Photography: Eve Wilson
Picture this scene: it’s a balmy evening at home and you’re feasting with friends and family. Your favourite playlist croons in the background, and mingling with the scent of blossoms is the aroma of sizzling pizzas, each freshly topped with ingredients by the very hands that devour them moments after they leave the oven. It’s no wonder the allure of pizza ovens has captured a spot in our imaginations and landscape designs. It’s not just for the delicious food they serve up, but also the traditions they create when loved ones cook and dine together, making memories for years to come.
Shop our favourite pizza ovens
01
‘Arc’ XL gas pizza oven in Bone
$1,349 (was $1,499), Gozney
Best for: Compact design
This Gozney model is designed to fit even small outdoor kitchens and outdoor areas, while still perfectly cooking pizzas up to 16 inches in diameter. The design features a lateral rolling flame and burner that perfectly blends modern and traditional cooking techniques and innovations. The burner heats evenly and consistently while the rolling flame replicates the smokiness of traditional wood-fired pizza ovens. It also comes with a stand, for an additional $279.20 (was previously $349). Dimensions are: 53cm (W) x 62.9cm (D) x 34.2cm (H).
Key features:
- Compact design
- Suitable for maximum 16 inch pizzas
- Lateral rolling flame
- Propane gas
- Gas pizza oven
- Freestanding pizza oven
02
Smart Outdoor Living built-in wood fired pizza oven
$1,087 (was $1,599), Appliances Online
Best for: Traditional wood-fired cooking
“There’s nothing better than starting the fire on a Sunday with your family and baking things together in the pizza oven,” says Stefano De Caro, chef and co-owner of Sydney’s Cicerone Cucina Romana restaurant. This model, smartly designed to sit atop outdoor kitchen cabinetry, creates that classic, smokey and sumptuous flavour thanks to the wood-fired fuel. The high-grade stainless steel construction is rust-resistant and durable, while high-quality ceramic bricks provide heat retention. It can reach temperatures above 400°C, which means you could cook a pizza in just two minutes. Dimensions are: 11.1cm (H) x 79cm (W) x 74cm (D).
Key features:
- Wood-fired pizza oven
- Built-in pizza oven
- Stainless steel construction
- Ceramic bricks
- Rust-resistant
- Durable
- Traditional pizza oven
- Temperatures reach 400°C
03
‘Koda 2’ gas-powered outdoor pizza oven
$674.10 (was $749), Ooni
Best for: Portable pizza oven
The second generation of the ‘Koda’ design is bigger and better than ever. This portable model sits atop outdoor cabinetry and is perfect for pizzas up to 14 inches in diameter. Reaching temperatures of up to 500°C, Neapolitan-style pizzas can be cooked and ready to eat in just 60 seconds. The tapered flame gas burner directs heat where you need it and reheats the pizza stone 20% quicker than the last iteration of this model. All you have to do is plug it in and you’re ready to go.
Key features:
- Portable pizza oven
- Gas pizza oven
- Temperatures reach 500°C
- Propane gas fuel
- Weighs 16kg
- 5 year warranty
- 60 day money back guarantee
04
‘Volt 2’ electric indoor pizza oven
$899, Ooni
Best for: Indoor pizza oven
No outdoor space? No worries. Ooni’s electric indoor model is compact but powerful, reaching temperatures of up to 450°C meaning you can cook in a pizza in as little as 90 seconds. And, since most people don’t have space for an appliance that only does one job, this model has a wide temperature range that allows you to bake beyond slices. You could bake cookies, roast vegetables or even cook a mid-week meal in this oven. It even has a dough-proofing mode, to help you proof or defrost pizza dough. A removable, dishwasher-safe filter systems vents smoke and steam, perfect for indoor kitchen use (and keeping the interior clean).
Key features:
- Temperatures reach up to 450°C
- Electric pizza oven
- Indoor pizza oven
- Compact design
- Versatile uses
05
Cuisinart ‘Pizzeria Pro’ indoor pizza oven
$419.50, Big W
Best for: Budget-friendly indoor pizza oven
Kitchen appliances can be expensive and pizza ovens are no different. Thankfully, there are budget-conscious (yet good quality) options on the market. The Cuisinart electric indoor model is one example. It reaches temperatures of up to 380°C and can cook a pizza up to 30cm in diameter. The stainless steel finish will complement other appliances in your kitchen, while the dimensions are compact enough for a kitchen of any size. With a ceramic stone that heats evenly for optimal pizza base charring, the result is a traditional pizza flavour with all the modern convenience of electricity.
Key features:
- Reaches 380°C
- Electric pizza oven
- Indoor pizza oven
- Compact design
- Budget conscious
- Stainless steel finish
Shop essential pizza oven accessories
01
Bamboo pizza peel & serving board
$48 (was $60)/30cm, Ooni
Best for: Dual function
A pizza peel is the tool used to slide the food in and out of a hot oven. It essentially acts like a shovel and is a necessary accessory to have in your kitchen. This pizza peel is made out of bamboo, meaning it doubles as a stylish serving board (it could even serve as a cheese board). Versatility is always a bonus. Since the handle on this product isn’t particularly long, we would recommend it for smaller pizza ovens, not large ones.
02
‘Balance’ turning peel
$119.20 (was $149), Gozney
Best for: Long handle
Turning peels are similar to pizza peels but there are key differences. Turning peels are used to rotate your goods inside the hot pizza oven. As such, they tend to have long handles to assist with this task. The ‘Balance’ turning peel is 90cm in length and has a tear drop shape which is designed to ease the turning motion. Another benefit? The perforated metal allows excess flour to fall through the peel, helping to create a flavour sensation on the crust while avoiding a burnt taste. The blade is made from stainless steel while the handle is sustainably sourced Beech wood.
03
Oxo steel pizza wheel
$34.95 (was $43.95), Kitchen Warehouse
Best for: Slicing up the pizza goods.
Picture this scenario: you’ve completed all the work of making and shaping pizza dough, you’ve cooked your favourite pizza to perfection and now the only step left is slicing it up. But you only have a regular knife and cutting your pizza up is so much harder. That’s why a pizza wheel is an essential tool in your kitchen. There’s no need to struggle with a dull blade when you’re cutting your pizza into easy-to-eat slices. The Oxo pizza wheel is made from stainless steel and features a sharp blade, plus a thumb guard for extra safety. It’s dishwasher-safe and has a hanging hole, meaning it’s easy to store on hooks (especially in outdoor kitchens).
04
Soga round divisible wood pizza server board in Brown
$67.41 (was $74.90), Myer
Best for: Serving a whole pizza or a single slice
The design of this wooden pizza serving board is so versatile. With six separate pieces it’s so many serving boards, of all different shapes and sizes, in one. All together it is round, with a diameter of 42cm but it can also be divided into six slices, with a length of 21cm (including the handle) and a width of 15cm. It’s just like a pizza, with six triangular boards that can be used to serve individual portions of pizza to guests. You could even place two of these triangles side by side, pointy end beside handle, creating a sort of rhombus-shaped serving tray. No matter how you want to use this, one thing is clear. This is a classic, stylish and versatile wooden serving board.
05
Emile Henry ridged pizza stone in Burgundy
$107.10 (was $119), Woolworths
Best for: Baking pizza in your kitchen oven
If a pizza oven isn’t in the budget right now then a pizza stone can give you the next best result. These are made specifically for ovens and grills, creating the kind of crisp crust that you would normally only be able to achieve with a pizza oven. This model is ceramic, in a stylish shade of burgundy. The ridges on the stone help with air flow, creating a crispier crust underneath. The raised edge is good for grip, so that your pizza won’t slip and slide off while you’re transferring it into the oven with your pizza peel.Hot tip: for the best result, preheat the pizza stone in the oven before adding your pizza on top. It is 40cm in diameter.
06
Pizza peel
$64 (was $80)/30cm, Ooni
Best for: Slim design
This pizza peel is 1.4cm thick. This super sleek and slim design will help you scoop underneath your pizza with ease. After all, no one wants to struggle to retrieve their yummy food from a hot oven. The blade is made from lightweight aluminium while the handle is made from heat-resistant glass with reinforced nylon.
What types of pizza ovens are most popular?
Rewind thousands of years, and the ovens we see in Roman ruins were built by hand, brick by brick, or fashioned from clay to bake food and flatbreads – the culinary ancestors of pizza. In the 20th century, gas and electric pizza ovens joined charcoal- and wood-burning designs and today, we can choose from all four types – plus multi-fuel models. Unlike regular ovens, the naked flame inside charcoal-, gas- and wood-fuelled pizza ovens gives food a distinctive, smoky flavour that can only be achieved with fire. And while electric models don’t replicate the flavour that pizza purists love, the convenience of their lightweight and compact size is undeniable.
What’s best: freestanding pizza ovens or built-in pizza ovens?
“It depends on how much space you have,” says Stefano De Caro, chef and co-owner of Sydney’s Cicerone Cucina Romana restaurant. Built-in pizza ovens start at around one square metre in size, while reestanding, portable models such as the Gozney ‘Arc’ are about half that size, so grab a tape measure and take stock of your outdoor area. Include at least 500mm for bench space, plus extra circulation room, in a well-ventilated spot ideally undercover. Short on space outside? Consider an electric pizza oven, such as the Ooni ‘Volt 2’. Designed for indoor use, the compact model sits on your kitchen benchtop and reaches 450 degrees Celsius without a naked flame.
What pizza oven fuel is best: charcoal, wood-fired or gas?
Now comes the fun part – flavour! Charcoal and wood pizza ovens need a steady fuel supply nearby, require a higher skill level and can produce their fair share of mess, though the flavour is unrivalled. “It’s an ancient technique, cooking with fire, and that’s what I love most,” shares Salim Gafayri, a chef and caterer in Melbourne renowned for his Neapolitan-style pizza offerings. “The taste is always better with wood-fired pizza ovens,” agrees Stefano. “For built-in pizza ovens, I’d do pure wood – it’s more romantic.” Gas pizza ovens balance flavour with contemporary convenience, more so if you have an existing gas bayonet in your outdoor area. If not, you can pick up a gas cylinder at a hardware store or service station.
Can pizza ovens cook other foods?
“I use my pizza oven for cooking pretty much everything, especially when I don’t want a bad smell in the house,” says Stefano with a laugh. “I cook a lot of vegetables, steak and whole fish, even chocolate pudding, and I bake flatbread to make sandwiches.” He adds that if you are planning on smoking beef short ribs or pork, ensure you buy a wood-fired pizza oven. While smaller ovens are perfect for cooking one pizza at a time, a bigger internal cavity will expand your culinary options.
“If you want to cook something larger, like a roast lamb or three pizzas at once, the cavity of the oven plays a big part – you’ll need a bigger design,” says Salim. “And if you’re baking bread, an oven door comes in handy.” Regardless of the fare you create, make sure the model you choose is well-insulated. “The better the insulation, the better the heat retention of the oven and the better the results,” says Salim. This is important for quality control and for safety reasons, particularly in households with young children.
Which pizza oven accessories do I need?
A launching peel to place your pizza on and a turning peel to rotate it are essential – the larger your oven, the longer the handles should be. “I recommend using a perforated launching peel, because when you pick up the pizza and slide it into the oven, it eliminates the excess flour or semolina,” says Salim. He also suggests using the peel for cleaning: “Tie an old, damp tea towel around your turning peel and use it to reach inside your oven and give the stone base a good clean,” he says.
For prep, use a dough scraper, cutter and proofing tray. An infrared thermometer is also useful to measure the temperature of the oven’s stone base, rather than the internal air temperature. And to enjoy the fruit of your labour? A pizza rocker or cutter and a serving board offer the final flourish.
What temperature should you aim for?
Salim Gafayri, Melbourne chef and caterer advises, “Cooking hot and fast – 400 to 450°C with a nice, rolling flame – equals Neapolitan-style pizzas. Low and slow – 320 to 340°C without too much flame – gives New York-style pizzas.”
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