Wood-Fired Oven Cookbook: 70 Recipes for Incredible Stone-Baked Pizzas and Breads, Roasts, Cakes and Desserts, All Specially Devised for the Outdoor Oven and Illustrated in Over 400 Photographs

Product Information

Thankfully, there’s a wide range of home pizza ovens that come in electric, propane, natural gas, and wood-fired options.

But with it, you get a gorgeous rolling flame across the top, adding surface char and terrific flavor.

The first unique feature of the Halo Versa is a rotating stone, which eliminates the need to hand-turn your pizzas. I recommend getting a laser temperature gun — they are not expensive — to ensure that your oven is as hot as you want it before you put in your first pizza.

Ooni products are reliably sleek and sturdy in design, and the Volt 12 is no exception, with a matte shell, tempered glass door and well-engineered controls that are responsive to change.While it’s a two-person setup (the legs do not lock and the size makes it a bit unwieldy to set up alone), once in place, you can start rocking pizzas super-fast since the stone needs no curing. Accessories like a turning peel, protective cover and a wooden stand are also available to purchase separately. The oven also has a wide opening so we could slide our pizza in with ease, though because the flame is positioned on the left, our dough required frequent spinning with a turning peel to ensure even cooking. The dough was also evenly cooked, and while the crust lacked that mottled look you often see with restaurant pizza, we were still pleased with the quality. 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.

Whether you had to learn to cook and assemble simple meals for sustenance, or went on a deep dive into sourdough bread or baking projects, mastered homemade pasta or the perfect roast chicken, almost everyone is coming out the other side with some kitchen skills that they will have forever.

We were thoroughly impressed with its cooking ability, but the model would be best suited to those who have used a pizza oven before, or anyone who's up for a potentially messy challenge. The gauge on the front allowed us to track the heat levels, and we found it responded quickly to changes in temperature, too.

It’s larger than the Roccbox, and a bit unwieldy to carry, making it a good permanent fixture for the backyard. Unlike other Pi ovens that are dual fuel, the Solo Stove Pi Prime is propane-only, so it’s less expensive. The dual-fuel model enables you to cook with either gas or wood for that authentic smoky, outdoor flavour.This led to a nearly four-year exploration of making pizza, which included six different pizza classes across Italy. But take care when putting the cover on, it is easy to accidentally hit the turntable button and set it spinning.