450500600700800900950°F85055065075011 123(^33)
2
2
FUEL:
WOOD VS.
PROPANE
Wood is the traditional fuel of choice in
pizza ovens, favored for the smoky f la-
vor it imparts to the pizza. However, a
wood fire takes longer to heat up and
requires more attention to maintain
the temperature. If you’re only mak-
ing a couple of pies, this may not be an
issue for you.
Propane has the advantage of being
able to heat up a pizza oven quickly
with just the turn of a knob. The con-
venience of firing up the oven on High
and being ready to cook a pie in 15 min-
utes is hard to deny. As is the ease of
cleanup, with no firebox to empty.
All of the best ovens we tested are
multifuel models that can run off of
either wood or propane. The Bertello
is the only one that allows the use of
both at the same time. The Ooni Karu
16 comes with a wood firebox, which
works with charcoal as well when
you’re not using the propane burner.
The Gozney Roccbox has a propane
burner, while its wood burner is only
available as an accessory.
A smaller difference in pizza stone tem-
peratures, from front to back, ensures that
a pie cooks more evenly. The Ooni Karu 16
had the smallest temperature differential,
largely due to the oven door. The Gozney
Roccbox’s temperature differential was
just a little larger than the Ooni’s, while the
Bertello had the largest. Because of that,
we had to give pizza in the Bertello a little
more attention to be sure it cooked evenly.
PIZZA STONE
TEMPERATURES
THROUGH TESTING,
we’ve discovered that
the best pizza ovens
share similar features
and the same basic
design—regardless
of the fuel they burn.
With a fuel source at
the rear, f lames follow
the roof of the oven to
the door at the front,
or to the f lu in the case
of the Ooni. The hot
flames radiate down-
ward, heating the
stone. Once the stone
hits a temperature of
around 930 degrees
Fahrenheit, the pizza
can be cooked from
both the top and bot-
tom simultaneously.
The heat is so high
that you’ll need to turn
the pizza every 15 to
20 seconds, and it only
takes about a minute
to cook.
HOW
HEAT
TRAVELS
IN A
PIZZA
OVEN
Air to
feed
the fire
Heat
Hot pizza stone cooks
pizza from bottom up
Heat radiates down to heat
pizza stone during warmup,
and then cooks pizza from
the top down
Bertello Ooni Gozney
(^1) BACK OF STONE 2 MIDDLE OF STONE 3 FRONT OF STONE
84 May/June 2022
The
(^14) Test