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Comparison

Pizza oven vs a normal kitchen oven

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In short

A pizza oven gets far hotter than a kitchen oven, often 400°C or more, and heats the pizza from the floor and the roof at once. That bakes a pizza in about 90 seconds to a few minutes with a puffy, spotted crust. A kitchen oven usually tops out around 250°C, so pizza takes longer and the crust is drier and flatter. An indoor electric pizza oven closes most of that gap without going outside.

Details as stated in the Amazon listing or by the manufacturer. See the current price on Amazon.

Our verdict

Stick with your kitchen oven plus a stone or steel for occasional and thicker pizzas. For pizza oven results indoors, the Sage Smart Oven Pizzaiolo suits keen cooks who want presets and room on the worktop, while the Kenwood My Pizzeria is the compact, lighter choice for smaller kitchens.

You can make good pizza in a normal oven, but it is a different pizza from the one you get in a pizzeria. The reason is heat. A dedicated pizza oven runs at temperatures a domestic oven cannot reach, and it is shaped to put that heat on both the base and the top at the same time. This comparison explains floor and dome temperatures, bake times and crust results, then looks at two indoor electric pizza ovens from our guides for anyone who wants better pizza without an outdoor oven.

Heat: the big difference

Most UK kitchen ovens reach around 220 to 250°C, and a few go a little higher. That is ideal for roasting and baking but low for pizza. A Neapolitan style pizza is designed to bake in a very hot oven, with the floor at roughly 400 to 450°C and even more heat above.

A pizza oven also has a low roof. Heat from the flame or elements reflects off the dome straight onto the toppings, so the top cooks as fast as the base. In a tall kitchen oven, most heat comes from the air, which cooks the top slowly while the base dries out.

PointKitchen ovenPizza oven
Top temperatureAround 220 to 250°COften 400°C or more
Heat from aboveHot air, grill on someFlame or elements close to the pizza
Bake timeAround 8 to 15 minutesAbout 90 seconds to a few minutes
CrustDrier, flatter, even colourPuffy rim, spotted char, soft middle
Best forThicker and pan pizzasThin Neapolitan and New York style
Typical figures, varies by oven

Crust results and what to expect

Fast, fierce heat turns water in the dough to steam quickly, which puffs the rim and leaves the inside soft. Long, gentle heat dries the dough before it rises, giving a crisp but flatter crust. That is why a kitchen oven suits pan pizza and thicker styles, while a pizza oven suits thin, airy pizza.

A stone or steel helps a lot in a kitchen oven. See pizza stone vs pizza steel for how to get the most from one. Dough matters too: a high hydration dough made for a hot oven can burn or dry out in a cooler one, so adjust with our dough calculator.

Indoor electric pizza ovens compared

If you do not want an outdoor oven, a countertop electric pizza oven reaches pizza oven heat in the kitchen. The Sage Smart Oven Pizzaiolo is a large, premium unit with presets for different pizza styles and a manual mode; the listing quotes up to 400°C and a 2,250 W rating. The Kenwood My Pizzeria is far smaller and lighter, with a removable 30 cm stone, dual heating, a timer and two peels; the listing quotes 400°C and pizzas in about four minutes.

SpecSage Smart Oven PizzaioloKenwood My Pizzeria
Max temperature400°C400°C
Power2,250 W1,500 W
Pizza size30 cm30 cm stone
ControlsPresets plus manual modeTemperature and timer
Weight22.4 kg4.7 kg
Dimensions (D x W x H)58.5 x 50 x 57 cm38.5 x 41 x 23 cm
ExtrasPresets: wood fired, New York, pan, thin and crispy, frozen2 pizza peels, timer
Two indoor pizza ovens, from the Amazon listings

See the best electric pizza ovens for indoors →

Pizza oven vs toaster oven

A small toaster or mini oven is handy for reheating and small bakes, but it usually runs no hotter than a normal oven and has no stone. It will cook a frozen pizza but not a blistered, thin crust one. A dedicated electric pizza oven puts high heat close to the pizza from above and below, which is the key difference.

Check your kitchen worktop can take the size and weight, keep space around the oven as the manual describes and use a socket that is not overloaded. A 2,250 W appliance draws a lot of current, so plug it straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead.

Note:Electric pizza ovens get very hot outside as well as inside. Keep them clear of walls, cupboards and anything that can burn, never leave one on unattended and keep children away. Never use an outdoor gas, wood or pellet oven indoors: they produce carbon monoxide.

When a pizza oven makes sense

If you make pizza once in a while and enjoy thicker styles, your kitchen oven with a stone or steel is fine. If you make pizza weekly and want thin, puffy Neapolitan results, a pizza oven is worth the space. Indoors, choose an electric model. Outdoors, compare fuels in gas or wood-fired pizza oven and see the best outdoor pizza ovens in the UK. Our is an outdoor pizza oven worth it article weighs the case.

Frequently asked questions

Is a pizza oven better than a normal oven for pizza? For thin, Neapolitan style pizza, yes. It runs far hotter and heats the top and base together, so pizza bakes in minutes with a puffier crust.

Pizza stone vs pizza oven: is a stone enough? A stone improves the base in a kitchen oven but cannot add the heat from above that a pizza oven gives. It is a good, low cost step.

Can I use an outdoor pizza oven indoors? No. Gas, wood and pellet ovens are for outdoor use only. See can you use a pizza oven indoors.

How hot do indoor electric pizza ovens get? Both examples above quote up to 400°C on their listings, far above a typical kitchen oven.

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