The perfect pizza-cooking temperature is 450C – it’s the temperature of those gorgeous vintage wood-fired pizza ovens used by the same family for generations. *sigh*
Ideally, when you’re cooking a pizza, you want heat enough to crisp the crust but not to destroy your toppings. Essentially, whether you have a special pizza oven or are just cranking up your kitchen oven, the hotter you can get it, the better.
Can I cook a good pizza in my kitchen oven?
It’s not idea, but sure you can. Turn it up as hot as it will go – most domestic ovens will only hit the low- to mid-200s. Heat it for as long as possible – half an hour is good – before you put your pizza in. In your kitchen oven, most pizzas will take about 10 minutes to cook.
If you want to fast-track your pizza but don’t have the cash for a specialised pizza oven, investing in a pizza stone is your best bet.
How does a pizza stone help cook the pizza?
Putting your pizza on the pizza stone will give it a fabulous kickstart, searing the base to make it far crispier than if you simply put the pizza on a baking tray. Heat the pizza stone while you heat your oven, and when you put your pizza on it, it concentrates that heat on your pizza base, almost replicating the wood-fired pizza ovens of the old country.
Should I buy a gas pizza oven?
Kitchen-oven pizzas are entirely acceptable, but if you want step it up a gear, investing in a dedicated pizza oven is a great idea. The popular Ooni koda gas pizza oven is little more than a pizza stone encased in fire, and it can churn out a homemade pizza in 90 seconds. Cooked toppings, crispy base, gooey cheese. It’s all there.
If pizza is a big part of your life, but you can’t stretch to a top of the range wood-fired oven, a gas pizza oven is a good start.
Should I upgrade to a wood-fired pizza oven?
Erm. Yes. Gas is a great start, but there’s really nothing as authentic as a wood-fired pizza scorched on a stone slab in an oven that reaches that sweet spot of 450. Starting around £500 and pushing into the thousands, wood burning pizza ovens are the investment of the serious pizza connoisseur.
Is building my own pizza oven an option?
Of course. If you have the time and patience to build your own oven, absolutely go for it.
An amazing olive and caper-inspired pizza recipe! On this pizza the humble olive provides a fresh, grassy seasoning that cuts through the rich melted cheese with ease. A couple of caper berries added to the top bring a mineral brightness to the classic tomato sauce. It’s a quintessentially Mediterranean flavour balanced by the charred crust [...]
There is no single authentic Italian tomato sauce for pizzas. Families pass down recipes through generations, they adapt, improve, rethink the ingredients, always changing with the times. The only nailed down ‘authentic’ Italian tomato sauce is the one laid out by the AVPN, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which insists all its tomato sauce ingredients [...]
This is a cracking white pizza recipe. Salty prosciutto ham, char-grilled artichoke hearts and oozing smoked burrata. Delicious! Sometimes simplicity works so well, why complicate ingredients?! Delicious prosciutto, artichokes and mouth-watering smoked burrata - it's a pizza that's hard to beat! Pizza dough This recipe uses Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana recipe which can be found [...]
Parma Ham and Courgette Pizza! Summer provides a bounty of courgetttes from the garden and this pizza recipe is perfect with finely sliced baby courgette, air dried ham and preserved lemon. Add a few sprigs of thyme for an aromatic finish. Method Preheat your pizza oven to 375˚C and roll out your dough. Place onto [...]
How to cook the perfect pizza
What temperature should I cook my pizza at?
The perfect pizza-cooking temperature is 450C – it’s the temperature of those gorgeous vintage wood-fired pizza ovens used by the same family for generations. *sigh*
Ideally, when you’re cooking a pizza, you want heat enough to crisp the crust but not to destroy your toppings. Essentially, whether you have a special pizza oven or are just cranking up your kitchen oven, the hotter you can get it, the better.
Can I cook a good pizza in my kitchen oven?
It’s not idea, but sure you can. Turn it up as hot as it will go – most domestic ovens will only hit the low- to mid-200s. Heat it for as long as possible – half an hour is good – before you put your pizza in. In your kitchen oven, most pizzas will take about 10 minutes to cook.
If you want to fast-track your pizza but don’t have the cash for a specialised pizza oven, investing in a pizza stone is your best bet.
How does a pizza stone help cook the pizza?
Putting your pizza on the pizza stone will give it a fabulous kickstart, searing the base to make it far crispier than if you simply put the pizza on a baking tray. Heat the pizza stone while you heat your oven, and when you put your pizza on it, it concentrates that heat on your pizza base, almost replicating the wood-fired pizza ovens of the old country.
Should I buy a gas pizza oven?
Kitchen-oven pizzas are entirely acceptable, but if you want step it up a gear, investing in a dedicated pizza oven is a great idea. The popular Ooni koda gas pizza oven is little more than a pizza stone encased in fire, and it can churn out a homemade pizza in 90 seconds. Cooked toppings, crispy base, gooey cheese. It’s all there.
If pizza is a big part of your life, but you can’t stretch to a top of the range wood-fired oven, a gas pizza oven is a good start.
Should I upgrade to a wood-fired pizza oven?
Erm. Yes. Gas is a great start, but there’s really nothing as authentic as a wood-fired pizza scorched on a stone slab in an oven that reaches that sweet spot of 450. Starting around £500 and pushing into the thousands, wood burning pizza ovens are the investment of the serious pizza connoisseur.
Is building my own pizza oven an option?
Of course. If you have the time and patience to build your own oven, absolutely go for it.
These instructables walk you through the stages of concreting, bricklaying and careful arch creating you need to produce your very own pizza oven: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-homemade-Pizza-Oven/
PDF DOWNLOAD: How to cook the perfect pizza? >
Related Posts
You’re the Olive of my eye Pizza
What goes into an authentic Italian tomato sauce
Prosciutto, Artichoke and Smoked Burrata
Parma Ham and Courgette Pizza