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As a nation we do love to cook outside and even an overcast or wet day won’t stop us from burning some chicken wings on the barbeque. Little wonder then, given our love for al fresco cooking, pizza ovens are becoming more and more popular. It is great fun tossing pizza dough around, putting on the toppings and then seeing the pizza cook in just a few short minutes. But, with so many different varieties of ovens on the market though, the question is, which pizza oven is right for you? Read on as we will take you through the options and give you the pros and cons for each type.
Portable pizza ovens
The name is a bit of a giveaway, these pizza ovens are relatively small and portable. That’s not to say you can pop them in your basket when going for a picnic, but they can be moved easily. Portable pizza ovens tend to be gas fired such as this ones from Ooni and the biggest advantage of these is the convenience. Just like a gas barbeque, you connect to the gas cylinder, switch it on and in 15 minutes you are ready to cook. They are also remarkably light, this one is only 9.25kg. Ooni also do versions which use wood pellets, to give a bit more of that realistic wood fired pizza taste. Finally, they also offer the best of all worlds with their multi-fuel range. Clearly the gas fired ovens, like a BBQ don’t have that wood smoke taste so maybe a little is lost as a compromise for the convenience. The size, however, is perhaps the biggest downside in that, to be portable, they have to be small and that means less pizzas can be cooked at any one time. In the grand scheme, though, that’s probably not a major hardship.
Brick Pizza Ovens
If you want that really authentic pizza oven experience, then you might want to consider a brick built oven like the ones offered here by Fuego Wood fired Ovens. They come in different sizes and styles, but thankfully come pre-built so all you have to do it put them on a stand. Clearly these ovens look good in the garden, are a great talking point, have the capacity to cook a few pizzas at the same time and also have that beautiful wood smoke taste and the ambience of a lovely wood fire inside. From that point of view, they really do add the wow factor to your outside cooking. Where they are a little less convenient is that they take a lot of effort to install as they are so heavy. The bigger ovens can weigh as much as 700kg and that is some weight to shift. The other disadvantage is that, due to them being brick, they take quite some time to get to cooking temperature and can burn through quite a bit of wood to get there. Also, and something you really do need to get right, you can’t use them straight away. You have to fire them gradually over a period of days to dry out the bricks and render. If you don’t, the oven will crack. On a mild night, though, popping out with a beer in hand, topping up the fire and feeling the heat come out is quite a lovely experience.
DIY pizza ovens
For the more daring capable DIYers there are the build your own kits available such as these from Pizza Oven Supplies. The advantage of these, other than the bragging rights that you built your own oven, is that you can build a stand and then piece together the oven right on top. No need for a crane or 10 of your friends to help you to lift it in place. Once built, though, you get all the benefits of an authentic wood burning pizza oven and the talking point of you being the greatest DIYer to have ever lived.
There really is nothing to beat the taste of lovely homemade, wood fired pizza. Putting on whatever toppings you want is a real treat and just standing in front of that fire with a drink and friends really is an amazing social occasion. Whatever pizza oven you choose, you will certainly add a little va va voom to your al fresco dining.
