The dome is big. It is not portable, practical or cheap. It embraces the romance of wood, or the brute power of propane or natural gas. Its height makes it versatile enough for steak, fish or other skillet meals. This pizza oven is designed to be a fixture in your life and backyard, supported by an ever-expanding accessory set. And once you purchase the snap-on Neapolitan Arch accessory ($60) to strengthen its insulation, it more than earns its place there.
Gozni makes really excellent high temperature pizza. Most backyard ovens, even our other favorites on this list, struggle to reach and maintain the 900-degree temperature needed for a proper Neapolitan crust. The Dome Gen 2 gets there in 20 minutes, heats admirably evenly, and is responsible for the best pizza my coworker Kat Merk says she’s made in her entire life. This is noteworthy, given that she was the editor and recipe tester of pizzaiolo Ken Forkish’s iconic pizza book pizza ingredients. (For what it’s worth, Forkish also uses the Dome Gen 2 at home while enjoying his retirement. He likes to use dough at 67 percent hydration when cooking at 900 degrees in the Dome.)
However, there are some caveats: Gozni often markets the Dome as being able to cook two pizzas at the same time. This is a foolish thing to do at the temperature you are cooking food at. Cook a pizza. If you use a Neapolitan arch, it will make the oven aperture so narrow that you will have to limit yourself to a 12-inch peel. The price of the Gozni Dome also increases significantly once you start looking at accessories. With the stand, cover, Neapolitan arch, wood fire control kit, turning peel, and 15 pounds of Gozni-brand kiln-dried hardwood, the final price of the Dome Gen 2 can be up to $3,270.
Best Big Pizza Oven for Families: Ooni Koda Max
Ooni’s Large Oven is for anyone who is tired of feeding their family multiple small 12-inch pies and just wants to make a giant 20-inch cheese pizza for all the kids at once. You can either add a propane tank or connect it to your natural gas line. If this is a possibility for you, I recommend the latter. Ooni has a new gas management technology that maintains uniform temperature over the vast surface. But large, powerful ovens use a lot of fuel: Its 35,000 BTUs put this Coda Max roughly on par with a 3-burner Traeger grill. That heat will also come out through the open front of the oven, which means the Max isn’t ideal for smaller patios.
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