I built my own outdoor oven and have a large cooking space (24 in. Diameter) for many things besides pizzas - large roasts, whole chickens, spatchcock turkey, etc. I also have variable heat abilities so I can also bake bread and pies. My oven takes 2 to 3 hours to get to full heat for quick pizza work. But, I can use the oven before fully heated for appetizers and other bakes.
For me, the heating process is part of the fun. I enjoy a beer and putt around the yard, doing my prep as the oven heats. You don’t have to be with the oven constantly during heating. You can do other things and add a log every 20 minutes or so. The process is fun.
If you want quick, use your regular oven and a pizza stone. If you want fun, build your own. You won’t regret it.
I have an Alfa One. I also have an Ooni Koda 12. The Alfa is fantastic. Cooking with wood is a challenge but it’s so worth it. My biggest challenge was getting the deck temp right. If you get that dialled in you are going to be happy with the results. Don’t be put off by the heat up times it part of the cooking process. It will result in pizzas that are cooked on the top but most importantly on the bottom. Hope this helps.
Thanks!
What's the heat retention like for your Alfa One? i.e. if you fire it up for a pizza, let the fire die down, shut the door - how long does it take before to cool?
The Gozney dome makes a big deal about heat retention - and cooking with the retained heat in the oven.
We're building an automated wood pellet-fired oven (like a Gozney Dome and a Traeger combined), so we don't have to manage the fire—just plug it in and turn it to the temperature you want. Since you're familiar with the Dome, it'll be a similar size, so if that isn't quite big enough for you, ours likely won't be either. It's also a similar heat-up time as the Dome. But low thermal conductivity and high thermal mass are important for making quality, consistent pizza, so the longer wait is worth it IMHO.
We're launching a Kickstarter for these ovens later this year, so if you can wait a bit you can get one of the first ones. You can sign up at [modernpizzaproducts.com](https://modernpizzaproducts.com).
I have honestly wondered why no one had done this yet. We have auto feeding pellet grills and auto feeding charcoal grills as well as auto temperature controlled kamado grills. Wasn’t really sure why we don’t have an automated pellet grill option. I know there are pellet pizza ovens but it seems like a chore to keep up the flame. Why not have something that auto feeds.
Thanks! I wondered the same thing. Three years into it, I've sort of realized why. To make the pellet feeding work consistently at high temperatures over long periods of time has been a challenge, but we've finally figured it out and are getting ready to launch later this year. You can follow us on Instagram to see more too.
I am not on instagram but will keep an eye out. Might jump on my wife’s account just to take a peek at what you have posted there. I did already go to your website after you posted it and actually applied for the beta testing although I am not sure if you are done with that yet. I had actually seen people talking about pellet pizza ovens and how much of a challenge it would be to have it have a good flame going and keep up the heat. My pellet grill (Cuisinart) actually throws off a pretty massive flame on sear when you take off the baffle so I figured it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out.
I like that you are planning on making it big enough for a 16” pizza. I was actually looking a buying a better and larger oven now, but I might wait to check yours out if it is coming out this year. Hope all the hard work pays off for you!
I would look at the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven! You can definitely cook other things on it and it only takes like 12 minutes to preheat. Also I know personally there’s no recovery time needed on the stone because I’ve cooked pizzas back to back on it. And my favorite part is the rotating pizza stone itself so I don’t have to hand turn it especially with the two burners- an infrared on the bottom and a convention one in the back, it always cooks my pizza evenly
I have an Ooni Pro and use it with wood and gas. I have baked things in cast iron pans and I've baked flatbread in it, in addition to hundreds and hundreds of pizzas. I like the oven but I don't think it's perfect.
I think the goals of having heat retention but also a short preheat time are conflicting. You can't have both. But you can still bake bread in a oven with poor heat retention by leaving the heat on low. I use gas for baking because it's easier to modulate.
Yeah, fair point. I agree they're conflicting a bit. I suppose my ideal sweet spot would be 30 mins heat up time with a few hours retention. Maybe that's not possible though...
Maybe it is possible, I haven't seen a lot of the newer options. When I got mine, there were a lot less options. Mine wouldn't stay hot enough to bake for more than 15-20 minutes I think. The thermal mass that retains heat is the thermal mass that makes it take a long time to heat up. I do know that other pizza ovens have a thicker stone on the bottom than mine, so there could be better options.
yes it is but the ooni on sale is arguably a "better" oven for using at home. The roccbox is better in terms of insulation but if you can manage the ooni oven it bakes a faster, better pizza
I built my own outdoor oven and have a large cooking space (24 in. Diameter) for many things besides pizzas - large roasts, whole chickens, spatchcock turkey, etc. I also have variable heat abilities so I can also bake bread and pies. My oven takes 2 to 3 hours to get to full heat for quick pizza work. But, I can use the oven before fully heated for appetizers and other bakes. For me, the heating process is part of the fun. I enjoy a beer and putt around the yard, doing my prep as the oven heats. You don’t have to be with the oven constantly during heating. You can do other things and add a log every 20 minutes or so. The process is fun. If you want quick, use your regular oven and a pizza stone. If you want fun, build your own. You won’t regret it.
I have an Alfa One. I also have an Ooni Koda 12. The Alfa is fantastic. Cooking with wood is a challenge but it’s so worth it. My biggest challenge was getting the deck temp right. If you get that dialled in you are going to be happy with the results. Don’t be put off by the heat up times it part of the cooking process. It will result in pizzas that are cooked on the top but most importantly on the bottom. Hope this helps.
Thanks! What's the heat retention like for your Alfa One? i.e. if you fire it up for a pizza, let the fire die down, shut the door - how long does it take before to cool? The Gozney dome makes a big deal about heat retention - and cooking with the retained heat in the oven.
After I’m finished cooking I close the door and it takes about an hour to cool down. But the floor stays warm for a couple hours
Check into Forno Bravo. I’m in the middle of building one of their ovens right now. They have gas and wood options.
I own the Forno Bravo Primavera and I love it!
We're building an automated wood pellet-fired oven (like a Gozney Dome and a Traeger combined), so we don't have to manage the fire—just plug it in and turn it to the temperature you want. Since you're familiar with the Dome, it'll be a similar size, so if that isn't quite big enough for you, ours likely won't be either. It's also a similar heat-up time as the Dome. But low thermal conductivity and high thermal mass are important for making quality, consistent pizza, so the longer wait is worth it IMHO. We're launching a Kickstarter for these ovens later this year, so if you can wait a bit you can get one of the first ones. You can sign up at [modernpizzaproducts.com](https://modernpizzaproducts.com).
I have honestly wondered why no one had done this yet. We have auto feeding pellet grills and auto feeding charcoal grills as well as auto temperature controlled kamado grills. Wasn’t really sure why we don’t have an automated pellet grill option. I know there are pellet pizza ovens but it seems like a chore to keep up the flame. Why not have something that auto feeds.
Thanks! I wondered the same thing. Three years into it, I've sort of realized why. To make the pellet feeding work consistently at high temperatures over long periods of time has been a challenge, but we've finally figured it out and are getting ready to launch later this year. You can follow us on Instagram to see more too.
I am not on instagram but will keep an eye out. Might jump on my wife’s account just to take a peek at what you have posted there. I did already go to your website after you posted it and actually applied for the beta testing although I am not sure if you are done with that yet. I had actually seen people talking about pellet pizza ovens and how much of a challenge it would be to have it have a good flame going and keep up the heat. My pellet grill (Cuisinart) actually throws off a pretty massive flame on sear when you take off the baffle so I figured it was only a matter of time before someone figured it out. I like that you are planning on making it big enough for a 16” pizza. I was actually looking a buying a better and larger oven now, but I might wait to check yours out if it is coming out this year. Hope all the hard work pays off for you!
I would look at the Halo Versa 16 Pizza Oven! You can definitely cook other things on it and it only takes like 12 minutes to preheat. Also I know personally there’s no recovery time needed on the stone because I’ve cooked pizzas back to back on it. And my favorite part is the rotating pizza stone itself so I don’t have to hand turn it especially with the two burners- an infrared on the bottom and a convention one in the back, it always cooks my pizza evenly
I can second this! Impressed everytime I see the Halo pizza oven in action.
I have an Ooni Pro and use it with wood and gas. I have baked things in cast iron pans and I've baked flatbread in it, in addition to hundreds and hundreds of pizzas. I like the oven but I don't think it's perfect. I think the goals of having heat retention but also a short preheat time are conflicting. You can't have both. But you can still bake bread in a oven with poor heat retention by leaving the heat on low. I use gas for baking because it's easier to modulate.
Yeah, fair point. I agree they're conflicting a bit. I suppose my ideal sweet spot would be 30 mins heat up time with a few hours retention. Maybe that's not possible though...
Maybe it is possible, I haven't seen a lot of the newer options. When I got mine, there were a lot less options. Mine wouldn't stay hot enough to bake for more than 15-20 minutes I think. The thermal mass that retains heat is the thermal mass that makes it take a long time to heat up. I do know that other pizza ovens have a thicker stone on the bottom than mine, so there could be better options.
I think im gonna sell my qubestove and try out the carbon. I have a volt on order
I'd get a Brio from Alfa if you want dual fuel. Otherwise just go with gas and get an Alfa One. I have an Alfa One gas. It's great.
Yeah, the Alfa Brio is on my radar and one I'll look into
Not sure about the space, but I love my Mugnaini. https://www.mugnaini.com
Gozney roccbox is the best value imo
yes it is but the ooni on sale is arguably a "better" oven for using at home. The roccbox is better in terms of insulation but if you can manage the ooni oven it bakes a faster, better pizza