

Most pizza ovens come with a one-year warranty, while a few offer extended warranties of up to three years. You can expect your pizza oven to last for many years, but if you find that it needs repair after the warranty has expired, some companies offer replacement parts, and local professional kitchen appliance repair services can likely help.

Types of pizza ovens

propane and gas

Gas powered ovens should only be used outdoors and are generally considered the easiest pizza ovens to use with fantastic results. With a gas connection, the oven heats up faster than a wood-fired oven, reaching the highest temperatures required for excellent pizza-making. Many people prefer the easier cleaning with a gas pizza oven due to less ash and wood waste.

Gas ovens can be easily connected to either a propane cylinder or a natural gas connection. If you decide to connect to natural gas, the gas line should be installed by a professional to avoid problems.

wood and coal

Like gas stoves, wood and charcoal stoves should only be used outdoors. For many, nothing compares to the taste of a meal cooked in a wood-fired oven or charcoal grill. Maple, hickory, and mesquite are popular wood-fired options, all of which add different smoky flavors to your pizzas and fried dishes. Once you’ve gotten the fire going and reached optimum heat, it takes some effort to maintain, but most wood-fired pizza ovens make it easy to add more wood.

The Spruce Eats / Gwen Squires

Hybrid

Many wood-fired modern pizza ovens have interchangeable components that make switching from wood to gas easy. However, this versatility comes at a cost that brings the price of the ovens to $700 or more, plus the cost of the additional components. For outdoor cooks who want it all, a hybrid oven is worth the price.

Electric (Indoor)

Electric pizza ovens are designed for indoor countertop use. There is a heating unit at the bottom of the pizza oven and often a second heat source at the top of the oven. Die Oberhitze erhöht die Gesamttemperaturleistung und ermöglicht es Ihnen, das Garen von Kruste und Toppings unabhängig voneinander zu regulieren.

Grilleinsatz

Wenn Sie bereits einen gasbetriebenen Grill haben, sollten Sie einen Pizzaofen-Grilleinsatz ausprobieren, bevor Sie einen separaten Ofen kaufen. Mit den gleichen grundlegenden Kochtechniken wird ein Grilleinsatz mit einem Pizzasteinboden und einem doppelwandigen Dach konstruiert, um die Wärme im Ofen zu halten. Der einzige Unterschied besteht darin, dass Ihr Grill die Wärmequelle von unten anstelle einer unabhängigen Wärmequelle bereitstellt.

Die Fichte isst / Stacy K. Allen

Brands

Ooni

Ooni mit Sitz in Schottland ist eine beliebte internationale Marke, die ausschließlich Pizzaöfen herstellt. Im Jahr 2012 starteten die Eigentümer Kristian Tapaninaho und Darina Garland eine Kickstarter-Kampagne, die die Entwicklung des allerersten tragbaren Pizzaofens finanzierte, und Ooni ist seitdem nur noch gewachsen. Jetzt hat Ooni fünf Pizzaofenmodelle und eine Reihe von Zubehör, die eine Vielzahl von Pizzaschiebern, Grillplatten, Pizzaschneidern, Tragetaschen und Abdeckungen und mehr umfasst.

Gozney

Gozney, gegründet vom Pizza-Enthusiasten Tom Gozney, stellt sowohl traditionelle als auch moderne Pizzaöfen für private und gewerbliche Küchen her. Die tragbare Roccbox mit Sitz in Großbritannien erlangte internationale Popularität mit ihrem hochmodernen Design, ihrem mittleren Preis und ihrer Vielseitigkeit als holz- oder gasbetriebener Hybridofen. Roccbox ist neben dem allgegenwärtigeren Grau in einer limonengrünen Farbe erhältlich, für diejenigen, die einen farbenfrohen Ausdruck suchen, während sie hervorragende heiße Pizzen am laufenden Band produzieren. Vor kurzem brachte Gozney den Pizzaofen Dome heraus.

Die Fichte frisst / Gwen Squires

Presto

Presto ist zwar nicht so bekannt wie einige kleine Küchengerätemarken, bietet aber eine große Auswahl an praktischen Arbeitsplatten-Kochgeräten in Nischen, die andere Marken nicht immer anbieten, darunter Konservensets und Herde, Indoor-Smoker und Putenfritteusen. Ab 1905 machte sich Presto einen Namen mit der Herstellung von Druckdosen und schließlich dem ersten „Schnellkochtopf im Kochtopfstil“. Heute findet Presto weiterhin neue Wege, um Küchengeräte zu erschwinglichen Preisen für fast jeden Haushalt herzustellen.

Breville

Wenn Sie ein Kaffeeliebhaber sind, kennen Sie Breville wahrscheinlich als die Luxusmarke für Haushaltscafégeräte, aber die Liste der Küchengeräte hört hier nicht auf. Breville hat sich verzweigt, um eine beeindruckende Reihe von Tischmaschinen zu schaffen, darunter Küchenmaschinen, Entsafter, Grillplatten, Brot- und Eiscrememaschinen und technologisch fortschrittliche Weindekanter. Die einheitliche Oberfläche aus gebürstetem Edelstahl sorgt für ein einheitliches Erscheinungsbild der gesamten Produktlinie, die randvoll mit Premium-Geräten ist.

Nur Feuer

Onlyfire hat eine kleine Produktpalette entwickelt, die sich darauf konzentriert, Ihre aktuelle Grillausrüstung zu erweitern und sie anpassungsfähiger zu machen. Zu den Produkten gehören Pizzaofeneinsätze und -kits, Drehspießmotoren und -zubehör, Feuerstellenteile und -materialien sowie Grillzubehör für eine Vielzahl von Grillarten. Die meisten seiner Produkte sind preisgünstig für Outdoor-Kochbegeisterte, die ihrer Sammlung eine besondere Ausrüstung hinzufügen möchten, ohne über Bord zu gehen.

maintenance

Pizzaöfen haben den Vorteil einer extrem hohen Hitze, die es einfacher macht, Ihren Pizzaofen zu reinigen, wenn Sie mit dem Kochen fertig sind. Angenommen, während des Backens ist etwas Käse vom Rand Ihrer Pizza geschmolzen – der Hochtemperaturofen wird wahrscheinlich alle darin verbliebenen Teile verbrennen. Sobald der Ofen genug abgekühlt ist, um den Pizzastein zu handhaben, müssen Sie ihn einfach abwischen und wieder in den Ofen stellen. Wenn eine besonders hartnäckige Verschmutzung zurückbleibt, müssen Sie sie möglicherweise vorsichtig mit einer weichen Grillbürste aus Metall herausschrubben, während der Ofen noch warm ist. Auf keinen Fall sollten Sie den Pizzastein in Wasser einweichen oder in der Spülmaschine reinigen. Steine ​​sind wasserempfindlich, was sie spröde und rissanfällig macht. Die Außenseite Ihres Ofens kann mit Seifenwasser und einem Schwamm gewaschen werden, nachdem er ausgeschaltet und abgekühlt wurde.

Accesories

Einige Pizzaöfen werden mit Zubehör geliefert, um Ihnen das Pizzabacken zu erleichtern; In anderen Fällen möchten Sie möglicherweise zusätzliches Zubehör erwerben. Zunächst sollten Sie sicherstellen, dass Sie die Temperatur Ihres Pizzaofens beurteilen können. Wenn Sie einen Außenofen verwenden, überprüfen Sie, ob er ein eingebautes Thermometer hat. Wenn nicht, sollten Sie zu einem Infrarot-Thermometer greifen, um einfach und sicher die Temperatur im Inneren des Ofens zu messen, ohne tatsächlich in den Ofen greifen zu müssen.

Die Fichte frisst / Gwen Squires

Eine Pizzaschaufel mag einschüchternd wirken, wenn Sie noch nie zuvor eine verwendet haben, aber sie sind viel einfacher zu handhaben, als Sie sich vielleicht vorstellen – und ein Muss zum Einlegen und Herausnehmen Ihrer Pizza aus einem Ofen. Viele Öfen werden mit einer Schale geliefert, die an die spezifische Größe des Ofens angepasst ist. Die Schalen bestehen aus Holz oder Metall und können perforiert werden, um überschüssiges Mehl vom Boden Ihres Kuchens zu entfernen. Es gibt auch eine kleinere runde Schaufel, mit der Sie Ihre Pizza im Ofen wenden können.

When your pizza is cooked and has cooled for just a moment, it’s time to slice it up. Pizza cutters come in two main styles: the classic pizza cutting wheel and the rocking pizza cutter. The rocking cutter is usually a little sharper than a wheel cutter and can slice perfectly even pieces. Unfortunately, it can only cut pizzas as large as it is long and can get unwieldy or difficult to store when it’s over 12 inches. The cutting wheel is compact, less expensive, and can slice through pizzas of any size. You’ll want to pay attention to how evenly you’re slicing your pizza, and you may need to use a little more force to get through thick crusts or heavy toppings.

frequently asked Questions

How hot does a pizza oven get?

Some pizza ovens claim to reach temperatures of over 900 F. These ovens are typically gas-fired, although some wood-fired ovens can also reach very high temperatures. Most outdoor pizza ovens heat up to temperatures from 700 to 800 F, while most indoor electric pizza ovens heat up to temperatures from 600 to 750 F.

How does a pizza oven work?

Pizza ovens are built differently than conventional home and restaurant ovens. They are typically compact, with a stone base and a domed roof. The stone base retains heat to help cook the bottom of the pizza easily, while the tight domed roof conducts heat over and around the top of the pizza to promote even cooking. The design of a pizza oven is meant to retain and optimize as much heat as possible, which makes it cook at temperatures much hotter than conventional ovens.

While some pizza ovens may have a removable door on the front to help retain heat, many do not. Pizza ovens are able to maintain their high temperatures by keeping the front opening relatively small. The high oven temperature makes it possible to cook multiple pizzas in quick succession without losing much heat between pizzas.

Pizza ovens are heated in a variety of ways, including propane gas, wood, charcoal-fired, or electric. Most pizza ovens built for home use are made for the outdoors because it’s generally safer to use higher-heat equipment outside.

What can you cook in a pizza oven?

Pizza ovens are obviously made for cooking pizzas at very high temperatures, but they’re more versatile than you might expect. Most pizza ovens come with temperature controls making it possible to cook other foods at high temperatures without scorching them. This can be ideal for anyone interested in baking breads, like sourdough and focaccia and dough-based pastries, that respond well to higher-temperature ovens like those found in professional bakeries.

These high-temperature ovens are also great for quickly roasting vegetables, as well as meats, including chicken, steaks, ribs, and sausages; many people enjoy the smoked flavor that wood-fired pizza ovens impart to these foods. Side dishes and meats that can be cooked in a cast iron or ceramic skillet are ideal for cooking in a pizza oven. Foods with excessive oils and fats should not be cooked directly on the surface of the oven to avoid grease seeping into the stone. Try a variety of hardwoods to see which smoked flavor you like the best. Good options include maple, oak, walnut, hickory, and ash.

What is a pizza oven stone made of?

Most traditional pizza stones are made with clay or ceramic that has been fired at high temperatures and can retain and withstand the heat of the ovens. The insulation properties of clay stones are ideal, but the stones themselves must be treated with care to avoid cracking.

Oven stones are also made of cast iron and cordierite, which can withstand more wear and tear than traditional clay and ceramic stones. Regardless of which stone material you choose, almost all of the options are heavy and require special care when cleaning.

Why trust the spruce?

Donna Currie is a food writer, product tester, and author of the cookbook Make Ahead Bread. She’s made more than her fair share of pizza—in the oven, on grills, and with dedicated pizza makers—and personally tested the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo Pizza Oven, Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven, and Onlyfire Pizza Oven Kit for this roundup, in addition to some pizza stones if you’re looking for one of those.

This roundup was updated by Jenny Kellerhals, who also wrote the accompanying pizza oven buying guide. After a decade in NYC pastry kitchens, Jenny has finally learned how to balance yeasted dough recipes and baking intuition to perfect her favorite pizza dough.