1. Breville The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo
What We Like
- Sufficient intensity to simulate the conditions of traditional wood-burning ovens
- The Pizza Place, Inc.
- Infinite customization by manual adjustment.
What We Don’t Like
- Costly
- The absence of an automatic power-off feature
- Substituting metal for wood in the peeling process
To Add Up
This is the Breville The Smart Oven. Pizzaiolo can cook a variety of items in addition to pizza, and it can transform your kitchen into a pizzeria without overheating the space.
So that our reviewer could put it through its paces in her own kitchen, we went out and bought a Breville The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo. Learn more about it in the detailed review that follows.
The pizza will turn out great if you cook it in a standard oven, but the pizza oven adds a whole new level of decadence and pleasure to the process. Pizza ovens, which are capable of producing significantly greater heat, are responsible for producing pizzas with the ideal crispy crust, melting cheese, and flavorful toppings.
As soon as I saw Breville’s The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo, I knew it would be put to good use in my household. I prepared pizza dough, tomato sauce, and an abundance of cheese and toppings. After I’d had my fill of pizza, I started thinking outside the box. Would you say this is the ideal method for creating pizza at home? I’ve done the delving and am now prepared to pass on my findings.
Trendy Design: enough to be a viable counterlife
Some countertop ovens are so huge that a whole chicken may be roasted inside of them. Since pizza needs to be cooked evenly on both the top and bottom, this oven is the polar opposite.
There’s a glass on the front so you can see what’s inside, and some basic dials with LED lights that give off an industrial vibe. Since it is broader than it is deep, the oven may be placed on a shelf if it is not going to be used on a counter.
You may bake pan pizzas in the carbon steel baking dish that has a detachable handle, and you also get a shining metal pizza peel. It came as a pleasant surprise to me that the pan was made out of carbon steel, despite the fact that it has to be handled with a bit more care than regular steel. Since the handle could be detached and reattached with little effort, the pan could be placed and removed from the oven without the need for potholders.
Rather of throwing away my leftover pizza dough, I chose to use it to make a sweet treat by spreading it with butter, cinnamon, sugar, and almonds before rolling it into a log. After it had risen a little, I put it in the pan with the intention of baking it in the oven. When it was finally time to put it in the oven, my only concern was that it might rise too much and burn on the top. As an alternative, I preheated my standard oven and used the pan there, where everything turned out just well. That pan will probably be used for more than just cooking.
However, the glossy peel was unappealing. No matter how much cornmeal is used, the dough still has a tendency to adhere to the metal, and using too much might result in a sticky, messy situation. A wooden peel that worked well in the oven was something I happened to have on hand.
The metal peel worked just great for taking pizzas out of the oven, and it also worked well for removing frozen pizza from the freezer. Premade, partially cooked crusts would work just great, too. To that end, I recommend tracking down a wood peel to use in this oven.
Theatrical Realization: Superb, Straightforward Pizza
Pan pizzas are notoriously difficult to prepare properly, what with the thick dough that has to bake all the way through, the sauce that needs to heat up, and the cheese that needs to melt all at once. With this oven, I simply programmed the oven for pan pizza cooking, let it warm, and tossed together my pizza ingredients.
No matter what kind of pizza I made in this oven (New York style, wood-fired, or thin and crispy), the crust was baked perfectly on both the top and bottom.
Just for kicks, I set the oven’s temperature to its maximum setting and let it preheat to see if it could reach the advertised 750 degrees. I used an infrared thermometer to verify that the stone had reached an appropriate cooking temperature of 750 degrees, which is more than enough for baking any pizza.
I was worried that my favorite frozen pizza wouldn’t fit on the baking stone when I unpacked it from the package. But it did the trick, and I baked it in the frozen setting. It came out of the oven evenly browned on both sides. Obviously, it couldn’t compare to a freshly baked pie, but it was tastier than anything I’ve ever received out of a regular oven.
The oven will chime when the timer goes off, but it won’t turn off until the food is removed from the oven. At first, I was confused as to why the oven wouldn’t shut off after baking, but now I see how it might be helpful for chefs preparing many pizzas at once. If you switch off your oven, the fans will keep going to cool it; let them on until they turn off on their own.
Available: in any pizza configuration you can imagine
Its primary selling point is that it can replicate the high heat and speed of a pizza or wood-fired oven. 350 degrees, frozen pizza, pan pizza, New York pizza, thin and crispy, “wood-fired pizza,” and 750 degrees are just some of the temperatures and kinds of pizza that may be cooked in this oven. Selecting one of these also determines the appropriate default cooking time and temperature range. The level of darkness may be changed using the third knob.
In the manual mode, the knobs and dials have a dual purpose. A magnetic sheet conceals a variety of adjustments in addition to the usual ones. The dial on the left adjusts the temperature of the deck, while the dial on the right does the same for the top. In the meanwhile, the top components may be evenly heated or focused on the edges to crisp up the crust using the little dial on the far right.
By making a batch of nachos, I was able to put the pan’s manual settings to the test. Since I wanted my cheese to melt evenly, I cranked up the top heat while keeping the bottom at a moderate temperature. In spite of the heat, the chips retained their crunch, some of them caramelized slightly, and the cheese melted to perfection. Perhaps the best nacho maker ever made.
I liked how I didn’t have to put much thought into whether or not I wanted a pan pizza or a New York style pizza because of how simple the controls were. That allowed me to experiment with different crusts and toppings. Every pizza was delicious, from a classic Margherita to a pan pizza topped with cheese and savory Bolognese.
I rummaged through the booklet that came with the oven and discovered a recipe for cauliflower, so I decided to give it a go and see what would happen. Asparagus seemed the perfect thing to roast, so I grabbed the pan and got to work. Success was achieved. If a pizza oven were sitting on the counter, I may consider using it to cook some asparagus, but I doubt I would get it out of storage just for that purpose.
Inconveniently: little space for cleaning
Because of its limited size, this oven is not as easy to clean as a standard toaster oven. While the stone may be removed for further in-depth cleaning, most ovens can get by with only a moist towel and a quick wash down. The pizza doesn’t slide too far back in the oven because of the circular shroud.
Even when the cheese from my nachos dropped, it was easy to merely scrape it off the carbon steel pizza pan since it is nearly nonstick. However, it’s best to avoid the dishwasher whenever possible by following the care guidelines.
Cost: very high
There is a $1,000 price tag attached to this pizza oven. Is it more economical to make pizza at home rather than ordering it out? Possibly. Is there a significant enough improvement to warrant the additional expense of this stove? Doubtful. But does it really matter? Homemade pizza is a lot of fun to make. A family meal is a great opportunity to get the kids in the kitchen. You’ll have total say over what goes into the dish. The perfect party accessory. It’s easy to operate, looks nice on the counter, and makes decent pizza. Even though it’s a hefty investment, this is a tempting option for pizza lovers with deep pockets.
Ooni Karu vs. Breville The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo.
If you’re looking for that authentic wood-fired taste, go no further than the Ooni Karu 12-Inch Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven. It can be converted to use a gas burner and has a retail price of roughly $349; it can burn wood, charcoal, or both; and it has a wide range of possible fuel sources. The Ooni is only used in the great outdoors, and there is a little learning curve involved in controlling the fire and preparing the pizza. It’s a fantastic tool for the kitchen, but the Breville I tried was both simpler and more suited to use indoors. My recommendation is the Ooni for those who have access to a backyard, a taste for smoked pizza, and a surplus of sunny days. However, the Breville produces excellent pizza for individuals who value convenience over cost and prefer not to be at the mercy of fire and inclement weather.
Final Verdict
This is the genuine deal when it comes to pizza.
I’ve got a lot of context for comparison since I’ve prepared pizzas in the big oven, the tabletop oven, and the outdoor oven at home. This is the Breville The Smart Oven. Of all the jobs, pizza chef was the least difficult. There is no need to maintain a certain temperature or tend to a fire. While it lacked the smokiness of a wood-fired grill, I was able to get some charred, crunchy bits without having to deal with inclement weather or a lack of sunshine. For some reason, I foresee a future filled with pizza.
