If you're serious about homemade pizza, the right oven can completely transform your cooking game. Whether you're a weekend entertainer or just want crispy, restaurant-quality crusts at home, investing in a high-performance pizza oven is a must.
With the widespread availability of genuine quality ingredients - Tipo 00 flours, San Marzano tomatoes - making authentic Napoletana style pizza at home has never been more accessible, easier or affordable!
You can make perfectly respectable pizza at home in your own oven - crank the heat as high as it will go and use a pizza stone.
However, its pretty much a truism that if you want to make Napoletana style pizza, known for the complex flavour and leopard striped, airy crust you need a dedicated oven that will go much hotter than a standard domestic oven - ideally at least 400°C!
We are spoiled for choice nowadays, luckily! There are several great quality pizza ovens on the market designed for home use that will comfortably hit the required temperature needed for great Napoletana style pizza that will suit a wide range of budgets.
There are a ton of fantastic pizza ovens out there, with something to suit every budget. But with the launch of Kegland’s new HIZO NEO E13 Electric Pizza Oven, achieving perfect pizza at home has never been easier!
Let's talk about why it is a game changer, and the differences between the different styles of oven out there.
Gas, Wood or Electric? Which is best?
This is the main choice you will need to make. There are pros and cons for both options. There are both gas and electric pizza ovens on the market that will produce fantastic, puffy Napoletana style pizza in a range of sizes an, form factors and budgets.
Electric Pizza Ovens
So, these are the new kids on the block. Until fairly recently there just wasn't really much in the way of small, portable electric pizza ovens that could get hot enough and had the right form factor for true Napoletana style pizza. Those that were tended to be too big, too heavy, too underpowered or just too expensive.
Then along came the OONI Volt which changed most of that!
Pretty much widely regarded as the best electric pizza oven on the market the OONI Volt is sleek, modern and happily hits 450°C with around a 20 minutes arm up time. Easy to use controls and smart programming make this a complete package. Review after review gush about this beauty of an electric oven.
With one caveat. Price.
The OONI Volt is a killer oven. With a triple glazed glass door, it has much more even front to back heat than any gas oven on the market. With separately controlled top and bottom elements, it has both the power and the flexibility to cook not just Napoletana pizza, but pretty much any other style with ease!
However, at $1499 it is over twice as expensive as its gas fired sibling, with basically the same sized stone. In our opinion, it is a better oven - unlike most electric pizza ovens you can pretty easily get the same authentic and high quality pizza as you can from a gas oven. If you can afford it.
ENTER THE HIZO NEO E13
At KegLand, we were pretty blown away by the OONI Volt. The sheer convenience and ease of use was a game changer. No more failed pizzas if you didn't get that first turn of the pizza just right! No uneven cooking. Small bounce time. No temperature surfing to find the 'sweet spot' between leopard strips and black panther burn marks.
So we decided to make our own electric pizza oven. Our first real foray into the world of gas fired pizza ovens, the G14 HIZO, has been hugely popular. And everyone in the office wanted an electric one.
We wanted an oven with even heating. Separate powerful elements. Well insulated. Fast pre-heating. And powerful but super intuitive controls.
The HIZO NEO E13 Electric Pizza Oven has 2140w of power for super fast heating, dual elements and compact, bench friendly design. It will plug into any standard 10amp domestic circuit and be ready to go with a even 450°C heat in 15-20 minutes!
The smart mode dial allows you to choose your style and the HIZO will set the temperature and top/bottom element power to suit. Or you can go full manual if desired, for the old school or super experienced pizzaiolos out there!
Best of all, this baby is just $599! This is a genuine game changer.
Gas Pizza Ovens
Gas Pizza ovens have a huge following, for good reason. They can easily reach the high temperatures required, and are fairly simple to use - often the only real control is a simple analogue dial to control the flame. With a good pizza stone and a design that emulates a traditional wood fired oven but in a small, portable form factor, gas pizza ovens such as the 12" OONI Koda and the 14" HIZO G14.
With a quick heat up time, no need for wood fuel or power gas pizza ovens are perfect for a spontaneous pizza night or a camping trip!
Gas pizza ovens run off LPG which is the same gas used for your BBQ, so it is widely available and not expensive. Most decent gas pizza ovens will reach up to 450-500°C which is perfect for pizza!
Gas pizza ovens are also typically quite affordable, costing in the same range as a premium BBQ, for example. Pre heat times are pretty reasonable generally - in the 20-30 minutes range, typically. The combination of direct and radiant heat from the burners and shape of the oven quite closely emulates a traditional wood fired pizza oven, making gas pizza oven a very popular choice amongst pizza aficionados!
There's no doubt that fantastic Napoletana pizza can be made in a gas pizza oven, cooking in around 90 seconds!
However, they do have a downside.
When cooking at these high temperatures you cannot just launch your pizza and pull it out when done. You need to be on your game - typically you will need to turn the pizza every 15 seconds or so (these pizza spinner peels are ideal for this!). Due to the quite small form factor and shape, the back of the oven where the burners are will generally be quite a bit hotter than the front. So, after launching, you need to turn the pizza regularly to ensure even cooking without burning!
The OONI range of gas pizza ovens is pretty much the most well known and regarded brand around. The OONI Koda range is available in 12 or 16" sizes, and look fantastic in addition to being very functional. An OONI Koda 12" Gas Pizza oven is $599, so it represents great value.
Our own 14" gas pizza oven - HIZO G14 Portable Gas Pizza Oven - is even better value! Bigger than the 12" OONI, which helps to keep your pizza further from the elements meaning you can cook larger pizza or smaller ones more easily, this is amazing value at $299. It will happily hit the high temperatures needed for a true Napoletana style pizza. The legs can be folded for easy storage and unlike the OONI, the gas knob is on the front so precise and convenient temperature control is that much easier! In fact, we good so far as to say this is hands down the best value gas pizza oven on the market!
Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
Wood-fired pizza ovens are a favourite for their ability to bring an authentic taste to your pizzas and the nostalgia of cooking with woodchips. However, the major drawback is that you need to have wood on hand and keep the fire going while cooking your pizzas. While some people may find this enjoyable, others just find it annoying.
If you are in the former camp (and honestly, there is definitely something a bit magical about a true wood fired pzza!), Kegland stocks the Ooni Karu 12G – Portable Multi-Fuel Outdoor Pizza Oven – which offers the flexibility of cooking traditional wood-fired pizzas or the convenience of gas if required.
The Benefits of Owning a Dedicated Pizza Oven
So, why buy a dedicated pizza oven if you can just cook a half decent pizza on the BBQ or in your own oven?
1. Temperature
A dedicated pizza oven of any sort (gas, electric or wood) is the only real way to achieve the super high (450°C) temperatures required for true Napoletana pizza. If you want tiger striping and a perfect cornichone then this is the only way to go! If you are just chucking a frozen pizza in the microwave then it is probably overkill.
2. Cost Savings
Pizza is actually pretty damn cheap to make! If you can replicate the amazing taste of a wood fired pizza at home (spoiler: yes you can!) then you will notice a pretty significant saving over a year, especially if you like to go out for pizza once a month or more.
3. Versatility
As well as pizza, most dedicated pizza ovens can cook steak, grilled or roast veggies, focaccia, crusty bread, a whole slew of deliciousness!
Buying Guide for Pizza Ovens
Fuel Type
As outlined, there are three main choices: Electric, Gas or Wood-fired. Hopefully we have helped you narrow this down. Wood fired pizza can have a unique, authentic taste, but is much more work on the night! Gas is inexpensive and convenient, not too mention the most portable option, but gas ovens can be trickier to get consistent, great results.
Electric ovens are fairly new, and offer most of the benefits of a gas oven apart from cost. Of course, the introduction of the HIZO NEO E13 Electric Pizza Oven means that a high quality electric pizza oven is a lot more affordable!
Size and Portability
If you want portable, then not much beats a gas oven. Gas ovens are often smaller than their electric or wood fired counterparts as well. For a more permanent home installation, then an electric oven is probably right in the sweet spot.
Budget and Quality
More expensive doesn't always mean better! However, you want a pizza oven that can reliably, quickly and easily reach the desired temperatures. Easy to use front mounted controls are a big plus. The HIZO range of pizza ovens is designed to offer extremely competitive prices at a high quality point.
Maintenance and Durability
Whichever oven you end up with, ensure it is designed with ease of cleaning and reliable access to spare parts. At the very least, replacement pizza stones need to be available and inexpensive, as these are far and away the most likely part to fail - especially if you have a couple of beers while cooking your delicious pizza!
Conclusion
There's a dedicated pizza oven to suit every budget and need!
Gas Pizza Ovens are portable, typically pretty reasonably priced and capable of great results, but the skill of the pizzaiola is quite important! They are also the most portable option, as a rule!
Wood Fired Pizza Ovens are perfect for those who demand the absolute most authentic experience. And seriously, there's nothing quite like the aroma of a perfect wood fired pizza. The downside is the extra time and lack of convenience.
Electric Pizza Ovens are the easiest to use and often the most fully featured. The downside is they tend to be a lot more expensive than gas pizza ovens of the same size. The introduction of the HIZO NEO E13 Electric Pizza Oven at $599 pretty much removes the price barrier! Pound for pound this is possibly the best value pizza oven on the market!
