You’ve probably heard of pizza ovens if you want to amaze your friends and family this summer. Anyone who has ever purchased an authentic Italian-style pizza understands how they are created. So, the ability to create your pizzas at home can be a great idea, especially to break up the usual backyard barbecue with something different.
There are two main types of pizza ovens available on the market, both using different fuel sources. Much like the debate between charcoal and gas grill, wood fire ovens and gas ovens each have separate benefits that make choosing one over the other more complex. It’s hard to know which type you should buy for your home.
This article covers both wood-fired and gas ovens’ advantages and disadvantages. To learn more about pizza ovens, their accessories and where you can buy one for your home, visit Dickson Barbeque Centre.
How wood-fired ovens work
You’re probably thinking of a wood-burning pizza oven when you think of a classic pizza oven. As the name implies, wood-burning ovens use wood as fuel to cook whatever is placed within. In order to heat the inner dome and centre of the oven, wood is placed in the back of one of the sides and lighted. Some types may feature a centre place for the wood to burn, leaving the rest of the kitchen free to cook. The oven retains its heat for considerably longer after the flames have died out.
Wood-fired Ovens advantages
Temperature
One of the best features of a wood-fired oven is its high heat limits. Thanks to its fuel source, the ovens can reach high temperatures quickly, reaching from 500 degrees celsius to a whopping 700 degrees. Hence, pizzas can be ready at a much faster speed than a gas-powered oven.
Can be used for more than pizzas
You can use a wood-fired oven for more than just pizzas. As long as it fits inside the oven itself, you can use it for cooking virtually anything. Beyond pizzas, the oven can make roasts, cook vegetable whole, and even bake bread. All you need is the right kind of wood and enough space inside.
Enhances the food’s flavour
If you’ve eaten pizzas made in both a wood-fired oven and a gas oven, there’s a chance you’ve noticed the one cooked with wood fire tastes much more different. The smoke from the wood is the same process used to smoke meat on a grill. The wood-burning process releases smoke inside the oven, which is then absorbed into the food and gives it a unique smoky taste. The flavours of any meat, vegetables or other foods get enhanced in a way that a gas oven can’t.
How gas ovens work
Gas ovens use burners inside to cook, as opposed to wood. For it to work, they need a steady flow of either propane or natural gas, which is then lit by a flame. Depending on the model of your gas oven, the ignition needed can be either a pilot flame or a spark generator.
In the same way that a gas grill turns on, you need to begin by opening the valve for the gas to flow. If the model has a pilot flame, the gas will automatically light, and all you need to do is wait some time for the oven to heat up to the desired temperature. Otherwise, the oven comes with an ignition button that creates a spark when pressed that, in turn, starts the flames.
Gas Ovens advantages
Needs little cleaning up.
One of the advantages a gas oven has over wood fire ovens is the lack of clean-up you need to do after each use. As a typical byproduct of burning wood as a fuel, ash is often left behind and needs to be cleared out to prevent it from affecting the food the next time you use the oven. On the other hand, gas can simply be turned off once finished, given that the food cooked doesn’t crumble.
Space-saving
If you have little room in your home or backyard or have careful arrangements that you can’t interfere with, a gas oven is best. All a gas oven needs is a burner, which is often built into the oven itself. On the other hand, wood ovens require a space for chunks of wood to be stored. Some wood ovens may have rack accessories to decrease the space used, yet that amount of space could also be used for something else.
Temperature and flame control
Gas ovens have become more popular for businesses since you can easily control the temperature and the flames inside. This can reduce the overall energy costs and save the company money that can go to other needs and materials. Additionally, staff can spend less time tending to the flames and ensuring the temperature is consistent, giving them time to attend to customers. In turn, the time and money saved can further improve a restaurant’s reputation and profits.
Takeaway
What type of oven is best for you is determined by what you want to get out of it and what limitations you have. Wood-fired ovens are ideal for cooking foods with a smokey flavour, such as classic pizzas and roasts. They may produce ash as a consequence of burning the right kinds of hardwoods, but you can utilize the ash in your garden or compost. Because of the higher temperatures, wood-fired ovens cook faster.
Gas ovens also have their advantages, like controlling the heat inside them. It works great for businesses and doesn’t need the same space and cleaning as a wood-fired oven. Given the overall restrictions you may have, either oven is a good choice for the summer.