Despite its huge capacity, the Ooni is surprisingly compact at 50 x ​​81.5 x 83.7cm (including chimney), making it suitable for smaller gardens too. There’s a digital thermometer at the front, as well as a hinged door at the front and chimney on top, which allows you to control the airflow and temperature of the oven. In testing, we found the Ooni produced excellent results with both wood and gas, though the wood offered a crispier, smokier and more authentic pizza flavour overall. Adding and removing our pizza was easy, due to the Karu’s wide opening, and the reheat time was super speedy too – sometimes as little as 60 seconds. Key specs – Dimensions: 77 x 40 x 80cm; Weight: 12kg; Fuel Type: Wood, Charcoal and Gas; Portable: Yes; Max pizza size: 12in Another note on becoming a pizzaiolo. Even if you’re not an expert at making pizza dough —we certainly weren’t! — you’re better off trying your hand at making homemade dough or buying dough from a local pizzeria that specializes in thin-crust pies than buying store-bought refrigerated or frozen dough. In our tests, both store-bought doughs we tested (Trader Joe’s for refrigerated, Wegman’s for frozen) were difficult to roll out to a desired thinness, and had a tendency to burn on the outside while not getting fully cooked inside. If you do use store-bought dough in one of these ovens, a good rule of thumb is to use a floured rolling pin to try to get it as thin as possible before cooking. (But really, avoid it if you can.) Can’t I just cook pizza in a regular oven or in a cast-iron pan? Of course and you can achieve some great results too with the right techniques. However, unless you have a proper pizza oven, you’ll never be able to duplicate that authentic wood-fired taste in exactly the same way.

Any sort of food that fares well in intense heat. Other bread-based dishes are a great choice, such as focaccia and flatbreads, but you can also experiment with dishes like steaks, salmon, traybakes, frittatas and baked eggs. Avoid poultry: unless it’s expertly cooked, it will most probably end up incinerated on the outside and raw on the inside. Where should it go? Paying for a takeaway pizza is often a nice treat but if you want something a cut above your average Dominos or Pizza Hut, why not give authentic, homemade pizza a try in your very own dedicated outdoor oven? The best pizza ovens will have you whipping up freshly baked pizzas in a matter of minutes, and trust us when we say that dough cooked in this way really is a cut above the rest.The BakerStone Pizza Oven Box pulls double duty: Since it was originally designed as a box to place on a grill, you can actually detach the top portion from the bottom “firebox” and do your pizza-cooking on a grill. The interior of the oven, composed of five sides of pizza stones, performed surprisingly well when up against the open-flame Ooni Koda and Gozney Roccbox. Because the five stones maintain and radiate a lot of heat, the pizzas we made came out with a good amount of char and were cooked evenly. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Under ideal conditions, we found that the Etna Fermo’s pizza stone could reach its operating temperature of 500ºC in just 18 minutes, although it struggled a little to reach this temperature on cooler days. Even below 500ºC, it was able to cook a classic, thin-crust homemade pizza to perfection in just 60 seconds. What’s more, we found it matched the authentic flavour of wood-powered ovens.

But to also keep things simple (and fair), we tested each oven with Margherita pizzas topped only with tomato sauce and hand-torn mozzarella, with a little basil and olive oil drizzled on after cooking. Suitable for use with wood and gas, the Roccbox is an incredibly stylish and portable outdoor pizza oven. Its compact size and easy set-up makes it ideal for al fresco dining whether you’re in the garden or camping. The oven is almost fully assembled straight out of the box and it comes with pretty much everything you need to get started, with the exception of the fuel itself. In addition to its cooking performance, we also evaluated each oven on its ease of setup, how hot the oven got (both on the inside and outside), and how easy it was to control the temperature. For wood or wood pellet models, we also looked at the ease with which we could add fuel. What to look for in a pizza oven When tested with the gas burner, the Roccbox reached its maximum temperature of 500ºC in around 30-45 minutes. 12in pizzas cooked in around 60 seconds, sometimes less and the result was excellent, with a well cooked base and crispy crust. Unfortunately, the Roccbox struggled to reach the maximum temperature using the wood burner. It also required a lot of wood to stay hot and struggled to stay at a consistent temperature without regular tending. This meant pizzas took longer to cook but the results were still authentic and delicious. Outside of price, the biggest factor to consider when buying a pizza oven is the fuel source. Ovens can be heated by either propane, charcoal, or wood pellets (there are also electric options for indoor models). Before choosing an outdoor pizza oven, decide which heat source is right for you. In our tests, the propane ovens were easier to control, but pizza ovens that used either wood, wood pellets, or charcoal gave the pies a smoky flavor reminiscent of good grills.Plus, it's easier to carry a bag of charcoal or wood pellets than it is a tank of propane, especially if you're planning to bring your pizza oven to a camping trip or tailgate.While Danish brand Witt may not have the name recognition of competitors like Ooni or Gozney, we can safely say it deserves to. This stylish pizza oven impresses from the first glance with its sleek, modern design and striking range of colour options. Coming largely pre-assembled, the Etna Fermo is also simple to set up, needing just a AA battery and a bottle of butane to get it going. It takes just ten minutes to get to temperature (this varies depending on the temperature of your BBQ) and stays hot enough to cook a 12in pizza to crispy perfection in a matter of minutes. Once everyone is pizza-d out, the removable stone base makes it easy to clean and its small size and helpful handles on both sides make it a doddle to store away. Key specs – Dimensions: 55 x 79 x 68cm (HDW); Weight: 58kg; Fuel Type: Wood/Wood and gas; Portable: No; Max pizza size: 16in The ovens’ ceramic pizza stones, when heated, can hold very high temperatures, giving your pie a nice char on the bottom. The main differentiator in our tests was the heat source and how it affected the cooking on top of the pie; without a high temperature, you won’t get the dotted char known in the industry as “leoparding” (because it looks like a leopard, get it?). We found that the gas ovens with an exposed flame — the Ooni Koda 16 and the Gozney Roccbox —were best for getting a nice char. The Ooni Karu is one of the more portable pizza ovens on this list, too. The fibre-insulated ceramic body weighs only 12kg, the smoking chimney can be removed and each of the four legs can be folded away for easy carrying.

Product images are for illustrative purposes and even though we do our outmost to depict the items as accurately as possible the images may differ slightly from the actual product in some cases. Safety: Pizzas require incredibly high temperatures to cook so we looked for excellent insulation and safety features to make using the pizza oven easy to use. If you’re looking for a pizza oven that’s smaller than average but doesn’t compromise on quality, this model from La Hacienda might just be the ideal fit. More of a nifty BBQ accessory than a standalone pizza oven, this clever contraption sits on the grill of an existing gas or charcoal BBQ, letting you add authentic Italian pizzas to your garden party with ease. Storage: consider the space you have available. The smallest pizza ovens we've tested are the BBQ-top models, which thanks to their small, boxy size, can easily be stored in a garage, shed or even inside somewhere. A number of the models on this list have easy foldaway legs, meaning they too will take up very little room when not in use. Some of the larger models we've tested will need to be kept outside in all weathers, in this case, a cover is an absolute must.Somewhere in your garden, where it’s relatively sheltered from the breeze, as winds can send cool air into your oven and bring those cooking temperatures down. You’ll want a flat, even surface on which to rest your oven, whether that’s a heatproof tabletop, or the ground if it has its own legs or stand.

The overwhelming majority of pizza ovens are wood-fired because pizzas cook optimally in short, fierce blasts of heat. Cooking time usually takes between 30 seconds and five minutes, and the finished result is simply unachievable in a gas or domestic oven. Dubbed “the Rolls-Royce of pizza ovens” in our full review, the Gozney Dome earns this title due to its luxurious design and excellent performance. Its cream-coloured, domed exterior is quite simply a pleasure to look at, while the weatherproofed ceramic and stainless body feels sturdy and well put-together, proving to be functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. The Fyra is also the least expensive of Ooni's ovens — and one of the cheapest pizza ovens overall — so it won't burn a hole through your wallet while it's cooking your pies. Key specs – Dimensions: 50 x ​​81.5 x 83.7cm; Weight: 28kg; Fuel Type: Wood, gas and charcoal; Portable: No; Max pizza size: 16in Ooni has seen booming business for its line of outdoor pizza ovens, some of which operate on gas, and others a combination of gas and wood. The Koda 16 is the larger of its two propane-powered Koda models — with a 16-inch cooking area vs. the Koda 12’s 12-inch cooking area —and for its ease of setup, relatively lightweight construction, no-fuss functionality, large cooking space, and powerful L-shaped flame, we felt it’s the most versatile, family-friendly model for cooks who might want to experiment with different pie sizes, as well as cooking other non-pizza items in the oven. That why it took home the Tom's Guide 2022 Award for Best pizza oven.The main advantage to gas-powered pizza ovens is how low-maintenance they are by comparison: there’s no prep or waiting time, and no ashes to clean away afterwards. Instead, all you’ll need to do is attach a butane or propane canister. Also, the temperature of a gas pizza oven can be adjusted with the simple turn of a dial, although as explained, this isn’t essential. What else can be cooked in a pizza oven?