Breville - The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo

This is the only indoor pizza oven that we could find that can achieve temperatures of about 800 degrees. It's a little pricey, but what options are there for a good indoor pizza oven?We also have an outdoor gas fired pizza oven that can reach even higher temperatures. The outdoor oven takes less than one minute to cook a Neapolitano style pizza, while the Breville takes about two minutes on the wood-fired setting. The outdoor oven's result is a little better, but the Breville is also good. The Breville also does an excellent job of cooking a pan style pizza in the included pan; that takes about twenty minutes to cook.We did have several issues with the Breville and are waiting for a replacement to arrive. The first one did not seal well at the door, letting a ... MoreThis is the only indoor pizza oven that we could find that can achieve temperatures of about 800 degrees. It's a little pricey, but what options are there for a good indoor pizza oven?We also have an outdoor gas fired pizza oven that can reach even higher temperatures. The outdoor oven takes less than one minute to cook a Neapolitano style pizza, while the Breville takes about two minutes on the wood-fired setting. The outdoor oven's result is a little better, but the Breville is also good. The Breville also does an excellent job of cooking a pan style pizza in the included pan; that takes about twenty minutes to cook.We did have several issues with the Breville and are waiting for a replacement to arrive. The first one did not seal well at the door, letting a lot of hot air and steam from cooking escape at the top left corner. It also arrived with damage. We hope that the replacement will be free of issues.

First off, I adore this oven. I bought it last week and I spent the whole weekend making Neapolitan style pizzas with it that are arguably better than what we get at the AVPN-certified restaurant near us. I'm going to get a LOT of use out of this.That said, I would only recommend this to someone who meets the following criteria: you really want to make Neapolitan pizza specifically, a wood or gas pizza oven is not an option, and you already have a decent bit of practice making pizzas. I'll explain these in more detail.If you just want to make thin crust or pan pizza or pretty much any other style, your home oven should be fine. The Neapolitan style is where you really NEED something like this. So if you have little or no interest in making your own Neapolitan ... MoreFirst off, I adore this oven. I bought it last week and I spent the whole weekend making Neapolitan style pizzas with it that are arguably better than what we get at the AVPN-certified restaurant near us. I'm going to get a LOT of use out of this.That said, I would only recommend this to someone who meets the following criteria: you really want to make Neapolitan pizza specifically, a wood or gas pizza oven is not an option, and you already have a decent bit of practice making pizzas. I'll explain these in more detail.If you just want to make thin crust or pan pizza or pretty much any other style, your home oven should be fine. The Neapolitan style is where you really NEED something like this. So if you have little or no interest in making your own Neapolitan pizza, I don't recommend this oven unless you really have money to burn and a lot of storage space.If a wood or gas oven is an option for you, you might as well go with one of those. But if, like me, you live in an apartment and don't want to fill your apartment with smoke or get evicted, then an electric oven is the only real option. And what's great about this one is it's 120v, so us Americans can use it.And finally, I only recommend this oven if you've already been making pizzas from scratch and your oven is the only thing holding you back from achieving Neapolitan pizza. I've been making pizzas for quite a while, so I have my dough-handling fundamentals down. But because this oven is so small, there's not a lot of margin for error when launching your pizza into the oven, even when you consider the nice rounded backstop. I can only imagine the mess I would have made in this oven if I tried using it my first time making a pizza. So my recommendation is to spend at least a few weekends making pizza on a big pizza stone in your home oven first so you can get some confidence in launching a pizza into the oven.Long story short, if you're looking to level up your Neapolitan pizza game, I recommend this oven. It's amazing.

I’ve been a home pizza chef for at least 20 years and have purchased a number of products over the years to make delicious pizza for my family and friends. I am not embellishing when I tell you that I haven’t seen anything remotely like this oven. The only downside is that the oven will smoke if there is any residue left in the oven at all. To minimize the potential for smoke, I purchased a heat resistant cover for my stovetop that claims to be effective up to 1000 degrees F. This was important because it allowed me to place the oven directly under my range fan. This gets the job done but limits my ability to use the stovetop without moving the oven, which is heavier than it looks. Another tip that I learned is when you activate the oven by choosing one of the pizza ... MoreI’ve been a home pizza chef for at least 20 years and have purchased a number of products over the years to make delicious pizza for my family and friends. I am not embellishing when I tell you that I haven’t seen anything remotely like this oven. The only downside is that the oven will smoke if there is any residue left in the oven at all. To minimize the potential for smoke, I purchased a heat resistant cover for my stovetop that claims to be effective up to 1000 degrees F. This was important because it allowed me to place the oven directly under my range fan. This gets the job done but limits my ability to use the stovetop without moving the oven, which is heavier than it looks. Another tip that I learned is when you activate the oven by choosing one of the pizza settings, the timer will automatically light up to the corresponding number of 30-second intervals. But you still have to press the knob in to actually start the timer. The Neapolitan setting, for example, takes only two minutes so you can imagine what happens if there’s any delay in activating the timer. I’ve tried four different settings and the pizzas are flawless. I’ve also used the included carbon steel pan after seasoning it. Don’t skip the seasoning process before the initial use. My best cooking advice is to never forget the mix of semolina flour and bread flour on the peel (learn this word and you will certainly become a person of mystery and intrigue, at least to everyone who comes over for dinner. Less is more when it comes to both the amount of dough and crushed tomatoes. I recommend San Marzano tomatoes with a hand blender otherwise they will turn pink in a regular blender. Remember to dry your fresh mozzarella with a paper towel. Don’t skimp on the ingredients but you can save by buying them at a warehouse club. I remove the stone before I use the oven and wipe it with a damp paper towel. Soap would get into the stone so avoid using it. Once the stone is removed, I sometimes carefully spray Easy Off to clean the oven without spraying the heating elements. This helps minimize any smoke from residue in the oven. Occasionally, you may see flames inside the oven if there’s any residue. I shut the oven off as soon as my pizza finishes cooking to minimize any issues. Remember oxygen feeds fire so try not to leave the door open if you see flames. They will go out once the oven is off. The peel that comes with the oven is an amazing tool. Lightly jiggle the pizza dough once you have it on the peel before adding the ingredients to the dough to make sure that the pizza will slide onto the stone. Take no more than 5 minutes to build the pizza once the dough is on the peel. Otherwise the dough may stick and you will have an epic mess on your hands with enough billowing smoke to send you running to the nearest smoke detector as you comically wave a dish towel over your head. Of course those closest to you will try to capture the entire humiliating ordeal on video. Despite all this, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without the Breville Pizzaiolo all these years. Buon appetito!