How pizza ovens work
Gas pizza ovens bake using conventional radiant heat provided by burners located on the bottom of the oven cavity. The heated deck crisply cooks the bottom of the pizza while the radiant heat in the shallow cavity cooks the rest. The 7” height of the cavity helps equalize cooking time between toppings and crust.
Electric pizza ovens have an added heating element at the top of the oven cavity which acts as a broiler to bake the top of the pizza. Like gas pizza ovens, the deck is generally made of stone, brick or ceramic tiles to simulate brick ovens.
The pros and cons of deck pizza ovens
Deck ovens are for establishments wanting to produce high quality, traditional pizzas. Equipped with wide cavities for baking of multiple pizzas, deck ovens have full length, front mounted doors hinged at the bottom for easy loading and unloading of product. The low 7” height of deck oven cavities match the low profile of the pizza to perfectly cook the toppings while the deck cooks the crust. The average deck oven can bake six 12” pizzas at once.
Pros
- High quality, traditional taste
- Crispy crust
Cons
- Requires expertise
- Labor intensive
- Cooks slowly
Countertop pizza ovens
These ovens are made for smaller operations, cook one or two pizzas depending on the model. The cooking principals are the same as deck ovens with low cavity heights to promote even cooking of product. Doors are hinged at the bottom for easy loading and unloading.
Generally, countertop models bake 12” pizzas,
though some models cook 14” or 16” pizzas.
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