Grape & Honey Pizza
A sweet and savoury pizza perfect for a backyard summer gathering.
Home-based Pizzaiolos
Tools and tips for becoming an impressive at-home pizza maker
Is there anything more satisfying than the aroma of pizza fresh out of the oven? Making pizza at home can run the spectrum from microwaving a pizza-bagel all the way to fire-baking a naturally leavened pizza (perhaps using your new pandemic-inspired sourdough recipe). It’s what makes pizza so wonderful—there are so many ways to enjoy it.
For most of us, pizza makes for a delicious and satisfying meal (and leftovers if you’re lucky). But at some point, every serious pizza fan turns their attention to becoming a proficient home baker. It might start with a harmless visit to one of the many excellent home baking sites or a pizza book or two, but before you know it, you’re buying specialty flour and Neapolitan pizza tools. Inevitably, your attention turns to the central component of pizza making: the oven.
Being an at home pizzaiolo (pizza maker) is fun and rewarding. It’s also a great way to entertain guests and feed your loved ones. While it’s possible to get great results using everyday, at-home equipment, there is a tantalizing array of specialized oven options available for when you’re ready to consider upgrading your pizza game.
Backyard pizzeria
If you have the space and the time, consider building a backyard pizza oven using a Forno Bravo pizza oven kit. This option is the most versatile cooking oven and will yield the best possible results. Be warned: building a backyard pizza oven is no small feat. Expect the process to take up to two months before you're enjoying your first Margherita. Don’t forget to budget for the rest of the building materials as well as design costs. But once completed, your oven will be a focal point and showpiece for entertaining. Not only can you cook mouthwatering, pizzeria-quality pies, but you can bake bread and prepare full meals to the awe and admiration of your guests. Building your own oven also gives you an opportunity to get creative with your design. Use one of the many templates available online or create your own design to match your backyard oasis.
Enhance your outdoor kitchen
If you already have an outdoor kitchen, installing a pizza oven is a great addition. Try Forno Venetiza for gas- or wood-powered outdoor pizza ovens. The Pronto range has several options to complement your gleaming stainless kitchen. Don’t forget, these ovens aren't just for pizza—they make excellent bread (I’ve always wanted to try bagels) and are perfect for grilled meat, fish and vegetables.
Portable pizza ovens
For those who don’t have the resources to build a backyard brick oven, fear not! There are plenty of stand-alone “portable” oven options. The most popular options are Ooni and Gozney. Gozney, one of the first companies to market an at-home pizza oven with a small footprint, makes the Roccbox. The Roccbox is a powerful, dual-fuel oven that makes great pizza. Ooni has several oven options that range in price, size and fuel type.
Both ovens will make great pizza depending on which kind of fuel you want to use. Wood gives the best flavour but is the most difficult to work with, whereas gas is as easy as a barbecue but you do compromise a bit in taste. Wood pellets are an excellent alternative to wood and are much easier to use thanks to their uniform size and convenient packaging. I appreciate the flexibility of the dual fuel oven. It’s great to be able to use the gas option at any time or to use wood when it’s time to nerd out and get my pizza totally dialed in.
One thing that isn’t mentioned much on the oven sites is how dirty they can get. Because of the high cooking temperatures, grease and food particles carbonize and can make a big mess of your oven. Make sure to always wear an apron and clean your oven (inside and out) every time you use it. Follow the manufacturer's cleaning instructions to keep your pizza oven in top shape.
Pizza-making accessories
Once you have selected your oven, you will need some accessories. Monogrammed aprons and leather-tassel turning peels look cool, but there is only one “must-have” item: a metal loading peel. A peel is like a large pizza spatula with a long handle. This is how you get your pizza in and out of the oven. The pros use GI Metal brand of peels and oven accessories but you can get away with any peel that fits the oven mouth. Beyond that, your accessory choice depends on your personal taste and budget. Cutting your pizza with a giant pizza knife or circular pizza cutter works well, but I’ve always been fond of a good pair of kitchen shears.
Time for a pizza party!
Cooking pizza at 700-900°F in 60 seconds is tricky and things can go wrong fast. So before you invite your boss and her family to a backyard pizza buffet, start slow and work with one pizza at a time. Give yourself plenty of time to dial in a dough recipe and practice using your oven. People gravitate towards a pizza oven, so you will most certainly have an audience if you are cooking for a group. Make sure you have made all your mistakes privately, so you don’t have to make them in front of a group of hungry guests!
Regardless of which route you take on your pizza-making journey, I wish you the best of luck. Take it slow and don’t be afraid to improvise. After all, pizza is just bread with toppings. You don’t need to adhere to any particular style or dogma if it doesn’t suit your tastes. Most importantly, have fun and get your hands dirty.
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