Our hope is that you’ll read our reviews carefully and craft your own idea of what works for you. However, we’re just normal people (probably much like you!) and we have our opinions and ideas like everyone else. That means that if we were in the market for each category of item we review, here’s a list of the top item in each category that we’d shell out our hard-earned cash to get. I can assure you that it’s not necessarily the most expensive item either. I hope our choices can help you in your research!
Contents
Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
While all the wood-fired models are more than capable competitors for the top title, we like the Bella Medio28. Maybe part of it is the great looks. It’s a fusion of modernism and “Ikea-ish” looks, mixed with old-world authenticity (traditional stovepipe exhaust and “round” design). Otherwise, it scored really high with us on several key factors like heat-up time, owner satisfaction, cooking surface area, and overall value. This choice may well change as we review more and more models over the coming months, but for now, here’s the champ!
Outdoor Gas Pizza Oven
Here’s a bit of a surprise for even ME! The Blackstone Patio Oven did not rank the highest of all the propane models, but we kinda like it because it soars above all others in this class by offering a 60,000 BTU power profile, compared to less than 10,000 BTU on competitors’ models. The only reason it didn’t rank higher is because several owners reported less-than-stellar shipping practices which resulted in damaged product parts during the delivery process. This, of course, has nothing to do with the quality of the product itself, and we’re sold on it!
Indoor Pizza Oven
The Wisco Electric Pizza Oven is really in a class by itself. The looks are definitely modern and very commercial, but (in our opinion) attractive none-the-less! It doesn’t have a lot of competitors in this space, and it does its job with an unusually high temperature for an indoor product (about 250˚F hotter than your regular oven) and online reviews are stellar!
Cooking Range
Admittedly, I absolutely DO NOT need an oven right now, since our current gas range is doing very well thank you! However, once mine dies (which hopefully won’t be until my 4-year old is in college), I hope this Thor Kitchen Pro-Style Gas Range (or something just like it) is still for sale. The price point fits my lifestyle just right, and the overall value on this oven is a “10/10”.
Kettle Grill
This little ball just ranked higher on our comparison overview than ANY other pizza oven – PERIOD! This is one solid name brand, and there’s something about the simplicity, nostalgia and “purist ideal” of the Weber Performer Premium Charcoal Grill that gets our vote!
Pizza Bake Stone
Love This Kitchen Pro Pizza Stone is our pick on this front. It’s one of the thicker stones we’ve seen and while we have not tested it with every type of oven (indoor convection or outdoor wood-fired), we just like the overall quality, and heck, if its core convection technology works as well as they say in all conditions, then so much the better!
Dough Mixer
The Bosch Universal Plus Stand Mixer is heads above the competition. The only complaint by owners is that it doesn’t “look as pretty as the ….. “. Well, I actually own one of these, and I’ve owned the “other” brand as well. It’s true that this model does not have even one teensy ounce of nostalgic, prettiness, but once you compare the overwhelming list of features to any other model, you can’t help but say “Wow! this is the one Dear!”
Pizza Peel
This choice was not as easy as you might think. There are not only a lot of choices for the title of our “favorite peel”, but we actually have a favorite in each pizza peel category, like metal vs. wood. Overall, however, we like the warmness of wood and its resilience. We like the idea of treating it with oils and even displaying it. So, it may come as a surprise to see our choice is a really unique composite model – the Exo Super Peel Pro Composite! This pizza lifter wins because of its unique ability to combine a normal wood (ish) peel, with an attachment that makes it really easy to lift a raw pizza from whatever surface it’s sitting on, and then transfer it to another peel or bakestone. It’s really 2 VERY useful tools in one!
Gluten Free Pizza Dough
If you don’t like the idea of eating too much-refined stuff, or if you’re not a fan of lots of gluten, here’s a way to stay healthier, while enjoying your one “weakness” (it’s PIZZA if you haven’t guessed!). Yes, gluten is that stuff that makes your dough stick together, but it offers nothing to your body in the way of significant nutrition, and it may be that you don’t tolerate gluten very well. We have a friend with Celiac, and this is a must for him! There are lots of options for gluten-free pizza dough (even just on Amazon, which is probably your best bet anyway) but here’s our favorite – well actually, it’s a tie between Red Mill and Simple Mills!