Gas Pizza Oven Vs Wood
Gas or wood-fired, which do you choose? There’s no definite answer to this question as its simply a matter of preference. That being said, the two fuel-types do make for very different cooking and eating experiences. So it really is down to you to work out what you want from your new pizza oven.
Gas-fired pizza ovens are generally cleaner to use as there is no need to sweep up any ash after use. They’re also quicker to heat up than their wood-fired counterparts. 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. However, you of course need to buy gas and, if you don’t have a bottle already, the initial payment for the bottle can push the price up further.
Wood-fired
If you’re after an authentic flavour, a wood-fired pizza oven is the only choice. The burning wood pellets impart a delicious smoky flavour that simply can’t be achieved by cooking with gas. Another plus for wood-fired pizza ovens is the fact that you don’t need to buy a gas canister as wood pellets can be picked up pretty easily from supermarkets or online. Wood-fired models do require some practice though as they can be a little more difficult to handle when it comes to controlling the temperature.
Multi-fuel
Best Pizza Ovens To Buy In 2022
The BBC Good Food reviews experts proved batches of our basic pizza dough and took to the BBC Good Food garden to test pizza ovens from a broad spectrum of brands. Read on to discover which of the best pizza ovens you should buy.
For more like this, visit our reviews section to find 400+ buyer’s guides, including round-ups of the best charcoal barbecues, camping stoves, barbecue accessories, outdoor tableware and lots more.
The Forno Bello Wood Fired Oven Ignited My Love Of Cooking
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Everyone knows that one house that has a fancy outdoor kitchen in the backyard with a built-in grill and pizza oven, right? You dont need a huge, expensive masonry oven anymore to be the house that throws the best parties. All you need is the Forno Bello. At $1,599, it represents the best value full-size pizza oven available.
I love pizza, you love pizza, everyone loves pizza. Anyone who doesnt like pizza needs to be seriously questioned. I love pizza to the extent of trying to perfect my pizza dough recipe while making countless pizzas at home. For years I made pizza in our home oven using a pizza stone about ½ thick, which produced good results, but never quite looked or tasted like the product of a brick oven pizzeria. I felt like I had stopped improving my pizza. That is until I fired a pizza in the Forno Bello.
I had tried other small wood and gas pizza ovens in the past, including the Ooni 2s and the Ooni Pro and while they felt like an improvement over my home oven, they didnt taste as good as what Ive created with the Forno Bello. Also, the pizzas in the Ooni ovens were smaller than ideal for a family-style dinner.
This releasing of steam gives your pizza crust bubbles, which leads to an airy, soft interior. I confirm the floor temperature using an IR gun thermometer, which I feel is an essential accessory.
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Forno Pizza Oven Forno Bravos Wood
When youre craving a good slice of pizza, its hard to beat the flavor, taste, and texture of an authentic wood-fired pizza. The only problem is that there are very few pizzerias that still make pizza in this style. While you can always build a stone pizza oven in your backyard, these projects can often cost $10,000 or more and require tons of space. You may have heard of the Forno Bravo wood-fired pizza oven so, what is it and how does it live up to the hype?
Forno Bravo is a U.S.-based pizza oven manufacturer that manufactures residential and commercial wood-fired pizza ovens. Theyre especially well-known for their portable Bella ovens that anybody can set up in their backyard. Although they are a bit expensive, theyre also some of the best pizza ovens that money can buy!
If youve never heard of Forno Bravos ovens before, then youre missing out. Ever since I purchased my dad one for Fathers Day, Ive been over there every other weekend taking advantage of it. In todays post, Im going to go over everything you need to know about this awesome wood-fired pizza oven, so you can decide if its right for you.
Reviews For Forno Belloextra Large Neapolitan Oven Out Of Stock

Pete Durso December 6, 2020
I purchased my oven about a month ago and I love it. Its really a fantastic oven. It looks and cooks amazing. Its worth every penny and more.. I truly recommend this oven to anyone who is looking for a quality oven at a great price. Thank you Scott and Andy
Jeremy Ashburn
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Vango Camp Chef Pizza Oven
Best pizza oven for barbecue
Pros:
- A little fiddly to assemble
Star rating: 4/5
If youve already got a much loved gas BBQ or charcoal BBQ, this Vango Camp Chef pizza oven would make a great addition. Measuring 40 x 35cm, this model doesnt take up too much space, and will sit happily atop most barbecues.
Unlike the other barbecue pizza oven on this list, some assembly is required, which we found a little fiddly. Namely, screwing in the thermometer and removing the brackets from the pizza stone: youll need a small screwdriver for this.
Despite the pizza oven having direct contact with the barbecue, this model was slower than expected to heat up, taking around 20 minutes to do so.
We launched our pizza with ease and watched it bubble and rise in the heat. The reflective surface on the inside of the pizza oven meant our pizza cooked evenly all over. Once cooked, the pizza was very crisp on the bottom, we felt possibly too crisp as it was a bit of a challenge to get through. But the cheese was nicely melted with some browning too.
Available from:
Star rating: 4/5
Yorkshire-based wood-fired oven brand, Igneus, shouts about the fact it offers premium-quality products at an affordable price.
We certainly found the design and manufacture of its wood-fired Classico oven to be impressive, although affordable should not be interpreted as ‘cheap’ this oven is expensive but offers value for the investment.
- Available from Igneus and The Pizza Oven Shop
Do You Need Any Other Cooking Tools
Forno Bravo Bella pizza ovens are designed with a ceramic cooking floor, so you dont necessarily need a pizza stone. However, they do make removing the pizza from the oven a bit easier. Check out my review of the Kamado pizza stone if youre looking for a good one!
That being said, I do recommend purchasing a good pizza peel so that you can rotate your pizzas and take them in and out of the oven as necessary. Wood-fired pizza ovens can get incredibly hot, which means that youll want to put a few feet of distance between your hands and the oven. A good peel like the Gi Metal pizza peel with a long handle is perfect.
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Belforno Pizza Oven Kits
Our kits are made in the Italian tradition using only the finest refractory ceramic materials
Belforno provides unmatched value to our customers by making it easy for them to enjoy the benefits of a wood-fired pizza oven through our superior craftsmanship, competitive price point and excellent customer service.
Build your pizza oven in your outdoor kitchen, or change your lifestyle by adding a pizza oven to your indoor kitchen. Its simple! Choose a size and click to buy. When you are ready, we will deliver your pizza oven anywhere in the USA. Belforno Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens provide a transformative experience for anyone who enjoys outdoor cooking, preparing delicious home-made foods, and entertaining friends and family. We have the right oven for your residence or pizzeria. And if you want the convenience of gas we offer many dual fuel pizza oven options. Order online, or call us today!
View a short video with Frank, the founder of Belforno.
All our ovens are listed for UL2162 & UL737 and certified NSF/ANSI-4 for USA. & Canada.
Bella Medio28 Portable Pizza Oven
With the Bella Medio28 oven, we are up into the higher end ovens that not only give you an authentic, Italian wood-fired pizza, but the whole experience for you and your family is elevated to a different category of culinary indulgence. While there are dozens of options for pizza ovens in the price range of $90 $900, youll notice that the user experience, as well as the longevity and product quality, is something unique once you head up into the $1500 and over category. Its like having my Toyota Celica for years, and thinking, this is a pretty darn good sports car! Why would you buy a crazy Ferrari? . Until one day I sat in a Ferrari , and I finally realized! This is kinda like that!
Contents
- 24 x 28 insulated cooking floor made from ceramic
- heats up to cooking temperature in around 15 minutes!
- Made from 304 stainless steel including very sturdy stainless legs and storage
- Comes with complimentary pizza peels, steel, and wood as well as an outdoor all weather cover.
- really nice looks combine old world tradition with modern, artistic undertones
- low price compared to other ovens with similar features and componentry.
- Made in the U.S.A.!
The Bad
- it doesnt cost $249 plus shipping! Nope just a tad more! !
Price?
While its a lot higher than $100, its also one of the least expensive ovens in its category
The Bella Medio28 Portable Pizza Oven is proudly made in the USA! Id want to buy it for that principle alone!
What Else?
What Say We?
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How To Choose The Best Pizza Oven
Portable pizza ovens
If you have a small garden and don’t plan to cook pizza that often, a portable pizza oven would suit your needs. Brands including Gozney, Ooni and Firepod dominate this market and have some impressive ovens in their ranges.
These pint-sized pizza gadgets can often reach high temperatures to rival larger ovens, they can be stored indoors or in a shed, offer excellent cooking results and are very easy to use.
Freestanding pizza ovens
If you think you’ll be making pizza regularly and have the garden to accommodate one, a larger pizza oven might be the best option for you. These large ovens don’t have to be built-in .
You can buy freestanding, large pizza ovens that can be moved around but have ample capacity to cook more than one pizza at a time. 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.
Hybrid pizza ovens
Hybrid pizza ovens double up as a barbecue, or in some cases vice versa. Generally speaking, we found gadgets that are specifically designed for making pizzas alone produce the best cooking results for the task at hand.
Barbecue pizza accessories
On the subject of barbecues, one affordable way to make pizzas at home in your garden is to buy a barbecue accessory, such as a pizza stone or box that sits on top of your gas or charcoal barbecue. They too can reach impressive temperatures to achieve the desired stone-baked flavour and finish.
Best Pizza Ovens For 2022
A pizza oven in an outdoor kitchen preposterous? Absolutely not. Thanks to rapid cooking, versatility, and ease, outdoor pizza ovens are a growing trend with a twist on the classic barbecue experience.
Who doesnt want their own private pizzeria? Little known fact, they can do much more: searing steaks, roasting chicken, even baking cookies. Our experts are borderline pizza addicts of discerning taste heres how their favorite ovens stacked up based upon quality, performance, and features.
- Quality – The best pizza ovens include excellent insulation, hands down. The biggest factor for any pizza oven is the insulation material, which controls its ability to absorb and reradiate heat. Exterior materials play huge roles in freestanding or countertop designs we like stainless steel, thanks to its superior weather resistance.
- Performance – Expectations range from blazing hot temperatures to gentler heat. Full cooking versatility depends on how low they can go meanwhile, the hotter the heat, the crunchier the crust. Great refractory floor can puff up a crust quite nicely however, our dealbreaker is easy fire access .
- Features – Quality pizza ovens require highly accurate thermometers, as we find temperature management is key to pie perfection. Other unique or innovative bonuses include sliding doors, providing easy management of food into and out of the heat, and included quality-of-life accessories.
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Best Pizza Ovens At A Glance
- Best blow-out pizza oven for versatility: Gozney Dome pizza oven, £1,499
- Best portable pizza oven: Ooni Koda 16 Pizza Oven, £449
- Best countertop pizza oven for indoor use: Optima Pizza Express Napoli, £169
- Best investment indoor pizza oven: Sage the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, £729.95
- Best investment pizza oven: Delivita pizza oven, from £1,390
- Best multi-fuel pizza oven: Ooni Karu 16 pizza oven,£699
- Best pizza oven for small spaces: Ooni Koda 12 pizza oven, £299
- Best compact pizza oven: Dellonda 14 portable wood-fired pizza oven, £179.98
- Best wood-fired pizza oven: Woody Oven pizza oven, £199.99
- Best budget pizza oven for a BBQ: La Hacienda stainless steel BBQ pizza oven, £86.99
- Best portable pizza oven for beginners: Gozney Roccbox pizza oven, £399
- Best entry level pizza oven for entertaining: Fresh Grills Premium pizza oven, £229.99
- Best pizza oven for BBQ: Vango Camp Chef pizza oven, £124.95
- Best pizza oven for families: Igneus Classico pizza oven, £875
Forno Bello Neapolitan Family Ovens Backyard Brick Ovens

There are many options for great pizza ovens, and the Forno Bello Neapolitan Family oven is one of them. This is a very unique Forno Bello family-type oven that comes in a distinct deep burgundy wine color. Its ideal for your own backyard oven and great for pizza parties.
We really admire this stainless steel pizza oven because it gives that feel of a combination of traditional Italian design and modernization.
This ultimate Neapolitan style oven is heavy-duty with a stainless steel interior dome. This excellent dome design enables the stove to heat up within 30 minutes of cooking temperature. So, it has better heat retention.
The door is fully insulated, so there is no risk of burning your hand, and the dome is well protected. The interior of the oven floor is a heavy-duty insulated brick.
Additionally, you get 4 retractable handles for your oven to aid easy lifting. You also get a stainless steel Forno firewood holder that helps in cooking to produce the best results.
Your oven can be covered with a weather-resistant outdoor cover. This cover can keep the weather out of your oven when the season is over. The pizza oven will last longer if you put this cover on it.
This excellent pizza oven can do all of these things and many more. So, its an ideal outdoor oven because of this.
This unique pizza oven works just like a traditional brick oven. The fire sits in one corner inside the oven. So, you can cook your pizza directly on another side in the food-grade oven.
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How Do You Clean A Pizza Oven
Rule No. 1: Let your oven cool completely before cleaning. The nice thing about an oven that gets up to 700 degrees or even hotter is that any spills or spatters will likely be completely incinerated while your pizza cooks, but you don’t want to be putting your hands inside while it’s still 700 degrees. Ash is just about the only material you’ll have to clean out of the inside of a pizza oven, and it’s fairly easy to simply sweep out with a brush, sponge or damp cloth. If the pizza stone is removable, it can also be simply wiped down you should not get a pizza stone soaking wet or submerge it in water, as this can make the stone crack the next time it’s heated.
A wood- or charcoal-fired oven will generate a lot more ash, but these models usually have a removable tray or door to make removing it easy. After you remove the ash, but before you throw it in the trash, it’s a good idea to give it a thorough stir and make sure there are no glowing embers that could start a fire. If you find any, pour in some water and stir until there’s no more glow .
To clean the outside of a pizza oven, a sponge with soap and water is about all you need. Racks and peels and other accessories might be dishwasher-safe, but you should check the instruction manual for specific cleaning instructions.
How To Make Pizza With The Forno Bello Oven
If youre new to making pizza in the Forno Bello oven, you may wonder how to proceed. This great oven is pretty easy and straightforward to achieve that perfect stone-baked pizza. So, continue reading to learn to know how to go about this:
- To begin, clean your oven, and if there are any ash remnants inside the oven from your previous cooking, wipe them out.
- Then light up the fire and allow the oven to preheat.
- As your oven is preheating, begin making your pizza dough. You can learn how to make some excellent pizza recipes by watching a few YouTube tutorials.
- Take note to move the fire inside to one side so that the oven floor can preheat. Do this before you heat up your oven so that while the oven is heating up, the inside of the oven floor can also heat up. Before introducing your pizza, let the oven floor preheat to about 700 degrees. You can determine the floor temperature with the help of an infrared gun thermometer.
- After preheating the oven, you can put your pizza dough in with a peel.
- Steam will be released to your pizza, and grill it. Then in some seconds, you will begin to see crust bubbles forming on top of your pizza.
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