We checked out the side by side capabilities of 3 popular pizza ovens to bake the perfect margherita.  We used the same pizza recipe for each – a simple margherita with basil oil.

First and foremost, these ovens vary in price, size and heat generation.  Our aim was to achieve similar baking results from each oven rather critiquing their virtues and differences.

Fuel type and speed of achieving the optimal cooking temperature

Both the Alfa Forni 5 Minuti and Ventura Ibido ran on wood and a combination of wood / pellets while the Gozney Roccbox ran on gas.  Our temperature measurement was based on the floor of each oven, not the ambient heat – all achieved a cooking temperature of 450 degrees C but at different times.  Naturally, the Alfa took longer to heat up due the size of the cooking area – approximately an hour – but once there, it sustained its heat for an hour without refuelling. The Ventura took around 30 minutes but needed regular feeding of wood and pellets to maintain its heat (not unlike many Ooni pellet fuelled ovens). The Gozney took around 30 minutes but the gas flame did go out a few times, more to do with the windy conditions rather than the fault of the oven.

 

How easy to use are the ovens when baking a pizza?

Both the Gozney and Ventura have a similar sized cooking area which accommodates one standard sized pizza.  They both need smaller turning peels to rotate the pizza when cooking but this is not a drawback, the space is designed to cook an individual pizza effectively without unnecessary loss of heat.  The Alfa has a much large cooking area and is easier to deal with but this is expected given the cost and specification of the oven.  All ovens within their respective sizes are easy to bake with.

Wood fuelled

  • Alfa Forni 5 Minuti ✔️
  • Gozney Roccbox ✔️
  • Ventura Ibrido ✔️

Wood and gas fuelled

  • Gozney Roccbox ✔️
  • Ventura Ibrido ✔️

Ventura margherita pizza

Gozney margherita pizza

Alfa Forni margherita pizza

Cooking characteristics of each oven

Interestingly, all pizzas tasted slightly different from one another and had individual characteristics. The Alfa has constant heat radiating from both the floor of the oven and flames above from the burning wood – this created a pizza with a pleasant smokey taste.  The crust was puffy and coloured in a uniform way and the base was evenly cooked.  The Gozney had an impressively cooked top and the base was softer (but tasty) largely due to the fairly fierce flame that’s close to the pizza surface.  The Ventura was closer to the taste of the Alfa with a slight taste of maple that came from the flavoured pellets.  Had we used wood with Gozney, I suspect the taste of the pizza would have been closer to both the Alfa and Ventura.

 

Overall impressions of each oven

As mentioned above, our aim was not to critique each oven on price or specification but to try to bake a margherita pizza on each oven that were close to one another in appearance and taste.  This we achieved, all pizzas were delicious and looked fantastic too.  Both the Gozney and Ventura are cracking value for money and they both run on gas and wood fuel.  The Alfa Forni 5 Minuti is a more expensive oven but it does reflect a closer similarity to an oven found in a traditional pizzeria. It will also accommodate baking of more than one pizza at a go and you can roast meat, fish and veggies with the greater space.