Does size really matter?

Differences when using a domestic home oven and or a Pizza oven

Do you really need an expensive outdoor pizza oven or can a smaller home oven be enough? What has been the experience with Gozney Roccbox Pizza oven so far?
In this post, I will try to answer a few questions regarding the importance of Pizza ovens and where the differences lie when making a Pizza.

Baking Time

First and foremost, the most obvious fact: The baking time is significantly faster with the RoccBox. It takes around 90 – 120 seconds to bake a pizza – depending on the thickness, toppings, and temperature of the oven. In contrast, it takes about 10 – 15 minutes in a domestic oven.

Hydration and Crispness

Due to the significantly faster cooking time, the pizza in the outdoor oven loses less water during baking. This leads to a fluffier dough while still having a crust on the outside. I here refer to the famous signature expression from Vito Iocapelli “soft and crunchy”. Personally, I love “soft and crunchy” pizzas. My favorite dough hydration that leads to this feeling is at ca. 65 – 67% depending on the boundary conditions (Feel free to try my pizza recipe with different hydration values at https://pizzadoughcalculator.streamlit.app/) . Pizzas cooked in a domestic oven usually are very crispy. With the right techniques it is possible to mimic the dough texture from the outdoor oven, but it is difficult. I would estimate that when it comes to Pizza cooking, the keys to the satisfactory results lie to 30% in the dough, 40% in the right oven, 15% in the preparation/quality of the toppings and 15% in the baking technique, So the oven is a key factor. Even with an “unprofessionally” dough, the resulting pizza can still be great with the right oven and baking technique (Avoid soggy pizzas with these tricks: https://tsimader.com/prevent-soggy-pizza-tips/).

Flavor

The high temperatures of a pizza oven significantly influence the flavor of the pizza. The caramelizing dough gives an extra note and the fast cooking of the toppings within maximum 2 minutes gives them a clean and fresh note. Additionally, sometimes the famous “leopard pattern” can appear on the pizza. This is the result of uneven heat transfer due to the uneven rising of the boarder (Cornicione) of the pizza. Areas that rise higher and are exposed to more heat darker faster than other spots. This leads to uneven darkening of the boarder and is a quality sign for a well risen dough. Additionally, the slightly burned spots give the pizza a unique flavor that is hard to replicate in a domestic oven due to the lack of heat.

Equipment

All my Pizza Equipment:

1. Pizza Peel
2. Pizza Turner
3. Oven Cleaner
4. Fermentation Boxes
5. Gas Bottle / Fire Wood
6. Spatula
7. Frankfurter Brett
8. Presentation Board

Fun factor

Baking in a pizza oven is definitely more fun than in a domestic oven!