The Archive
192 guides · page 3 of 16
Explainer
How to Stretch Pizza Dough (2026): A Pizza-Oven Owner's Guide
Stretching dough is the one skill that decides whether your pizza oven earns its keep. A well-stretched base (thin, even, with a puffy rim) is exactly what a ~900°F floor is built to cook in 60 to 90 seconds. Too thick or uneven and the middle gums up while the edge chars. This is the honest, practical walkthrough: the dough to start with, how to press and stretch without a rolling pin, the mistakes that wreck a launch, and how to get a round, even disk onto the peel and into the fire.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Pizza Oven Safety Tips (2026): Run a 900°F Oven Without Getting Burned
A pizza oven is the hottest appliance most people will ever own, the same ~900°F floor that makes leopard-spotted Neapolitan pizza also makes the shell, the mouth, and the chimney genuinely dangerous to touch. None of this is reason to be afraid of the thing; it's reason to respect it. Here's the practical, no-drama safety checklist: where to put it, how to handle gas and wood safely, how not to burn yourself, and the few rules that are non-negotiable. When in doubt, your manufacturer's manual and local codes win over anything here.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Can You Leave a Pizza Oven Outside? (2026): The Honest Weather & Storage Rules
Mostly yes, most gas and multi-fuel outdoor pizza ovens can live outside year-round if you protect them with a fitted weatherproof cover and follow a few rules, because the real enemy isn't cold, it's moisture: rust on the metal, a cracked cooking stone, and water in the electronics. Electric ovens are the exception and should come indoors. Here's exactly what survives outside, what doesn't, and the boring storage habits that keep your oven hitting temperature for years.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Are Gozney Pizza Ovens Worth It? (2026): An Honest Verdict
Short version: yes, if you value build quality and design and you'll pay a premium for them. Gozney makes some of the best-built, best-insulated ovens in the category, every one of them hits the ~950°F floor that defines a true 60-second Neapolitan pie, and they look the part on a patio. The catch is price: model for model, Gozney costs more than Ooni for the same peak heat, the lineup is smaller, and the showpiece Dome is a serious install. Here's where Gozney earns the premium, where it doesn't, which model fits which person, and who's better served by Ooni or Solo Stove instead.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Comparison
Mimiuo vs VEVOR (2026): Which $259 Rotating Pizza Oven Should You Buy?
Two budget rotating-stone gas ovens at the exact same $259, and the rotating stone is the whole point: it turns the pizza for you, so even bakes don't depend on your reflexes. The VEVOR is bigger (16in) and runs hotter (~930°F); the Mimiuo is more compact (13in, ~860°F) and a bit cooler. Same fuel, same trick, same price. We run both on our signature spine and tell you which budget rotating oven is yours.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Comparison
Ooni Koda 2 Max vs Gozney Arc XL (2026): Which Big-Gas Oven Wins?
The showpiece-gas question for serious entertainers, settled. The Koda 2 Max is the giant 20-inch, dual-zone gas oven built to feed a crowd, the priciest gas Ooni at $1,299 and a 95 lb permanent fixture. The Gozney Arc XL is the premium 16-inch, a true party pie in the best-looking serious oven on the market, lighter at 56 lb and $400 cheaper. Both reach ~950°F, both belong to the 60-Second-Pizza Club, and both recover instantly because they're gas, so this is a size, price, and build decision, not a heat one. We run both on our signature spine and tell you which is yours.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Comparison
Ooni Volt 2 vs Ooni Koda 12 (2026): Which Should You Buy?
Two 12-inch Oonis, one real question: indoors or out? The Volt 2 is the $699 electric oven you can run in a kitchen or apartment in any weather, on a standard outlet, the easiest, most convenient way Ooni makes pizza, and the only one that comes inside. The Koda 12 is the $399 gas oven that's $300 cheaper, half the weight, a touch hotter, and fully portable for the patio, but propane-only and outdoor-only. We run both on our signature spine and tell you which one your life actually wants.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Comparison
Gozney Roccbox vs Gozney Arc (2026): Which Should You Buy?
Two Gozneys, two missions. The Roccbox is the $499, 12-inch, ultra-insulated safe-touch tank, the legendary portable that takes an optional wood burner. The Arc is the $699, 14-inch, design-forward centerpiece with a wider arched mouth, a rolling flame, and a glass door. Both hit ~950°F, both join the 60-Second-Pizza Club, and both recover instantly on gas, so this isn't a heat contest. It's a size, design, price, and wood-flexibility decision, and we tell you exactly which Gozney is yours.
Read the guide →~10 min read
Explainer
Why Is My Pizza Oven Not Getting Hot Enough? A Diagnostic Walkthrough
Nine times out of ten, an oven that "won't get hot" is getting hot, you're just not preheating the stone long enough or you're reading the wrong number. Most dedicated pizza ovens are built to push a floor near 900°F, but they only do it once the cooking surface has soaked, and only when the fuel and the weather cooperate. This is the checklist we work through, in order, before ever blaming the oven: how to measure heat correctly first, then gas, wood, and electric fuel problems, then the environment, and finally, the rare case where it really is the oven.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
How Long Does a Pizza Oven Take to Heat Up? (2026)
Short answer: most portable gas ovens reach a pizza-ready ~900°F floor in roughly 15–25 minutes; wood and multi-fuel ovens usually want a bit longer because you have to build and establish the fire (often 20–30+ minutes); and indoor electric ovens like the Ooni Volt 2, Breville Pizzaiolo, and Ninja Artisan typically preheat in around 20 minutes on a preset. But the number that actually matters isn't the air, it's the floor. The burner heats the air fast, and the cooking stone lags well behind it. Launch before the stone is soaked and you get a pale, soggy bottom. Here's how long it really takes, why the floor is the wait, and exactly how to know it's ready.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Best Wood for a Pizza Oven (2026): What to Burn (and What Never To)
The short version: burn kiln-dried hardwood, oak, maple, ash, beech, or food-grade hardwood pellets, and nothing else. Softwoods, painted or treated lumber, and green or wet wood don't just taste worse; they physically keep a wood-fired oven from reaching the ~900°F floor that makes the pizza worth burning wood for in the first place. Here's exactly what to buy, what to avoid, and how dry hardwood is the single thing standing between you and a blistered 60-second pie.
Read the guide →~11 min read
Explainer
Natural Gas vs. Propane Pizza Oven (2026): Which Fuel Hookup?
Almost every gas pizza oven sold ships set up for propane (the standard 20 lb tank), and many of the popular ones (the Ooni Koda 16, the Gozney models) offer a natural-gas conversion kit that plumbs the oven into your home's gas line. Here's the honest version of the choice: it is a convenience-and-installation decision, not a pizza-quality one. Propane goes anywhere and needs no install but you swap tanks; natural gas never runs out and is usually cheaper to run, but it ties the oven to a fixed line and a hookup. Neither makes a better pizza. Here's how to pick the right one for your patio.
Read the guide →~11 min read