I, like many people, love pizza. I have had my eye on portable outdoor pizza ovens but haven’t made any decisions yet. As the seasons changed, an ad for an indoor pizza oven caught my eye and sounded like a wonderful new appliance to add to my kitchen. There are several companies making indoor pizza countertop pizza ovens with varying price ranges and levels of success. The difficulty in indoor pizza ovens is being able to get the oven hot enough to achieve a crispy crust. That usually requires a temperature range of 700◦ F – 900◦ F in outdoor ovens.
Here is what I’ve discovered.
The Cuisinart Indoor Pizza Oven creates 12” artisanal pizzas at home in 5 minutes and can get to a 700◦F temperature which delivers crispy crusts and melted cheese. It is stainless steel and measures 17.5” D x 19” W x 11” H. It weighs 25 pounds. It takes 20-30 minutes to preheat the oven to 350◦F – 700◦F. It has a large viewing window to monitor the progress. The reviews were very good. A few minor complaints that cleaning the inside can be challenging but is doable. $399.95
The Prestoi Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven has top and bottom heating elements that bake foods from both sides and are separately controlled so the bottom can be hotter for a crisp crust and the top hot enough to melt cheese and cook toppings. The rotating tray turns continuously to assure even baking. The heating elements turn off automatically when cooking time ends. It measures 14.5″D x 15.8″W x 10.3″H and weighs 7.5 pounds. $58.05
The Breville Smart Oven Pizzailo can reach a temperature of 750◦F and it will cook a wood-fired-style pizza in 2 minutes. It combines convective heat for the toppings, radiant heat to get the spotted crusts and conductive heat for a perfectly cooked crisp crust. It comes in either a brushed stainless steel or Black Truffle finish and measures 18.5″D x 18.1″W x 10.6″H. The Breville costs $200 less than the Ooni Volt 12, is more compact, easier to control, and consistently produces nice, puffy pizzas. $799.95
The Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven cooks 12” pizzas in less than 2 minutes and can reach the temperature of 850◦F in 20 minutes. It comes with a 13” Cordierite baking stone, but it does not come with a pizza peel. That should be purchased separately. It can be used indoors and outdoors and measures 24.2″D x 20.8″W x 10.9″H and weighs 39 pounds. It is featured in Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2023. Ooni has an excellent reputation for the best portable outdoor pizza oven. We looked this Ooni up on Wirecutter, the review source for everything, and it did say that it is very large, and the temperatures can vary.
This could be a fun family holiday present, given the price tag. $999.00.
I am currently making my homemade pizzas at home in my oven. The crusts might not be as crispy as professional pizzas, but these pizzas are pretty darn good. There is a fair amount of mess and fuss, but overall, in the face of no current alternative, it passes muster. If you go this route, here is the equipment you will need.
This Cuisinart Pizza Grilling Pack includes a 15” cordierite pizza stone that is .5” thick. The aluminum 14” x 14” Pizza Peel is lightweight and easy to handle. The wood handle folds for storage. The 15” wide Pizza Cutter quickly slices through pizza pies for quick serving. It can be used on your grill or in your oven. $59.99
You can make your own pizza dough, but frozen pizza dough is easy to find in supermarkets. Ask your local pizzeria if they sell fresh dough.
You will also need parchment paper, flour, or corn meal to get the dough loaded and unloaded from the pizza stone where it bakes.
Here is a good basic pizza recipe from The Kitchn.
