Best pizza oven home use
7 Best Home Pizza Ovens of 2023
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BEST OVERALL HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven
BEST OVERALL HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
ooni Karu 16 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven
$799 at Amazon$799 at Sur la Table$799 at Bloomingdale's
Credit: OoniPros
- Multi-fuel cooking options
- Digital thermometer on the front of the oven
Cons
- Pizza peel, gas burner and additional accessories are not included
This Good Housekeeping 2021 Kitchen Gear Award winner produced impressive results in testing. It can be used with wood or charcoal, or you can buy a separate attachment to use it with propane. Along with consumer testers, we used both wood and propane to make rounds of pizza. The wood and charcoal holder is large, which means it can reach high temps and requires less refilling and spans the back of the oven. Plus, its cover is removable and has a large handle so you can easily add more fuel. The wood and charcoal holder is in the shape of a basket and serves as a barricade which prevents pizza from landing on the hot fuel and burning.
This model’s fully glass hinged door lets you keep an eye on your pizza and allows for the oven to get hotter faster compared to a style with no door because of its improved insulation. (But if you'd rather not open the door when cooking, Ooni now sells a door with a letterbox window that gives you easy access to your pizza.) The smokestack helps with adjusting the temp, too – open it completely for more heat when using wood or charcoal, close it to cut off the oxygen flow and ultimately lower the temp. A digital thermometer on the front of the oven helps keep track of the internal temperature. One drawback: This oven does not come with a pizza peel, which we recommend for building the pizza, inserting into the oven and easy retrieval.
BEST VALUE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Pizza Oven
BEST VALUE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Pizza Oven
Now 10% Off
$359 at Amazon$399 at Backcountry$399 at Nordstrom
Credit: OoniPros
- Reaches 950˚F in 15 minutes for super-fast pizzas, according to the manufacturer
- Weighs 20 pounds
Cons
- Solely gas-powered
At $400 less than our top pizza oven pick, this Ooni model is a more affordable option that produces similarly great results – the difference is, it’s smaller and can only be used with gas instead of wood or charcoal, too. FYI: An even less expensive option is available if you prefer to just use wood instead of gas. But we find gas to be easier to use and regulate, though we like the slightly smoky taste wood and charcoal contribute. In our test, we tested the larger, more expensive Ooni Koda 16 that can handle 16-inch pizzas versus just 12-inch pizzas.
In our test, we were able to make a restaurant-style pizza that was nicely charred in some spots, although the process required a learning curve: Like with all pizza ovens, we needed to get the oven nice and hot before transferring in the pizza. Then we needed to practice rotating the pie for the best results in just a couple of minutes. The flames are located on the back and side of this pizza oven, so we had to be careful rotating the pie while cooking to avoid burn marks on the crust and cheese.
BEST PORTABLE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
Roccbox by Gozney Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven
BEST PORTABLE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
Roccbox by Gozney Portable Outdoor Pizza Oven
$499 at Amazon
Credit: RoccboxPros
- Comes with carrying strap
- Silicone coating keeps oven exterior from overheating
Cons
- Must buy the wood-burner attachment separately
This space-age-looking home pizza oven reaches 950˚F for Neapolitan-style pies. It's compact with retractable legs and a detachable burner that makes it easy to transport; plus, it comes with a handy carrying strap and lightweight pizza peel. Like the Ooni Karu, you can cook with gas or wood, — but you have to buy the wood-burning attachment separately. (We preferred using the propane attachment in our tests, as the wood-burner required a lot of active time feeding the fire.) In our tests, we loved how quickly it produced pizzas with a crisp bottom, tender crust and the perfect amount of char in about 90 seconds. Its body is insulated and coated in silicone, so the exterior remains cooler than some other pizza ovens, reducing your burn risk and making it more ideal for bustling gathering.
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BEST BRICK OVEN-STYLE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
BEST BRICK OVEN-STYLE HOME PIZZA OVEN (OUTDOORS)
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven
Now 43% Off
$228 at Amazon$400 at Home Depot$400 at Backcountry
Credit: Camp ChefPros
- double-layer ceiling which helps retain heat
- Fast and adjustable heating
Cons
- Heavy
This home pizza oven has a double-layer ceiling, which helps retain heat so it can cook like a brick oven. Its heat source is powered by gas and the flames sit below the removable 20-inch wide by 13-inch deep pizza stone that's 1/2-inch thick – a large stone means more cook space and heating and a thick one means good heat retention even if you turn down the flame. The Camp Chef pizza oven comes with a door you can use when using the pizza oven like a traditional oven.
It preheats in about 15 minutes and reaches temps around 700˚F, so your pizzas cook in about 3 minutes. It has an adjustable flame valve and built-in temperature gauge, so you can learn what range you prefer for baking your pies. Though you can fuel the oven with a small disposable propane bottle, the unit is 47 pounds, which prevents it from being easily portable. Fortunately, it comes with a five-foot hose to adapt the oven for a standard bulk propane tank.
BEST COUNTERTOP HOME PIZZA OVEN (ELECTRIC)
Smart Oven Pizzaiolo
BEST COUNTERTOP HOME PIZZA OVEN (ELECTRIC)
Smart Oven Pizzaiolo
$1,000 at Williams Sonoma
Credit: BrevillePros
- Indoor pizza oven
- Reaches 750˚F
- Includes settings that deliver unique results
Cons
- Pricey
This countertop oven reaches 750˚F and delivers a “wood-fired-style pizza” in two to three minutes. That said, it takes 17 minutes to heat. While that does increase your TTP (time to pizza), our tester noted that it was the ideal length of time to build your pizza (or make a salad, if you’re trying to fancy up a frozen pizza dinner). She also raved that “it’s super easy and straightforward to use.”
You can choose to use the preprogrammed pizza settings or you can take control with manual settings — Breville includes instructions for the manual controls on a handy magnet that you can pop onto the machine to help you out. Our tester was impressed that the settings delivered different results: The wood-fired setting produced tender and bubbly pizza with some char like you would get in a restaurant, while the New York–style setting delivered pizza that was more evenly cooked and stiff. The pizza cooks on a pizza stone and the oven comes with a peel to easily remove your pie.
BEST HOME PIZZA OVEN FOR CHARCOAL GRILLS (OUTDOORS)
Kettle Pizza Pro 22 Outdoor Pizza Oven Kit
BEST HOME PIZZA OVEN FOR CHARCOAL GRILLS (OUTDOORS)
Kettle Pizza Pro 22 Outdoor Pizza Oven Kit
$339 at Amazon
Credit: Kettle PizzaPros
- Included aluminum pizza peel and a 14-inch pizza pan
- Allows you to cook with charcoal or wood
Cons
- Requires a kettle grill
This kit converts most 22. 5-inch kettle grills into a pizza oven that can reach up to 750˚F. You can install it tool-free by setting the stainless steel sleeve — plus its “ProGrate/Tombstone Combo,” which suspends a thick pizza stone over the fire — on the base of your kettle and placing the grill’s lid on top. The setup allows you to cook over charcoal or wood or both, with the use of the hardwood basket that can be hung from the grate frame. The kit also includes an aluminum pizza peel and a 14-inch pizza pan.
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BEST HOME PIZZA OVEN FOR GAS GRILLS (OUTDOORS)
BakerStone Basics Pizza Oven Box Kit
BEST HOME PIZZA OVEN FOR GAS GRILLS (OUTDOORS)
BakerStone Basics Pizza Oven Box Kit
Now 19% Off
$122 at Walmart
Credit: BakerstonePros
- Oven can reach up to 800˚F
- Works with gas grills with three or more burners
Cons
- Requires a gas grill
This pizza-stone-lined baking box turns most gas grills with three or more burners into an outdoor pizza oven. Crank all your grill burners to high and set the box on top to preheat for about 20 minutes. Depending on your grill’s power and the weather conditions, the oven can reach 600˚to 800˚F, making your cook time just two to four minutes. The oven has built-in handles for easy transport and it has a temperature gauge so you can decide when to start baking. It comes with a wooden pizza peel and a thinner, more nimble pizza turner, since you’ll need to rotate your pies to ensure even cooking.
How we test home pizza ovens
The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab road tested an assortment of home pizza ovens, including both indoor and outdoor models. Each oven was tested with 12-inch pies: Fresh dough was topped with canned tomato sauce and a pre-shredded mozzarella. During testing, we made more than 20 pies, using over five pounds of cheese and 10 pounds of dough. The oven was always preheated when called for by the manufacturer’s instructions. And, whenever possible, the oven’s own accessories, such as peels, were used to remove the pies. We evaluated how easy the ovens were to set up and use, how quickly they baked fresh and frozen pizza and whether the results were worth the effort.
Those that delivered a superior slice made our list of the best home pizza ovens to buy in 2023, along with some we haven't formally tested in the Lab, but come from brands we trust after years of experience testing kitchen appliances.
What to look for when shopping for a home pizza oven
✔️ Indoor or outdoor: Your first decision is to choose where you want the oven. If you want easy access to your pizza oven year round, an indoor model is likely best for you. As long as you can find an outlet, you can have delicious pizza, but it does eliminate home pizza ovens that use wood or gas for fuel. If you have the perfect spot in the backyard for cooking and entertaining, go with an outdoor model. Some are portable, which can be nice for game days or second homes, but you will need to ensure a source for gas or wood. Of course, if you have outdoor outlets on your deck or porch, you can choose either kind of pizza oven.
✔️ Size and weight: The size of your home pizza oven affects the size of the pizzas you can cook. Will you generally be cooking for yourself or for a family? The size also affects the weight of the oven and its portability. Make a note of how heavy the oven is, because if it doesn’t live on your counter or patio all year, you’ll need to move and stow it each time you use it.
✔️ Temperature range: For that lightning-fast, restaurant-quality pizza, you need your home pizza oven to reach a high maximum temperature (around 950°F) . You’ll get those glorious charred spots — and you’ll know you’re literally minutes from pizza once you put it in. But an oven that can hold a consistent low-end temperature provides versatility for warming leftover pizza or cooking non-pizza entrées, like fish. (And it’s also great for baking a skillet dessert for after!)
✔️ Controls and accessories: Do you want a basic oven that is largely just in-and-out? Or do you want a more advanced oven? More options allow for more control over the cooking process. Some models let you set a specific temperature, while others function with predetermined settings. Some have accessories like trays, stones and peels, all of which can make the process — and the final result — better. Find the oven that suits your lifestyle and preferred pizza style best.
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Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, where she manages all kitchen appliance content and testing. She has tested at least 35 grills and oversaw our recent tests of grill baskets and pizza stones for the grill. She's a trained cook, recipe developer and grill aficionado.
Sarah Wharton led the most recent test of grill thermometers and has tested indoor grills for Good Housekeeping. She previously worked in the test kitchen at Family Circle, where she developed recipes and tested kitchen appliances and gear. She holds a degree in Professional Culinary Arts from the International Culinary Center (now Institute of Culinary Education).
Nicole Papantoniou
Kitchen Appliances & Innovation Lab Director
Nicole (she/her) is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she has overseen content and testing related to kitchen and cooking appliances, tools and gear since 2019. She’s an experienced product tester and recipe creator, trained in classic culinary arts and culinary nutrition. She has worked in test kitchens for small kitchen appliance brands and national magazines, including Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal.
Sarah Wharton
Deputy Editor
Sarah (she/her) is a deputy editor for the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she tests products and covers the best picks across kitchen, tech, health and food. She has been cooking professionally since 2017 and has tested kitchen appliances and gear for Family Circle as well as developed recipes and food content for Simply Recipes, Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Oxo and Food52. She holds a certificate in professional culinary arts from the International Culinary Center (now the Institute of Culinary Education).
The Best Backyard Pizza Ovens of 2023
We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Straight to the Point
Our two favorite pizza ovens are the Roccbox Portable Wood and Gas Pizza Oven and Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven.
Since this review was originally published, Blackstone has discontinued its pizza oven (which was one of our top picks). Uuni rebranded as Ooni, and the model we tested has been replaced by newer ones. This review was originally written for the Ooni 3, which is no longer available. We have replaced the product links with the Ooni Karu, which has a similar design, and updated the price below and added some information on the Karu, but have otherwise left the original text for the Ooni 3. We will be re-testing pizza ovens and will update this article. For a more detailed comparison of Ooni ovens, head here.
I've always contended that pizza is the one food I could never get sick of, and if you've been following my Instagram feed, you'll know that I've recently been putting that claim to the test. I've had pizza coming out of my ears. There were days when I cooked over two dozen pizzas, and tasted at least a bite of each one. You'd think that being that guy who always has pizza to give away would make you really popular with the neighbors, but I've had people turn down free pizza after I'd offered it to them too many times.
Kenji Tests the Best Backyard Pizza Ovens
I never got sick of pizza, though I can't say the same for my wife, Adri.
All this because, for the last few months, I've been testing outdoor pizza ovens. Why outdoor? Well, an indoor oven typically maxes out at around 550°F (290°C). Even with the help of a Baking Steel, that's still not hot enough to get true Neapolitan-style pizza. Only with temperatures arcing up to and over the 900°F (480°C) mark can you get that incredible contrast between crisp, leopard-spotted exterior and poofy, moist, and stretchy interior that is the hallmark of a really great pizza crust.
Pizza baked in a sufficiently hot oven will come out charred and crisp, but with a moist, chewy, tender crumb.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Enter the outdoor pizza oven. Outdoor cooking equipment, whether fired with gas, wood, or charcoal, regularly reaches temperatures well above what a home oven can safely hit, and in recent years, dozens of manufacturers and start-ups have taken advantage of this to produce ovens that promise true Neapolitan-style pizza in your backyard, eliminating the need to build your own full-blown stone oven.
The best of these new ovens are compact, reliable, and relatively inexpensive, and they've been responsible for the best pizzas I've ever made at home. Here are my picks for the very best outdoor pizza ovens, both stand-alone units and those designed to sit atop your gas grill.
One note: A number of years back, I had a minor role in the design and release of the Serious Eats Edition Baking Steel/KettlePizza Pizza Oven Kit. Serious Eats had no financial partnership with KettlePizza and 100% of any profits Serious Eats made from the sale of these oven kits was donated directly to Feeding America. Still, in the interest of fairness, I excluded the KettlePizza kit and similar Weber Kettle conversion kits from this lineup.
Here's a quick summary of my three favorites, plus a full breakdown below.
The Winners, at a Glance
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This is my overall top pick. It's incredibly easy to use, reliable, and can be used with gas, charcoal, or hardwood kindling.
Amazon
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This spacious oven can be used with wood, charcoal, or with gas (though this last one requires a gas burner).
Williams Sonoma
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This easy-to-use oven won't produce as good of results as our top two picks, but for those that want to bring the pizza making experience outdoors at a more budget-friendly price point, it's a good pick.
The Testing
I tested nearly a dozen different stand-alone and grill-top pizza ovens over a three-month period. To narrow down the very wide field, I tested only ovens designed to be ready to use in your backyard. If you had to install it on a permanent or semipermanent stand or base, I did not include it. All of the ovens I tested are either tabletop units, freestanding units with wheels, or units designed to work in conjunction with your existing gas grill. I also set a price cap of $1,000.
For the testing, I cooked dozens of Neapolitan, New York, and other styles of pizza, using both homemade and store-bought dough. I cooked pizzas with toppings and without. I cooked pizza stretched by hand, and rolled out with a rolling pin.
Which Ooni Pizza Oven Should You Buy? We Compared Them All
I also invited two world-class Bay Area pizzaioli to come over and try the ovens out for a day: Keith Freilich of Emilia's Pizzeria in Berkeley, and Jeff Krupman of PizzaHacker in Bernal Heights. You can catch a Facebook Live video of part of the action, if you're interested in seeing two dudes who know pizza make pizza. We made over a dozen pizzas that day, using Jeff's sourdough pizza dough.
The Criteria: What We Look for in a Outdoor Pizza Oven
Key Specs of Our Top Pizza Ovens | |||
---|---|---|---|
Roccbox | Ooni Karu | Blackstone (Discontinued) | |
Fuel type | Gas, hardwood kindling, or charcoal briquettes | Gas, hardwood kindling, or charcoal briquettes | Gas |
Max floor temp | Over 900°F (480°C) | Over 750°F (400°C) | Over 900°F (480°C) |
Max dome temp | Over 900°F (480°C) | Over 900°F (480°C) | Over 900°F (480°C) |
Fastest cook time | 75 seconds | 75 seconds | 70 seconds |
Preheat time | 30 minutes | 15 to 20 minutes | 15 minutes |
Recovery time between pizzas | 5 minutes | 4 to 5 minutes, if you keep the hopper full | Moments |
Largest pizza possible | 11 inches | 12 inches | 16 inches |
Good for other foods? | Yes | Yes | It's okay, but you cannot use handled pans in it |
Portable? | Yes, though heavy | Yes | No |
Fuel consumption | A standard 15-pound propane tank will last about 20 hours at full blast. | Wood, charcoal, or gas (if using the attachment). | A standard 15-pound propane tank will last about 15 hours at full blast. |
Cost at time of writing | $499 | $399 | $285 |
While testing, I paid attention to a number of factors:
- Temperature: The temperature of the base and of the air in the dome above is generally a good indicator of how rapidly a pizza can cook, though it's not a perfect measure and should be taken with a grain of salt. The relative conductivity and heat capacity of different materials can mean that two different surfaces at the exact same temperature can produce wildly different results in the base of a pizza, while different air currents and the relative emissivity of the top of a pizza oven can produce different results in the top of a pizza, even with the same temperature as measured on a thermometer. (This effect is similar to the way direct sunlight or wind speed can change how hot or cold it feels outside, even given the same air temperature. )
- Timing: This was important, and I measured it in three ways: the time it takes to properly preheat a given oven before you can cook your first pizza, the time it takes to actually cook a single pizza, and the time it takes before the oven is ready to cook a subsequent pizza. Obviously, faster preheat and recovery times are better. Faster cook times are better if you're after that true crisp-tender texture of a Neapolitan crust, though less important if you prefer a drier, extra-crispy crust.
- Ease of use: Using some of these ovens is literally as simple as turning them on. Others require a little more finagling and monitoring to ensure that they're operating at optimal efficiency and heating properly.
- Robustness and looks: Is the oven sturdy and reliable? Does it have many moving parts that are likely to fail at some point? And, while I'm generally in the performance-over-looks camp, given that most of these ovens require investments of at least several hundred dollars, I want them to look good in my backyard as well.
- Cooking other foods: In addition to cooking pizzas, I tested a number of other foods in these ovens: roasted vegetables, broiled fish, seared steaks, and more.
By the way, if you'd like to use your ovens for cooking things other than pizza, I'd recommend picking up a square cast iron skillet and a couple of aluminum quarter sheet pans. Both of these fit inside the Roccbox and the Ooni ovens.
Stand-Alone Versus Grill Conversion
There's no question that all of my recommended stand-alone pizza ovens perform better than in-grill conversion kits, and I would not hesitate to recommend any of them over the grill converters. The only buyers to whom I'd recommend a grill-top converter are folks who plan to make pizza only very occasionally and would rather not use up their outdoor space for an extra oven.
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The Bottom Line: This is an incredible little oven with simple, reliable operation, whether you're using gas, wood, or charcoal to fire it. It consistently hits wood-fired-oven temperatures and maintains them for as long as you are cooking, with no fussing or babysitting, which means you can spend more time enjoying pizza with your friends and family and less time coddling a temperamental flame. It's attractive, solidly built, weatherproof, and portable.
How It Works: The Roccbox is a heavily insulated, stainless-steel-and-stone box with a rubberized exterior. You can place it on any surface, including wood or plastic, and it stands up on three heavy-duty folding legs. There are two burner attachments, depending on the fuel source you want to use. The burner box is a rocket stove–style combustion chamber that allows you to feed the flame with hardwood kindling or charcoal briquettes, while the gas burner allows you to heat the Roccbox with a standard propane tank.
An impressive gas flame in the back of the Roccbox.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Once it's fired up, the flame rises up the back of the chamber and gets directed across the top of the oven. The stone floor heats indirectly via hot air and radiation from above. After a half hour or so, both the dome and the floor of the oven can hit temperatures above 900°F, allowing you to cook pizzas in under 90 seconds.
A Neapolitan-style dough baked in under 90 seconds in the Roccbox.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The Best Bits: Where to start? Let's begin with unpacking. The Roccbox comes fully assembled and ready to go, which is great, because the assembly is far more robust and heavy-duty than the folded-sheet-metal-with-screws construction of nearly every other oven I tested. It's solidly built with heavy-gauge stainless steel and stone. The rubberized finish on the exterior comes in gray or green, and the styling is polished and designed to look great in your backyard.
Everything you need comes in the box, including both the gas and live-fire burner attachments, a detailed instruction and recipe manual in multiple languages, and a top-of-the-line, custom-designed pizza peel. That peel, made of nonstick perforated and ridged aluminum, has actually gone on to become the favorite peel in my large arsenal. Raw pizzas slide off it easily, while the perforations ensure that excess flour falls away from the pizza instead of burning on the bottom of the oven. Its tapered head makes it easy to slip under cooked pizzas, too. If Roccbox sold that peel separately, I would not hesitate to recommend it as my top choice.
A New York–style dough baked in about three minutes in the Roccbox.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
I was a little skeptical at first that a gas flame could produce wood-fired results (we've all had mediocre pies from those gas-assist Wood Stone ovens that seem popular with chefs these days, right?), but I couldn't be happier with its performance. The flame is large, it burns efficiently and reliably, and it keeps the oven hot for pizza after pizza, with only a few minutes of recovery time. (If you try to launch a new pizza in immediately after taking out the previous one, the base will undercook a little, as shown below. )
Cooking two pies in a row without waiting can lead to slightly undercooked bases, like this one.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
With wood or charcoal, it's equally easy to use. The live-fuel burner box is a rocket stove–style burner that very efficiently draws oxygen across the flames and pulls them up into the oven. I've successfully cooked pizzas with it using hardwood kindling, charcoal briquettes, and even scraps of cherrywood molding from my kitchen closet.
If you use the gas burner, the heat level is also easily adjustable. Crank it up all the way for 90-second Neapolitan pies, or turn it down for three- to five-minute New York–style pizzas. Go even lower, and you can roast a small spatchcocked chicken, crispy skin and all.
The Roccbox's always-open mouth design makes it great for cooking foods other than pizza. Pop the food in a cast iron skillet, and slide it in the opening with the handle hanging out. I've made fantastic charred asparagus and broccoli, crispy potato chunks (after parboiling), fish, chicken, and beef in there. If you can sear it in a cast iron pan on the stovetop or brown it under a broiler, it's a good candidate for outdoor cooking in this oven.
Unlike any other oven I tested, the Roccbox also stays cool enough to touch on the exterior. It gets hot for sure, but accidentally brushing up against it won't leave you with any lasting marks. It's also weatherproof—no need for an extra cover. I've even cooked with it during a light drizzle (with an umbrella for the pizza) and observed no dips in quality.
The Minor Problems: They claim the oven is easily portable. This is a stretch. It comes with a sleek carrying strap that Velcros itself around the oven, but the oven weighs almost 45 pounds. It's easy enough to move from one side of your yard to the other, or from the back of a car to a picnic table, but the idea of, say, lugging it down to the beachfront is not appealing to me.
The width of the Roccbox is also the smallest of all the ovens I recommend here. It's exactly 12 inches wide, meaning the largest pizza you can realistically cook is about 11 inches. I typically don't cook pizzas any larger than 10 inches, so this is not a problem for me.
The Major Problems: The cost. If shipping's not included (it currently is free on Gozney's site), this oven costs a good bit more than its closest competitor on this list. That's no small chunk of change, but its versatility and ease of use are worth investing in.
Price at time of publish: $499.
Key Specs
- Fuel type: Gas, hardwood kindling, or charcoal briquettes
- Max floor temp: Over 900°F (480°C)
- Max air temp: Over 900°F (480°C)
- Fastest cook time: 75 seconds
- Preheat time: 30 minutes
- Recovery time between pizzas: 5 minutes
- Largest pizza: 11 inches
- Good for other foods? Yes
- Portable? Yes, though heavy
- Fuel consumption: A standard 15-pound propane tank will last about 20 hours at full blast.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
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The Bottom Line: This multi-fuel oven can be used with wood, charcoal, or gas (you will need a gas burner that's sold separately for the latter). If you want a wood pellet-only oven, check out the Ooni Fyra 12 (it's the successor of the Ooni 3, which is what we originally tested for this review).
How It Works: The Ooni is a compact oven that, I believe, was the first of its kind on the market, pairing portability and compactness with some serious heat output. The stainless steel box houses a heat deflector and a stone floor. You light up a pile of wood pellets in a little tray in the back of the unit, then load more wood pellets into a metal hopper, which continuously feeds them into the fire via gravity. As the pellets burn, the flame is drawn over the stone, across the top of the oven, and out a tall chimney in the front.
A Neapolitan pizza in the Ooni.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
With a good fire in there, you can preheat that stone to over 750°F in just about 15 minutes, with air temperatures rising above 900°F.
When you're ready to cook, you open the door, slide the pizza in, and close the door. Every 15 to 20 seconds or so, open that door, give the pizza a spin, and keep cooking. In 90 seconds or less, your pizza is done. Crisp, charred, and puffy.
The underside of a Neapolitan pizza from the Ooni.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
I've used two different iterations of this oven—the Ooni 2S and the Ooni 3—and both have performed extremely well under the right conditions (more on that in the "problems" section below). The upgrades on the Ooni 3 include a more solidly mounted front heat deflector (which would frustratingly fall and burn your arm when you reached into the Ooni 2S), a rear heat deflector (which has taken on the role of "part that inexplicably falls over and causes you to burn yourself when fixing"), and a more robust pellet-holder setup.
The Best Bits: The unit is attractive and can safely be used on any surface, including wood or plastic. Just be wary of stray burning pellets accidentally falling out the back.
I really like the use of wood pellets for the fire here. It doesn't have quite the romance of actual pieces of hardwood, but pellets are cheap (about 50 cents a pound at your local home goods store), they burn reliably, and they're easy to get going. A 30-second zap with my Iwatani butane torch, and it's good to go. Even more attractive is the gas converter that should be coming out for the Ooni this summer, or the larger, multi-fuel-source Ooni Pro, currently in the crowd-funding stage. I have not had a chance to test either of these, so cannot offer any reliable insight about their performance.
Putting the Ooni 2S or the Ooni 3 together for the first time requires a few basic tools and maybe 45 minutes of your time, though you may have a few head-scratching moments (again, more on that below).
The oven space inside the Ooni is large enough to accommodate some other foods. I've broiled enough black cod fillets in it to feed a half dozen people at once. I've cooked mussels, seared steaks, and grilled oysters in it as well, all without a hitch. The oven door needs to stay closed while cooking, so you'll need to find a vessel that fits completely inside it. The quarter sheet pan I recommended will fit inside, as will an eight-inch cast iron skillet. Some larger skillets may fit, but it depends on the length of their handles.
If you order a weather cover for your oven, you've also just ordered a carrying case. It holds the fully assembled unit upside down so you can lug it to the beach or campsite. Though be aware that, once assembled, the Ooni 3 weighs about 25 pounds, so you're gonna want to use it pretty close to your car.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The Minor Problems: Let's start with assembling and firing the thing up. The manual is written in the style of IKEA furniture assembly manuals, with no words, only pictures. This can be annoying, as the pictures don't do a very good job of explaining how to actually use the device. I tried using both my Ooni 2S and my Ooni 3 straight out of the box with only the manual for guidance, and was met with frustration. Only after watching a few videos from Ooni's YouTube channel, and getting more detailed instructions from them via email, could I get the things working. I've been told that newer instruction manuals will come with more complete explanations and troubleshooting guides.
The Ooni comes with a pizza peel of sorts. It's really just a piece of sheet metal that fits the mouth of the oven. I found the flat metal to be difficult to launch pizzas with, so I use my own wooden or aluminum peels instead. Note that 12 inches wide is the maximum peel size you can use in the Ooni.
One other thing to note: Even in a wood-fired oven, the wood itself lends very little flavor to the pizza. When the pie is properly and rapidly cooked, there's no real, detectable difference in flavor between a pizza that's cooked with wood and one that's cooked with an equivalent gas or coal fire.
The Major Problems: Even once the thing is properly assembled and fired up, there are some issues. The biggest is consistency. Working with live fire is never a set-it-and-forget-it situation, but the small pellet burner in the back of the Ooni seems to have more quirks than most live fires I've worked with. The airflow needs to be exactly right in order for it to burn efficiently—I've found that I have to reposition my oven frequently to keep even a small breeze from disrupting the flow of oxygen to the pellets. Even having the back of the oven a couple feet away from a fence seems to affect how efficiently it burns.
In some cases, this led to disastrous pizzas that had to be discarded. If the pellets aren't burning efficiently, they end up smoldering instead, producing plumes of thick, dark smoke, which coats your pizza in soot and makes it completely unpalatable. More than once, I caught the chimney belching out thick smoke and opened the door of the oven to see what was going on, only to then have my eyebrows singed as the sudden inflow of oxygen turned the vapor-filled box into a miniature blast furnace.
Keeping the pellet tray ever so slightly cracked open at the back seemed to help with some of the airflow issues, though even that was not 100% reliable.
The other issue is the design of the hopper. The idea is that you fill a metal tube to the brim with pellets, and they feed themselves down into the fire as the ones below them burn up. In reality, the pellets get caught in the tube, requiring you to manually jostle and push them down from time to time. This sometimes causes one of the metal flaps inside the hopper to loosen itself. If this happens, you need to somehow get a searing-hot piece of metal, inside a searing-hot metal tube, back into position. You will burn yourself doing this; there is no question.
Price at time of publish: $299.
Key Specs
- Fuel type: Wood or charcoal, with a propane tank conversion kit available
- Max floor temp: Over 750°F (400°C)
- Max air temp: Over 900°F (480°C)
- Fastest cook time: 75 seconds
- Preheat time: 15 to 20 minutes
- Recovery time between pizzas: Four to five minutes, if you keep the hopper full
- Largest pizza: 12 inches
- Good for other foods? Yes, provided they fit in the oven with the door closed
- Portable? Yes
- Fuel consumption: Wood as needed.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Walmart
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The Bottom Line: The Blackstone is the oven of choice for high-output, rapid cooking, as it takes very little time to preheat and recover, pumping out pie after pie at a nonstop clip. Users who are comfortable making frequent mechanical repairs and adjustments, and who care more about speed than about versatility and aesthetics, will be happy with this one. (This item has since been discontinued, but we kept its information in this review for clarity and full-disclosure.)
Neapolitan pizza cooked in the Blackstone.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
How It Works: The Blackstone pizza oven has a unique design. Rather than trying to heat an entire chamber, it instead has a single, extremely large gas flame that heats up a rotating turntable holding a pizza stone. Half of the flame hits the underside of the turntable to heat the base, while the other half of the flame is deflected up and over the top of the turntable to cook the top of the pizza. The turntable is rotated with a motor that runs on a couple of batteries or an adapter.
The oven sits on top of a large wheeled cart, and, unless you're willing to build a custom base for it, that's where it's gonna stay. It cannot be placed on a tabletop.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The Best Bits: The first time you fire this one up, get ready, because it looks and sounds like a jet engine. The flame is big, and within 15 minutes or so, the stone is heated hot enough to crisp up the bottom of a pizza in under 90 seconds. The flame arcing over the top produces gorgeous leopard-spotting and a crisp, poofy crust. In most pizza ovens, the stone is heated indirectly from the hot air above it. The Blackstone, on the other hand, directly heats the stone from underneath, which means that, of all the ovens I tested, it had by far the fastest recovery time. You can cook pizzas one after the other, with virtually no wait in between.
The Minor Problems: I have a few little issues with the Blackstone. The first is aesthetic. This thing is not attractive, and, unless your backyard is decorated to look like the cheap-grill display in the parking lot of a Home Depot, it's gonna stick out. The large stickers placed on the front of the unit before shipping also leave huge marks on the brushed metal. Performance should trump good looks, but I sure wish they could have made it look just a little bit better.
The second is that it's not great for cooking other foods. Sure, the opening is large enough that you can fit some fillets of fish or a bunch of vegetables, but because the stone rotates, you can't use any pan with a handle. This is a big inconvenience for someone like me, who likes to use their cast iron pans with their outdoor tools.
Flame management can be a little bit tricky. In many cases, I found that the bottoms of the pizzas cooked almost too fast, turning dark and burnt in spots by the time the tops were done. I resorted to using a pizza screen, placing the pizza on it halfway through cooking to keep it from coming in direct contact with the pan.
It's difficult to adjust this thing to anything other than blazingly hot, which is okay for Neapolitan-style pizza, but bad news if you want to cook a style that takes a bit more time, like a New York or Midwest thin-crust. Turning the adjustment knob down lowers the flame, but, since it heats from below, a low flame means you end up with plenty of heat still hammering the bottom of the pizza and almost none cooking the top.
The Major Problems: The biggest downside? Durability. The Blackstone pizza oven is built from folded sheet metal, with an inexpensive burner and a cheap motor. In fact, during the couple months of my testing, three separate parts failed. The weak motor that runs the turntable started skipping the second time I fired it up, requiring me to coat everything in a layer of WD-40. By the fourth session, it had stopped turning altogether, resulting in the flame overheating one side of the turntable and warping it so that it no longer spun around steadily. I had to manually turn the hot wheel to finish up a pizza that was in the oven.
To solve this problem, I straightened out the turntable, then replaced the cheap motor with the rotisserie motor from my Coyote Outdoor Living grill. It's running smoothly now. Luckily, the motor is a standard three-inch motor mount, with a 5/16-inch square drive.
Online reports show that this is not an isolated incident, and many users resort to installing after-market thrust bearings to fix the problem, though, when I tried to do the same, I found that the axle on the turntable could no longer reach the motor assembly. Apparently, the new Blackstone models no longer work with the thrust bearing modifications. Jeff Krupman has been using Blackstones for catering jobs for a number of years, but, as he confirmed, he always carries a few spare motors with him, just in case one conks out in the middle of service.
Aside from the crummy motor, the stone the oven came with cracked neatly in two after about a half dozen uses (not a huge deal, as the stone continues to work, but still), and the "heatproof" paint on the interior of the oven is flaking and chipping as well.
The Blackstone does a great job of making quick pizzas with minimal fuss, but if the price seems too good to be true, it's because it is. You're going to need to do some work on it yourself and order some upgraded parts to get it in prime working condition.
Key Specs
- Fuel type: Gas
- Max floor temp: Over 900°F (480°C)
- Max air temp: Over 900°F (480°C)
- Fastest cook time: 70 seconds
- Preheat time: 15 minutes
- Recovery time between pizzas: Moments
- Largest pizza: 16 inches
- Good for other foods? It's okay, but you cannot use handled pans in it.
- Portable? No
- Fuel consumption: A standard 15-pound propane tank will last about 15 hours at full blast.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
Williams Sonoma
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The Bottom Line: The Pizzacraft Pizzeria Pronto won't produce pizza much faster or better than your indoor oven, but it's a solid choice for those who want to bring the baking experience outdoors in an easy-to-operate setup.
Neapolitan pizza from the Pizzeria Pronto.Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
How It Works: A ring-shaped gas burner heats up a double layer of pizza stones from underneath. The two stones are designed to eliminate hot and cool spots for a more even bake, though I've found that using just a single stone preheats better and doesn't hurt performance much. Space all around the stones allows the heat to rise and curl over the tops of the pizzas via a perforated metal reflector.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The Best Bits: The oven is designed to be easy to use, and on that front, it delivers. There are no frills—just put it together, hook it up to your gas tank, turn it on, and it's ready to cook within half an hour or so. It's weatherproof, so you don't need any extra covering for it.
The Problems: There are no real problems with this oven; they're more like restrictions. It doesn't have a lot of juice, so the pizzas you make in it will be limited to the extra-crispy variety. Neapolitan and true New York–style pizzas simply won't work. But that's not to say you can't come up with some delicious results. Jeff of PizzaHacker was especially enamored by the cracker-y crusts it produced.
The door of the oven is wide, but not very tall, so maneuvering pizzas in and out of it can be a little bit tricky if you aren't very experienced in handling a pizza peel. Looks-wise, it's not the prettiest date at the prom, but it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, either. It sits squat and sturdy on three metal legs, and is safe to use on any surface.
Price at time of publish: $200.
Key Specs
- Fuel type: Gas
- Max floor temp: Around 550°F (290°C)
- Max air temp: Around 700°F (370°C)
- Fastest cook time: 5 minutes
- Preheat time: 30 minutes
- Recovery time between pizzas: Moments
- Largest pizza: 16 inches
- Good for other foods? It works okay, though it doesn't get hot enough to really sear or char meat or vegetables.
- Fuel consumption: A standard 15-pound propane tank will last more than a day.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The Best Grill-Top Pizza Ovens
During my testing of stand-alone pizza ovens, I also tested a number of units designed to sit atop your existing gas grill. They rely on the heat put out by your grill, so performance can vary drastically depending on your specific grill model. I tested them on a Broil King Baron, a run-of-the-mill mid-range grill you can pick up at your home goods store, as well as a top-of-the-line Coyote Outdoor C-Series grill. Even on the best grill, none of these units function nearly as well as the best stand-alone pizza ovens, and none of them produce pizza much better than you can make in your indoor oven, but the appeal of outdoor cooking—not to mention not having to heat up your house with an oven in the summer—can't be denied.
My two favorites are the BakerStone Pizza Oven Box and the KettlePizza Gas Pro Kit.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The BakerStone Box is a stone box encased in a metal housing. There are two models: a standard version and a stainless steel "pro" version. The only real difference between them came down to size; they performed comparably. You place the box on top of your grill and fire it up. The grill directly heats the stone on the base, while a gap in the back of the box allows hot air to rise into the box and flow out the front, cooking the top of your pizza. It cooks up a decent pie in about four to five minutes, though, as with every other grill-top oven on the market, the bottom ends up cooking much faster than the top, requiring you to "dome" your pizzas—that is, lift them up toward the ceiling of the oven near the end of cooking, in order to get the top to brown without overcooking the bottom.
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The BakerStone is sleek and attractive, and can be stored directly in your grill or in the compartment underneath. Be sure to check the sizing recommendations to ensure that it will fit on your grill.
Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt
The KettlePizza Gas Pro Kit is about as simple as pizza ovens come. It's a single slab of heavy stainless steel that's been curved in order to control the flow of heat in your grill. Place the metal cover on your grill, and slide a stone underneath, then let it preheat. When you're ready to cook, slide the pizza onto the stone, and the stored heat in the metal cover will cook the top while the bottom crisps up. The nice thing about this setup, aside from durability, is that, so long as you have a good pair of heatproof gloves, you can actually just lift up the unit in order to completely expose the stone underneath when launching a pizza. This makes it a lot easier for beginners, and even experienced pizza-makers, to successfully launch a pizza into the center of the stone.
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As with the BakerStone, pizzas cooked with this setup will cook a little faster on the bottom than on the top. This kit produces crispy pizzas in four to five minutes.
FAQs
What's the best outdoor pizza oven?
Our top two favorites are the Roccbox and the Ooni Karu.
Are outdoor pizza ovens worth it?
For those that love and make a lot of pizza, an outdoor pizza oven may be a worthwhile investment. Indoor ovens just aren't capable of reaching the temperatures needed to make really great pizza at home, whereas the best outdoor pizza ovens are.
Where should I store my outdoor pizza oven?
Outdoor pizza ovens shouldn't be left outside for extended periods of time. They should be housed in a dry, covered place, like a garage or shed. We also recommend investing in a cover, which manufacturers often sell separately.
To Find the Best Pizza Cutters, We Sliced Up More Than a Dozen Pies
Pizza oven - rating of the best ovens
Contents
Pizza ovens speak for themselves. These are devices that are designed to bake a famous Italian product. Professional equipment is indispensable in catering places, as well as in large supermarkets that produce their own pastries. It is convenient to install such ovens in pizzerias and cafes.
In this rating, we will consider various types of stoves and compile a list of the best of them.
Varieties
There are several types of pizza ovens:
- Wood burning . Designed for the classic way of baking pizza. They work on wood, respectively, there is an open fire. In this type of furnaces, three types of heating work: convection, contact heat transfer, heat reflection from the walls of the hearth.
- With stone hearths . Electric hearth ovens are economical and practical. The heating method of this device is such that the heating elements heat both the trays and the chamber at the same time, which allows the pizza to cook faster and more evenly.
- Convection . Such ovens reduce energy consumption and allow you to bake a large number of products at the same time. These ovens reduce energy costs and cooking time. Type of heating - with the help of convectors installed inside the chamber.
- Conveyor . This is a high-performance baking method, however, it is one of the slowest. Such devices are installed in pizzerias specializing in pizza delivery. Conveyor ovens are heated by the movement of air masses. It is also worth noting that such units often run on gas than on electricity.
All of these ovens can be either gas or electric or have an alternative energy source. For example, the oven is electric, but it is possible to connect to gas. Wood stoves can also be equipped with an additional gas heating system.
It is worth noting that electric ovens are much more convenient to use. Since pizza cooks much faster in them. In addition, there are not a large number of different safety conditions with such a furnace. The only significant plus of gas ovens is that they are much more economical.
Important parameters
- number of cameras;
- capacity;
- maximum pizza diameter;
- temperature regime;
- power.
Number of chambers
Parameter indicating how many chambers a particular furnace has. Not always a large number of chambers indicates that the output will be greater, but most often this is the case.
Capacity
Indicates how many pizzas can be cooked in the oven at the same time. If the device has more than one chamber, then this parameter takes into account the capacity in the entire furnace, and not in each chamber separately. To understand how many pizzas can fit in one chamber, it is enough to divide the figure indicated in the table by the number of chambers.
Maximum pizza diameter
The larger the appliance's chamber, the larger the size of the trays installed in it, respectively, the pizza diameter depends on this size.
Temperature setting
This indicator indicates the maximum temperature the device can cook with. Pizza ovens differ from others in that they have a higher temperature regime, since this product must be baked quickly enough.
Power
Large appliances require good power to achieve optimum cooking speed. However, even devices of the same size can have different capacities. Naturally, cooking will be faster in the oven in which this indicator is higher.
Parameter comparison table
Criteria | ITPIZZA ML4 | ITPIZZA MS44 | Apach AMM44 | ITPIZZA MD1+1 | Hurakan HKN-MD11 | Apach AMG4 | Apach AMS2 | GAM MD 4+4 | GGF E 4/A | Abat PEP-4 | Hurakan HKN-MD1 | Pizza Group Entry Max 8 |
Number of chambers | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Capacity | 4 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
Maximum pizza diameter | 36 cm | 30 cm | 35 cm | 34 cm | 40 cm | 30 cm | 34 cm | 35 cm | 30 cm | 35 cm | 40 cm | 33 cm |
Temperature rating | 50 - 500°C | 50 - 500°C | 50 - 450°C | 50 - 350°C | 0 - 300 °C | 50 - 450°C | 50 - 350°C | 60 - 450°C | 50 - 500°C | 20 - 450°C | 0 - 300 °C | 0 - 450°C |
Power | 6 kW | 9. 4 kW | 9.6 kW | 3.2 kW | 3 kW | gas | 3.5 kW | 9.6 kW | 4.2 kW | 6.2 kW | 2 kW | 11.2 kW |
Scoring table
Criterion | ITPIZZA ML4 | ITPIZZA MS44 | Apach AMM44 | ITPIZZA MD1+1 | Hurakan HKN-MD11 | Apach AMG4 | Apach AMS2 | GAM MD 4+4 | GGF E 4/A | Abat PEP-4 | Hurakan HKN-MD1 | Pizza Group Entry Max 8 |
Number of chambers | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
Capacity | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Maximum pizza diameter | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
Temperature rating | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
Power | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Points | 20 | 21 | 22 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 17 | 19 | 15 | 22 |
Place in the ranking | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
12th place - Hurakan HKN-MD1
This oven has only one chamber and one level on it. That is why only one product can be baked at a time. Its maximum temperature indicator is small (only 300 degrees), respectively, and the power is not very high - 2 kW.
A significant advantage of this device is the ability to bake pizza with a diameter of 40 cm. At the same time, the model heats up quickly enough thanks to the baking stone (heating occurs evenly).
11th place - Apach AMG4
A device with one chamber, which provides the possibility of loading 4 pizzas at once. However, their diameter is not very large - 30 cm. The Apach AMG4 oven can be heated up to 450 degrees. But it has one significant drawback - it runs on gas, so it needs to be connected to a gas supply system.
At the same time, the model has 3 thermostats and the possibility of lighting the working chamber. However, in any case, it is connected to electricity (220 V), while the power it needs is only 0.2 kW.
10th place - ITPIZZA MD1+1
Despite the fact that there are two chambers in this device, the capacity of the oven is very small - only 2 pizzas per 1 run. At the same time, the baking size cannot exceed 34 cm. ITPIZZA MD1 + 1 can be heated up to 350 degrees, while its power is 3.2 kW. These figures are not large enough.
However, it is possible to separately adjust the upper and lower heating elements. There is also a thermostat that protects the device from overheating and turns it off if necessary. The control panel of the model is electronic.
9th place - Apach AMS2
Another two-section oven, with a capacity of only 2 pizzas. This device is almost completely identical to the previous one. They even scored the same number of points in the ranking, but the Apach AMS2 has 0.3 kW more power.
Equipped with four independent thermostats and individual lighting for each chamber.
8th place - Hurakan HKN-MD11
Another model from Hurakan - HKN-MD11. However, this device has 2 chambers, and, accordingly, the capacity is 2 pizzas. This unit allows you to cook pizzas of the largest diameter (among the models presented in the rating) - 40 cm. But the temperature regime of the unit is not the best - it can only heat up to 300 degrees, but its heating is quite fast.
You can also bake various bakery products in the oven.
7th place - GGF E 4/A
Model with one hearth, but with good capacity - 4 pizzas. However, the size of the products cannot exceed 30 cm in diameter. However, a significant role in this device is played by the temperature regime - the possibility of heating up to 500 ° C allows the GGF E 4 / A to work very quickly. Accordingly, the performance of the unit is quite high.
It is worth noting the electromechanical control that the oven is equipped with.
6th place - Abat PEP-4
The device, identical to the previous one, has only one chamber, but the ability to load up to 4 pizzas at the same time. At the same time, it also has good temperature indicators - up to 450 ° C, and the size of each product can reach 35 cm.
The model is equipped with two mechanical thermostats. Heating elements (upper and lower) are regulated independently from each other. It is also worth noting that the hearth in the furnace is made of felsite - a heat-resistant natural stone.
5th place – ITPIZZA ML4
ITPIZZA ML4 single-section oven with a load of four pizzas with a diameter of up to 36 cm. One of the main advantages of the device is the ability to heat up to 500 degrees. The control panel in the model is electronic.
Heating elements are separately adjustable. Also, it is important to note that it is possible to connect the unit to a 220 V or 380 V network.
4th place - ITPIZZA MS44
Two-chamber model from ITPIZZA with the ability to load 8 products at once. At the same time, its temperature regime is the same as that of the previous model - up to 500 ° C. The only significant drawback of the ITPIZZA MS44 is that the size of the pizzas is rather small - only 30 cm in diameter.
The unit is equipped with durable steel heating elements and has internal lighting.
3rd place - Pizza Group Entry Max 8
The first three places were taken by devices with very similar parameters. This oven has 2 chambers, each of which can hold up to 4 products. The main advantage of this device is the power - 11.2 kW. However, the size of baked products is the smallest - 33 cm. That is why the unit took the third line in the rating.
It is worth noting that the oven is equipped with two high-quality mechanical thermometers and improved thermal insulation of the chamber. Therefore, it is easy to maintain the required temperature in it.
2nd place - GAM MD 4+4
Identical to the previous oven, the GAM MD 4+4 has two chambers and a capacity of 8. Baked pizzas can reach a diameter of 35 cm and a temperature of 450 degrees. Power 9.6 kW.
Each chamber has 2 electromechanical thermostats and a smoke outlet.
1st place - Apach AMM44
Furnace, parameters are absolutely identical to GAM MD 4+4. The only difference is the lower temperature threshold. If for the previous model it starts from 60 degrees, then for Apach it starts from 50 °C. Otherwise, the main indicators of these two models are exactly the same.
The Apach AMM44 is equipped with two temperature sensors and four independent thermostats. There is also built-in lighting for each chamber.
Rating
- GAM MD 4+4
- Pizza Group Entry Max 8
- ITPIZZA MS44
- ITPIZZA ML4
- Abat PEP-4
- GGF E 4/A
- Hurakan HKN-MD11
- Apach AMS2
- ITPIZZA MD1+1
- Apach AMG4
- Hurakan HKN-MD1
Helpful video
Conclusion
Pizza ovens are very handy devices that cook at high speed. The choice of model depends on the purpose of production. The larger it is, the higher the capacity and temperature should be.
If you have any questions, ask them in the comments.
How to choose the right professional pizza oven for a restaurant
If you plan to open a place that will serve not only restaurant cuisine, but also airy pizza with a crispy crust and smoky flavor, then you need a professional pizza oven.
Despite the name, this unit has a wide range of options. It can be used to make pizza, bread, buns and other baked goods.
The main thing is to choose the model that best suits your technical specifications and budget.
Now, if you want to know how to choose pizza ovens, read on.
Pizza oven: device overview
Pizza oven - professional heating equipment. It is installed in restaurants, cafes, fast foods, coffee houses.
One of the mandatory attributes of the device is a hearth made of natural stone. It accumulates heat and maintains the temperature at +400 -500℃ inside the main chamber.
The cooking process takes 5 to 7 minutes.
Oven standard:
- oven where food is cooked;
- heat flux power regulator. Temperature range – from +100 to +500℃;
- safety thermostat. It deactivates all heating elements in case of overheating.
Some models have a viewing window. It is made of tempered glass that can withstand high temperatures. Through the glass, you can observe the process of preparing pizza, bread, croissants, buns and other pastries.
Another addition is an internal light and a thermometer placed inside the chamber.
The best pizza ovens include all of the above elements, and can also be a complete set for the main grill oven and do not take up much space in your establishment, and make the process of preparing an Italian dish easier and more comfortable.
Types of pizza ovens
Before you buy a device, you need to understand what pizza ovens are.
According to the principle of operation, they are divided into three categories:
- bottom: they are practical, compact. Under the chamber, she has a stone or cast-iron surface. Suitable for home use. Considered the most profitable investment;
- wood fired pizza ovens: firewood or charcoal is used to run the structures. More expensive option;
- conveyor: units designed for cafes, restaurants, pizzerias with a heavy flow of customers. These are devices with a roomy chamber, where 3-4 pizzas are placed.
Depending on the power source, the devices can be divided into three types:
- electric: they are connected to a 220V mains. Designed for baking 1-4 bases;
- gas: connected to a centralized gas supply system;
- wood-fired: firewood or alternative fuels such as coal are used to run them.
Charcoal grill addition - pizza oven:
One of the most popular options for themed cafes, restaurants, pubs is a charcoal pizza oven. And also an ideal option for those who want to expand the variety of dishes prepared on josper in their establishment.
In the article we will consider a coal stove, which is an additional design for a josper barbecue oven.
What you need to know about this device:
- high quality material: it is made of durable and fireproof materials, resistant to high temperature, corrosion and other negative factors;
- To control the temperature in the furnace, a thermometer is installed on the top panel.
- smart design. Air flows circulate throughout the chamber, ensuring uniform preparation of the product;
- elegant design: the oven looks stylish and original. There is no need to fill the hot shops in your restaurant kitchen with additional equipment;
- Functionality: This is a technique that ensures uniform processing of pizza bases, rolls, bread or croissants. The possibility of burning is completely eliminated;
- exquisite taste and aroma of finished products: buns, croissants, charcoal pizza are light and airy. It is no coincidence that this type of construction is chosen by catering establishments, where the menu includes not only delicious grilled meat and vegetable dishes, but also pastries of their own production. For such restaurants and cafes, the positive opinion of visitors is important, therefore an integrated approach to menu selection is used.
How much does a charcoal pizza oven cost? It depends on the following nuances:
- technical characteristics of the device: power, temperature range;
- design format;
- parameters: furnace height and main chamber dimensions;
- the presence of additional functions that facilitate the process of preparing pizza, croissants, rolls.
The calculation is made by a manufacturer of professional equipment for catering establishments.
Its price is higher than that of analogues operating on electricity or gas.
Why it is worth buying an additional set of pizza for a charcoal grill oven
This technique is not the most budget option for a restaurant, but you will get a design that:
With the accessory kit for the charcoal barbecue oven, you will save not only space in your kitchen, but also cooking time, as well as improve the quality of the food served. After all, it provides a high speed of cooking pizza thanks to the power and control system of the device - temperature control, which allows you to control the pizza cooking time.
Where to buy professional pizza baking equipment
Unit Group is a manufacturer and supplier of professional catering equipment. When developing equipment, technical quality standards, current requirements of establishments, as well as individual requests for sizes and configurations from our customers are taken into account.
You can call and discuss in advance the complexity of the project - the definition of technical features of the structure, design, rules for its installation and operation. The term of production of the furnace on coals makes up to 14 working days.
Still have questions? Then call the above numbers or click "Order a calculation" and we will be able to answer any question you are interested in!
Frequently asked questions when choosing a pizza oven for your establishment:
What else can you bake in a pizza oven❓
Professional pizza ovens are used to prepare a variety of dishes - pizza, bread, rolls, light French pastries. The main thing is to follow the recipe and the temperature regime when preparing the selected dish.
How much does a pizza oven cost❓
The cost of a pizza oven depends on its parameters (weight, oven volume), technical characteristics, power, operating temperature range.