Inviting people over for dinner or lunch is a great way to connect and socialize. If you have a large group of friends and family, then cooking outside is a great way to have fun. You don’t have to do a barbecue, you can cook whatever you and your company love eating. However, one thing is for sure, to make the most out of your outdoor dining experiences, you will need to install an oven.
If you’re a pizza enthusiast who loves a well-cooked pizza with perfectly melted cheese and evenly baked crust, then a traditional pizza oven can do wonders for your get-togethers. Ideal for your outdoor area, a wood fired pizza oven will save you time, energy and will help you cook the best pizza in a traditional way.
Outdoor Pizza Oven vs. Home Oven
Outdoor pizza ovens have substantial differences when it comes to design and construction compared to home ovens. An outdoor pizza oven is specially designed to help you deliver large quantities of food and it can handle heavy use. Home ovens are smaller and won’t last nearly as long as outdoor ones.
The way both ovens get power is different as well. Outdoor ovens can be electric, wood-fired and gas-fired. Electric ovens are quite popular for home use (in fact most of them are electric ovens). They are affordable and you can use them to bake meat, pastry or smaller pizzas. However, electric outdoor ovens are quite large and can handle a lot of food.
The same goes for gas-fired and wood-fired outdoor ovens. So, if you happen to frequently have guests over in your backyard and you want to cook food, bake pizzas and other foods, then you surely need a larger oven that will meet your needs.
Reasons to Get an Outdoor Pizza Oven
Wood-Fired Ovens Cook Pizza Quickly
We all love pizza, and no matter how easy it is to order it, a home-baked pizza can’t be compared to anything. For this very reason, buying a traditional pizza oven for your outdoor space can help you cook your pizza faster and enjoy that smoky flavour with all delicious toppings. If you want to save some money and start preparing your pizzas at home, a wood-fired oven can be a great investment. And while a home oven takes some time to pre-heat, the wood-fired oven heats up quickly. Sure, you’ll have to learn how to start the fire and keep it going, but the baking time will be significantly shorter. Your pizza will be done in about 2-5 minutes in a wood-fired oven.
Temperature
Your wood-fired outdoor oven can go as high as 1000°C. This might be too high, compared to the maximum of 300 degrees of your home oven. But, such high temperatures allow you to cook your pizza for a shorter time, giving it that lovely smoky flavour and the slightly burned crust we all love. Besides pizza, you can cook literally anything you want in such an oven. And the best part of it all is that your home will stay fresh and clean and won’t smell like you cooked.
Smoky Flavour
The smoky flavours are so inviting and delicious. You simply can’t achieve that with a home oven that is not even nearly capable to reach as high temperatures as the outdoor one. Pizza cooked in a wood fired oven can get that flavour and scent and only happens with an even heat distribution. This goes for any other meal not only pizza. The wood will affect the flavour (so choose wisely); juniper, oak and olive are great wood options.
Improve Your Skills
You can’t become a great pizza maker (and cook in general) if you bake your pizza in the oven. The oven in your kitchen doesn’t require you to do anything but set the right temperature. When using the outdoor oven you have to be aware and alerted of the fire, place the pizza in the right place and take it out just on time. The outdoor oven is surely a good way to improve your cooking skills, so if this is something you want to do, this type of oven will surely be a smart investment.
Durability
Getting a wood-fire oven is a good investment in the long run. This is because it doesn’t require any reparations, but only proper cleaning and maintenance. All you need to do is get enough wood to make it work. And that’s that. Just for comparison, an outdoor oven won’t need to be replaced. Kitchen ovens require reparations more frequently, and in fact, you will buy at least another one after several years.
Save Energy
If you’re trying to become more eco-friendly and limit your use of electricity, then an outdoor wood-fire oven is a smart way to do it. Less electricity means lower bills, which will save a lot of money in the long run. Your outdoor wood-fired oven doesn’t need any electricity or gas to operate. The only source of heat it needs is the fire. Be sure to check with your municipality and neighbours if it’s acceptable to cook outside. Outside cooking on fire creates smoke which may add to air pollution. Before investing in an outdoor oven, learn potential restrictions on the smoke matter.