Choosing a Pizza Oven that Best suits you

Covered outdoor area 

The best of both worlds, outdoors but protected with luxury or protection from the elements.  If you think you have the perfect area for your pizza oven in your covered outdoor area, always check the dimensions you have against the size of the oven.  Check circulation space around the proposed oven area and the travel paths from the house, such as a doorway which shouldn’t be obstructed.  We recommend that at least 1 meter of free space, as a minimum, should be provided from the face of the pizza oven to allow free movement.  We suggest marking up the proposed area of the oven on the floor with some tape and then a set back line for chef area and so how that interacts with the remaining space in the room. You’ll be surprised exactly how much room some pizza ovens can take up.

For an enclosed area a flue pipe will be required to take the smoke outside; this will need to penetrate through either the wall or roof.  Flue kits are available with most pizza ovens and if not your local hardware store, metalworker or plumber can provide and install these.  Waterproofing the flue penetration through the roof will be required, and the trype of system will vary dependant on your roof or wall structure - the last thing you need is a leaky roof over your newly installed pizza oven.

Deck/Terrace/Balcony

Similar to the covered outdoor area location, space could be an issue for certain types of pizza oven.  This and the weight of the pizza oven as some pizza ovens can weigh up to two tonnes.  The cart style ovens or portable ovens often weigh between 80-200kg which will most likely not cause any issues to the existing structure, however a concrete/render kit oven could easily be 500kg plus and the floor structure and foundations may need to be altered to accommodate the weight - this should be factored into your overall budget if necessary.

Garden/yard

In some respects this option provides you with the most amount of options and flexibility when choosing a pizza oven.  It is important to note that in all cases you will need level, solid ground for the pizza oven to sit on.  If you don’t already have this a new concrete slab or paving area should be made.

The garden/yard area will be open to the elements such as the wind, rain, UV rays, freezing and high temperatures which in some instances your pizza oven may need protecting.
The growing popularity of stainless steel or metal cart/portable style pizza ovens is due to the no fuss installation, quick heat up time and the flexibility of portability.  These ovens in most cases required a protective cover when not being used.  

Internal Kitchen

Similar to the covered outdoor area , space available or flue requirements should be considered.  It is becoming increasingly popular for install pizza ovens to be built into the kitchen of project homes as there are some cost benefits as well as having a really well-designed pizza oven area.

A portable or cart style of the oven will most likely be ruled out in a kitchen installation, however, that does not so say it can’t be done as some manufacturers provide wood fire countertop ovens with flue kits.  

Fuel Type

There are really three fuel types: wood, gas and electricity.  

Wood Fire Ovens

The wood fired pizza oven is a traditional style oven and is considered the best by chefs and pizzerias seeking authentic flavour.  These ovens work by stoking up a large wood fire up to around 500 degrees centigrade.  A refractory dome at the top of the oven reflects and magnifies the heat inside to provide a consistent heat on all surfaces.  While wood-fired ovens provide the most traditional flavour, they can take about an hour to get to the correct temperature, but once heated can make many many pizzas and when they eventually cool can be used to slow cook meat or vegetables.  Good quality pizza oven kits start from around $1500, ready made portable carts start at $1800.

Gas Pizza Ovens

The gas ovens are fast to get up to temperature, normally less than 10 minutes and can cook a pizza in 8 to 15 minutes.  Either a ceramic stone or refractory bricks are used as for the pizza to site which provides the even heating.  Some gas oven manufacturers provide a smoker tray that you can put wood chips in to provide a smokey flavour to the pizza which does have the desired effect.  

Electric pizza ovens

Forgetting about commercial electric deck and conveyor ovens ‘pizza makers’ as they are marketed, have come a long way over the last couple of years.  These work with a top and bottom heating element which heat the thick ceramic pizza stone to a high of 350°, replicating the cooking environment of a brick oven.  Cooking times vary dependent on the manufacturer and model but mostly range somewhere between 5 minutes to 15 minutes after the preheating of the stone which is normally only 5 to 10 minutes.  

The only reported issues on these types is the heat can sometimes be hard to control resulting in burnt bases, toppings or both.  With some trial and error relatively pleasing results can be achieved.  These kitchen appliances can be stored in a cupboard and are small enough to use on most kitchen countertops.  Perfect if you don't have room, time, budget or enthusiasm for a wood fire pizza oven.  You can grab electric pizza makers for as little as $80 up to $200.