Whether you’re baking with electric, gas, wood pellets, or kindling, these are the best home pizza ovens to buy today
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To make an authentic 12-inch pizza at home, you not only need the finest ingredients you can touch, you also need a real pizza oven, capable of operating temperatures of up to 400°C and beyond.
Ooni is the UK’s most popular brand of pizza ovens, but Sage makes an exception for indoor and outdoor pizza ovens.
We’ve put together a quintet of fine pizza oven contenders that bake pizzas just like any restaurant oven, stuffed with crispy crusts and high, airy crusts.
The best pizza ovens at a glance
The process of making pizza
Well, you could make the pizza dough yourself using the finest Italian OO flour, quality salt, olive oil and some yeast, but unless you’re a decent cook or baker, you might find it difficult to make dough balls as good as they do were made by the professionals.
If you want to skip the dough making, buy some pre-made dough balls. Not only will this save you a lot of time and hassle, but you’ll likely be happier with the results. Below we list some top quality dough ball suppliers.
Preparation is another important factor, as is using the best ingredients you can get your hands on. There are great YouTube demonstrations of how to stretch and build pizza.
The best mozzarella to use is the mozzarella that comes in a sachet with liquid, be it regular or buffalo mozzarella. Be sure to dry the mozzarella chunks on a paper towel 30 minutes before baking, or the remaining moisture in the cheese will turn the center of the pizza into an unsightly pink puddle of cheese and passata.
The best suppliers of pizza dough
Granted, you’ll have to order a dozen or so balls of dough at a time, but they’ll last forever in the freezer. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight, take out a few hours to reach room temperature, and cover with a damp tea towel to rise.
Massarellas: Massarellas are based in Yorkshire and supply their amazing Sourdough and Classic ranges to most of mainland Britain.
The sourdough variant in particular makes excellent pizzas with a feather-light mountain crust.
Ooni: Ooni is arguably the most popular consumer brand of pizza ovens in the UK. It also delivers premium semi-frozen sourdough pizza balls to your doorstep – only in mainland UK.
The minimum order is 24 balls of dough, but they keep for months and freezing doesn’t affect the end result, which is delicious.
Northern batter: These balls of dough can be found in pairs in most supermarket freezer sections. They are not at the top with the stiff competition above, but they are certainly the most convenient to buy.
Sage the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo
Best for: comfort and consistency
Most consumer pizza ovens are of the outdoor variety, but this one is designed for indoor and outdoor use.
Sage is one of the world’s finest manufacturers of small home appliances and this real pizza oven is one of the finest products they have ever created.
The Pizzaiolo uses two electrical elements – one under the pizza stone and one above it – and some clever computer tricks to make some of the best pizzas you’ll ever bake.
It’s effortless to use and by far the most consistent model on this site. In addition, since the 12-inch pizza stone moves outward when the door is opened, there is almost no chance of burning your hand when placing or removing the pizza.
This 400˚C pizza oven heats up in about 25 minutes and automatically produces a variety of delicious pizzas at the touch of a button: Slow Baked Deep Dish, Roman, New Yorker. In short, no other pizza oven on this site can match its uncomplicated convenience and unwavering consistency.
No, it’s not cheap at all, but if you really like pizza, flatbread, nans, etc. you won’t find a more efficient all-season machine.
Ooni Koda 12
This cracking Ooni stove uses gas for added convenience. All you need is a typical 5kg can of Patio Gas for amazing 12 inch pizzas without having to constantly add fuel to the fire.
The Ooni Koda doesn’t have a chimney like its wood-fired stablemates because it hardly produces any smoke. Pizza purists may balk at the thought of using a moisture-generating heat source like gas, but you’ll have a hard time telling the difference between the pizzas this crisp competitor produces and its admittedly more authentic wood-fired counterparts.
Plus, the chimney-less design makes it easy to transport and store (it only weighs 9.24 kg).
Unlike Ooni’s wood-burning stoves, the Koda 12 comes pretty much pre-assembled out of the box – simply attach the gas bottle, carefully insert the included cordierite brick, light up and in just 15 minutes or so you’ll be baking.
Although the flames from the rear fire lick all over the pizza, you still need to turn the pizza at least once during the baking process, so keep an eye on the back of the oven in case it starts to burn the crust.
DeliVita
Best for: Authentic wood-fired pizza
When only the very best in authentic wood fired pizza will do and you have the financial means to spend a grand, then the DeliVita will return your investment time and time again with classic results.
However, you have to work hard at it because wood-fired pizza ovens require a lot of attention from the preheating phase to the baking process. You have to keep at it or the pizza festival will be a disaster.
The most important thing is to light the fuel – in this case kindling – 40 minutes before the baking time. You’ll also need to reach deep into the back of the oven with a long chopping tool to clear the embers from the baking area before pushing the pizza in.
The igloo-shaped DeliVita weighs around 30 kilos – quite heavy – and is available in six eye-catching colours. The heavy-duty insulation does a great job of keeping the oven hot inside – up to and exceeding 500°C – so pizza bases come out crispy every time.
Ooni Fira 12
Ooni is undoubtedly the most popular pizza oven manufacturer in this country. The affordable Fyra 12 runs on wood pellets like those used in pellet grillsweighs only 10 kg and comes with a 12 inch brick.
All Ooni pizza ovens are a breeze to assemble and this one is no different – simply attach the chimney and rear mounted pellet hopper, unfold the three legs and carefully slide in the cordierite stone.
To use the Fyra 12 simply load the hopper with pellets and light them with a small firelighter. Allow to stand for at least 30 minutes until the stone has reached 400°C or more and gently push in the prepared pizza using a 30cm spatula of your choice.
Keep an eye on the pizza, because it’s ready in less than 90 seconds—definitely don’t chat with a mate, even for a few seconds, or you might pull out a black, charred slice. You also need to flip the pizza while it’s baking, otherwise the back portion closest to the hearth of the fire may burn.
Gozney Rockbox
Best for: Top-class pizza baking
Based in Yorkshire, Gozney manufactures both consumer and commercial pizza ovens so they know the business well. This 12-inch gas-fired model can also be converted to burn kindling with the right aftermarket accessories.
It also comes fully assembled out of the box, although it’s a heavyweight at 20kg. Unlike most outdoor pizza ovens, this one has a built-in thermometer, which is handy for checking the temperature at a glance.
Gozney’s patented baffle ensures that the rolling flame from the gas or wood source covers the entire top of the pizza, which in turn ensures largely even cooking.
The Roccbox comes with three foldable legs that keep it stable on any table. When you’re done, simply fold up the legs and transport the unit to the shed for safe storage. If you are looking for an extremely well designed and very attractive patio pizza oven then this is the one for you.