This oven also comes with a built-in thermometer that will allow you to check the temperature of food. This is an impressive oven for its size and versatility and is ideal for packing up and taking camping or down to the beach.

In particular, I assumed the fancy leopard-spotted wood-fired pizza on offer at my favorite restaurants was well beyond my (and my apartment’s) capabilities.In our tests, the Fyra took about five to 10 minutes longer to preheat than the propane ovens, but unlike charcoal and hardwood, which need to burn for up to 30 minutes before you can cook over the hot coals, pellets are ready to cook with as soon as they ignite.

We tested it with both wood and charcoal and it’s easy to load with fuel and light, although it does take a good 30 minutes to reach a temperature high enough for cooking.During testing, this model took 25 minutes to heat and just 2 minutes to cook our pizza, which had a classic mottled crust. Soon you’ll instinctively know where to launch your pizza and how to maneuver it around the oven as it bakes for the best results. You don't necessarily need a garden – indoor pizza ovens are now widely available for use on kitchen countertops.

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As a fun personal experiment, I also made a dozen oysters Rockefeller in the Koda 16 for Christmas Eve dinner.

The only additional drawbacks about the Ooni Fyra 12 are things I could have anticipated and ultimately felt I could live with. It was a huge bummer to receive my Ooni with the plan to make pizza that very day, only to discover that I did not have a bunch of the requisite materials—namely, a pizza peel, fire starter, or wood pellets, none of which come in the box. These usually have protective covers so you can leave them out all summer, although you'll probably have to shell out for the cover separately. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights.

Once launched, we had to regularly top up the wood pellets, and even found that on occasion, fire was shooting out of the two holes in the wood pellet tray as opposed to the cavity. Setting up the oven and getting started is pretty seamless, although you might need a friend to help unbox and lift the 40-pound oven onto a stable surface. Brands including Gozney, Ooni and Firepod dominate this market and have some impressive ovens in their ranges. Gas-fired pizza ovens work similarly to a gas hob and have a dial to control the flame, which not only gives you greater control over the cook of the pizza, but also means you're able to use the oven for other items too.