Aug
How to guides, Pizza Ovens
The Comprehensive Guide to Buying an Igneus Pizza Oven
Picture this: a warm summer evening, the tantalising aroma of freshly baked pizza wafting through the air, and a gathering of friends and family eagerly awaiting the first slice. If you’ve ever dreamt of recreating the magic of an authentic pizzeria in the comfort of your own garden, then look no further than an Igneus Pizza Oven. In this article, we give you a comprehensive guide to buying a pizza oven, whether you’ve got one already and looking for a step up or have never even used one before. Let’s dive in…
Type of Pizza Oven (Portable or Built-In)
The first decision to make when buying an Igneus pizza oven is whether you want a portable or built-in model. Portable ovens are ideal if you have limited outdoor space or if you plan to move the oven around frequently. They are also great for camping trips and outdoor events.
On the other hand, built-in ovens offer a more permanent and integrated solution for your outdoor kitchen setup, providing a sleek and seamless appearance. Both are aesthetically pleasing and come in a range of colours and designs.
Size and Capacity
Size and capacity should be one of the key determinators when deciding which pizza oven to purchase. The Igneus Minimo cooks 12” stone baked pizza in only 60 seconds. Plus, it’s light and portable weighing just 15kg. Being so compact means it only takes 15 minutes to heat up, so whilst not the largest of our portable range, you can have multiple perfectly charred pizzas ready within a few minutes.
If you are looking for something a little larger but still want the ability to transport the oven to different locations, the Igneus Bambino has the same cooking and heat up time as the Minimo but with the ability to fit a 14” pizza comfortably. Depending on whether you are looking for a portable oven or built in, we would recommend something lightweight, fast to heat up and capable of cooking a good size pizza.
For a more permanent pizza oven which adds a more traditional aesthetic to your garden, the Ceramiko 760 has an internal cooking area of 760mm. This allows you to cook 2-3 pizzas in just 60-90 seconds!
Fuel Types
There are only two types of fuel when it comes to pizza ovens, wood fired and gas fired. At Igneus, we specialise only in wood fired pizza ovens due to their incredible aroma, aesthetic appeal of watching the flames and most importantly the charred smoky taste it adds to the pizzas. Wood fired ovens caramelise the sugars in the dough helping to give its golden brown charred texture, taste and smell. You can check out our wood bundle which includes kindling, firelighters and a bag of kiln dried silver birch wood to up your pizza making game here. We always say you cannot replicate the flavour of traditional wood fired pizza, but it also depends on your lifestyle whether you choose wood fired or gas. Gas of course is more convenient with touch button start, but wood fired ovens with practice are so much more rewarding.
Ease of use and maintenance
All of our pizza ovens are designed to be easy to use and maintain. Typically speaking, gas fired pizza ovens tend to just require the gas canister to be connected to the pizza oven prior to lighting. Wood fired pizza ovens are similarly easy. You start by stacking kindling and firelighters to make a base for the fire, slowly adding our kiln dried wood as the fire grows in heat.
Our pizza oven range is capable of reaching at least 400°. Once the pizza oven has reached the desired temperature, it’s time to cook! Heat up times typically take as little as 15 minutes for portable pizza ovens and around an hour for built-in pizza ovens. Giving you plenty of time to prepare your dough, sauce, cheese and toppings.
Cleaning is also remarkably simple. Simply let the fire die out and allow the embers to cool before raking up the ashes and embers. You can also brush it out after to ensure no debris is left for your next pizza making session! Our rakes and brushes start from just £19.99 and if you’d like toto your pizza making abilities to the next level you can also check out our accessories including pizza peels here.
Budget
Whilst one of the most important factors you may have is budget, we would recommend looking at what it is you are looking to get out of a pizza oven as the determining factor. Our pizza ovens begin at £299.00 for the Minimo, going up to £3149.00 for the Ceramiko Pro 1200, so you can see there’s a vast scale in terms of price point.
We have a range of pizza ovens for different uses, sizes, capacities, the types of food you can cook and compatible accessories depending on your needs which we’re more than happy to discuss with you when making your purchase.
The type of food you plan to cook
While pizza is the star of the show, an Igneus Pizza Oven can cook a wide range of dishes beyond just pizzas. Whilst our portable range focuses on providing you with pizza in the outdoors (although there really is nothing stopping you from cooking more than just pizza in our portable ovens), our most popular pizza oven, the Igneus Classico and the Pro Range are capable of cooking so much more as they have the capacity to easily fit multiple baking trays. Other foods you can cook in a pizza oven include:
- Roast Meats
- Lasagnes
- Vegetables
- Garlic Bread
- Bruschetta
- Fish dishes
- Wedges, roast potatoes and jacket potatoes
So, if you would like a greater variety of food you can cook using a wood fired oven, a mid-range to upper price range option may be more suitable for you.
What accessories would I need?
We would recommend an accessory bundle regardless of your choice of pizza oven. For seamless clean-up we always advise a brush and rake. The rakes and brushes are 120cm allowing you to reach the back of your pizza oven with ease once it has cooled down.
You can also choose from stainless steel and anodised aluminium 14” pizza peels and 120cm turning peels – ensuring you look like a master chef as you serve up your pizza. Or, you could benefit from buying all of the above in our elite accessory bundle here.
We know it can be hard choosing a pizza oven, our team can help you choose the right one for your needs. You can get in touch by calling us on 01423 575885
Shop now