When cooking pizza, you always want to have the best results possible. More often than not, you want the pizza to have an authentic flavor and taste, but you have no idea which is the best method to use to achieve that.
You have no clue which pizza oven will give you the perfect results. With several types of pizza ovens available in the market, it can be pretty overwhelming to decide which one is the best.
Perhaps choosing between a wood and gas pizza oven may not be easy, but this article will help you narrow down to which pizza oven is best for your needs.
Table of Contents
What is Gas Pizza Oven?
A gas pizza oven is an oven that is usually powered by propane or natural gas. A gas oven cooks pizza evenly, and it’s easy to use.
This oven ensures that pizza is cooked perfectly and the melting cheese and toppings are well cooked.
A gas oven allows an increase and decrease of heat; hence you can easily maintain the right temperature while cooking pizza.
What is Wood Pizza Oven?
On the other hand, a wood pizza oven is a type of oven that typically uses wood pellets, sawdust, or hot coal to cook pizza.
Typically, this oven is powered by wood. Once a wood oven is heated up from 500 to 700 degrees Celcius, it cooks pizza in a blink of an eye due to the intense heat from the flames.
What Are the Portable Pizza Oven Outdoor?
Outdoor portable pizza ovens are ovens designed for outdoor use. They use propane, charcoal, wood, or any wood-related fuel products to heat up and cook pizza.
Whether you want to make pizza at a party or in your home backyard for friends, using a portable outdoor pizza oven is the best choice.
The outdoor pizza ovens are easily portable and user-friendly; they are compact and can be easily used.
They reach high temperatures, that is, 900 degrees Fahrenheit and above. They can cook mouth-watering pizza in minutes. Lastly, outdoor pizza ovens are budget-friendly.
Types of Fuel Used in Outdoor Pizza Oven Gas and Wood
An outdoor wood pizza oven typically uses charcoal, wood chips, briquettes, or sawdust, while a gas pizza oven uses natural gas or propane for fueling.
They both do the same job, but the significant difference is their fuel type.
Wood chips are used primarily as fuel for outdoor wood pizza ovens because the wood chips are usually very dry, offering a clean, perfect burn.
Similarly, the wood chips offer low smoke and high heat, which is what a wood oven needs to cook a flavored pizza.
On the other hand, sawdust and briquettes are preferred mainly by experienced pros who enjoy using outdoor ovens to prepare their pizza.
This is because sawdust and briquettes fit the bill by offering extreme heat.
Based on the types of fuel an outdoor wood pizza oven uses, you won’t need preheating time to start cooking your pizza.
An outdoor gas pizza oven gives you the freedom to control your cooking temperatures.
Propane is used as a fuel for outdoor gas pizza ovens because it burns extremely hot compared to natural gas.
When using an outdoor gas oven fueled by propane, you can easily adjust flame levels which is essential when cooking pizza.
Natural gas is safer and more convenient, while propane heats up fast, is portable, and cooks quickly.
Differences Between Wood Vs Gas Pizza Oven Taste
Can you tell the difference in taste between a pizza made using a gas oven and another made using a wood oven?
Does one taste better than the other? Well, the two have a difference in their taste. The wood oven cook’s pizza that’s so tasty.
A pizza prepared using a wood oven tastes better because of the added distinct flavor from high heat and wood smoke, which can’t be achieved using a gas oven.
With a gas pizza oven, you can only add sauces to the pizza toppings and the whole pizza to make it taste better, but still, the taste can’t beat that of a pizza prepared using a wood oven.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the taste of wood and gas pizza ovens is significantly different; wood pizza oven tastes better.
What is the Dual Fuel Pizza Oven?
As the name implies, a dual-fuel pizza oven is a kind of oven that uses gas, wood only, or both gas and wood to run.
You can prepare pizza using the wood option or the gas option, or you can use both options simultaneously.
A dual-fuel pizza oven offers versatility. Its diverse choice of fuels helps you achieve the ideal results when cooking pizza.
Using a dual-fuel pizza oven, you can cook using wood and gas to stabilize the temperatures.
The flavor you get from a dual fuel pizza oven is the same as that of a wood-fired pizza oven, only that it takes lesser effort to get the flavor while using a dual fuel oven.
Cost of Outdoor Pizza Oven Gas and Wood
Outdoor wood pizza ovens are expensive compared to outdoor gas ovens. The cost, though, depends on the size, type of the oven, the material used, and the outdoor space.
A portable outdoor wood pizza oven costs from $300-$1000 on average.
On the other hand, a premade outdoor wood oven costs from $1000-$9000 plus, while building your own clay or cement outdoor wood oven costs $275-$350.
If you build an outdoor brick wood oven, you might spend $950 and more. Therefore, the cost is determined by what the user wants.
An outdoor gas oven, on the other hand, is somewhat cost-friendly. However, like outdoor wood ovens, the outdoor gas oven costs depend on the type and size of the oven.
The average cost of a gas pizza oven is $150-$500, but it is important to note that the prices may be higher depending on what you want.
Side By Side Comparison of Pizza Oven Wood Vs Gas
Both wood and gas pizza ovens are different based on how they function, their prices, quality, cooking time, temperature, cleaning methods, etc. The difference is as discussed below.
01. Transportability
Wood pizza ovens are not easily transportable compared to gas pizza ovens. This is because most wood-fired ovens are enormous and heavy, making it hard to move from one place to another.
Gas pizza ovens are mostly smaller in size. This makes them easy to transport. They are ordinarily portable. Therefore, we can conclude that gas pizza ovens are easier to transport than wood ovens.
02. Price
Gas-fired ovens are typically cheaper than wood ovens. The standard cost for gas ovens is $150 to $500 which is a different case with wood-fired ovens.
Wood pizza ovens are more highly-priced than gas ovens. The average cost range for wood ovens is $300-$1000; however, the cost can go up to $9000 depending on what someone wants.
03. Cooking Time
Wood pizza ovens cook pizza quickly. This is because wood-fired ovens heat up faster through conduction heat, and the heat on the flames fastens the process of cooking pizza.
Therefore, if you use a wood pizza oven, rest assured you will serve your pizza in seconds. On the other hand, a gas pizza oven takes time to cook pizza because it depends on radiant heat to heat up the oven floor.
Due to the low temperatures of the flames in the gas oven, the cooking process is slowed, hence taking so much time for the pizza to cook.
04. Temperature
A wood-fired pizza oven reaches high temperatures faster, but it is hard to control the high temperatures.
The wood pizza ovens reach higher temperatures between 800 and 900 degrees Fahrenheit compared to gas ovens hence cooking pizza faster.
However, a gas pizza oven may take time before reaching high temperatures; it gives you control over cooking temperatures. The gas pizza ovens reach temperatures of 450 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is to say, a gas pizza oven’s temperature can be controlled more quickly and efficiently than a wood pizza oven’s temperature.
05. Fuel Efficiency
A gas pizza oven uses either natural gas or propane. Propane is the best fuel for a gas pizza oven because it heats up extremely hot.
Natural gas is considered a convenient and safer fuel option for gas ovens. For wood pizza ovens, charcoal, wood chips, sawdust, and briquettes are the best fuel to use.
We can say the fuels used to power gas and wood ovens are efficient and safe to use.
06. Space
Wood pizza ovens consume more space; hence they need a bigger space to run smoothly. Storing wood and firing requires more space, so a wood oven needs a bigger space, unlike a gas-fired oven.
Typically, gas ovens take up minimal space because they don’t need additional arrangements other than a burner.
07. Cleaning
Cleaning a wood pizza oven is not easy because of the ashes and soot that must be cleaned thoroughly for hygiene purposes. This means that a wood oven needs more cleaning than a gas oven.
Gas-fired ovens leave no residue, which is why they need less cleaning. Additionally, a gas pizza oven’s cleaning process is easier than a wood oven’s.
08. Weight
Wood pizza ovens are heavy compared to gas ovens. A wood oven can weigh half a ton while a gas oven weighs less, making it easily portable.
It is hard to move around a wood pizza oven because of its weight, which is not the case for a gas oven.
How Does a Gas Pizza Oven Work?
A gas pizza oven uses natural gas or propane to function. The gas oven heats up faster in the center and dome of the oven.
It takes time before heating up the floor because there is no coal base that can transfer heat to the tiles of the floor.
The floor of a gas oven heats up slower but cools faster. The oven, therefore, needs a preheated pizza stone to help fasten the process.
When using a gas oven, ensure you preheat the oven before use. To use a gas pizza oven, here are steps of how to do that and how it works.
01. Hook Up Your Oven To Your Gas
You will need a propane gas canister to do this. You can find a propane gas canister at any local store near you.
02. Check If the Propane Canister Has Enough Gas
Before proceeding to serious work, confirm if the propane canister has sufficient gas. To verify, just lift the canister. If it feels light, the gas may not be enough for the process to run smoothly.
03. Turn on the Control Knob on Your Oven
After your gas regulator is well hooked up and turned on, turn on the control knob on your oven.
Turn it slowly for about five seconds until you hear the ignition click. Hold the knob for another five seconds, then release it to power it on fully.
04. Adjust and Control the Heat To Your Preference
You can change or adjust the heat in the oven to your desired preference. The flame size can also be easily adjusted in the oven by turning the knob.
05. Clean the Thermocouple and Launch Your Pizza Onto the Pizza Stone To Cook
Once you have cleaned the thermocouple, allow your pizza to cook.
06. Turn Off the Oven After You Are Done With the Cooking Process
When you are done cooking, ensure you turn off the oven and remove your regulator from the canister.
Wood and Gas Pizza Oven: [Which One is the Best]
Both gas and wood pizza ovens are a perfect choice for cooking pizza. However, deciding which is the best can only be determined by one’s preference.
Both have benefits and disadvantages; therefore, it’s a matter of what someone prefers. For instance, a wood pizza oven is perfect if you want an authentic smoked pizza flavor served in seconds.
However, it may not be the perfect choice if you are looking for a clean, efficient, simple, and convenient method of cooking pizza.
If you want a convenient, clean and straightforward way of cooking pizza, then a gas oven will be a perfect choice.
Additionally, looking at the cost, a wood pizza oven is more expensive than a gas pizza oven. So unless you want to spend so much, you might want to consider a gas oven.
Cleaning a wood pizza oven is not easy, while cleaning a gas oven is an easy task. So you have to factor that too.
A gas oven is easily portable and weighs less, unlike a wood oven which weighs more and is not easily transportable.
The difference in the fuels used by both ovens is another factor to consider when ruling out the best oven.
If you are looking for an oven that can reach high temperatures, then a wood oven is what you need.
But a gas oven would be suitable if the cooking time is crucial to you, unlike the high temperatures. Simply put, both ovens are best based on what you want.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wood Pizza Oven
Wood pizza ovens have both advantages and disadvantages. Just as there’s something to praise about a wood oven, there’s also something to loathe.
The following are the merits and demerits of a wood pizza oven:
Advantages of Wood Pizza Oven
- A wood pizza oven cooks quickly. Due to high temperatures, you can have your pizza ready within a short time
- Wood pizza ovens enhance the flavor of food. For a tasty meal, you need a wood pizza oven. The heat and smoke from the wood oven give food a sweet flavor
- Wood pizza ovens are multipurpose. They are versatile, which means you can cook various types of food using the wood pizza oven
- A wood pizza oven helps retain a meal’s nutrients. The hot flames also contribute to helping maintain nutrients
Disadvantages of Wood Pizza Oven
- They require more cleaning and maintenance. This is because there is so much unwanted residue that remains after cooking, which needs a thorough cleaning
- It is hard to control the temperature in wood pizza ovens. Sometimes, this may lead to unpleasant results
- Wood pizza ovens are not easily portable because they weigh too much
- They are more expensive, a disadvantage for anyone without sufficient funds to purchase the oven
Benefits and Problems of Gas Pizza Oven
A gas pizza oven comes with both pros and cons, as outlined below:
Benefits of a Gas Pizza Oven
- Gas pizza ovens are pocket friendly, making them easy to purchase
- They are easily portable. Transporting or moving a gas pizza oven from one location to another is easy
- They are easy to operate and clean. You don’t need help or specific skills to operate a gas oven
- Gas pizza ovens allow users to control the cooking temperature easily. You can adjust the temperature efficiently and effectively, making it possible to cook pizza evenly
- You don’t need to order or chop up logs and timber for a gas pizza oven. You only need natural gas or propane for the oven to run smoothly
Problems With a Gas Pizza Oven
- A gas pizza oven cooks slowly. When using a gas pizza oven, it may take so much time for your meal to get ready
- A gas pizza oven does not boost food flavor. When using a gas pizza oven, you won’t get the natural flavor and taste of food
- Gas pizza ovens take time before reaching higher temperatures
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Difference in Cooking Temperatures Between a Wood and a Gas Pizza Oven?
A gas pizza oven only reaches temperatures of 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, while a wood-fired pizza oven reaches high temperatures of 850 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
What is the Average Cost of a Portable Wood Pizza Oven?
A wood pizza oven’s average cost ranges from $300 to $1000, depending on what a user wants.
What Fuel Does a Wood Pizza Oven Use?
A wood pizza oven uses sawdust, charcoal, wood chips, or briquettes as fuel to operate.
Is a Gas Pizza Oven Safe To Use Outdoors?
Yes, a gas pizza oven is safe to use outdoors. You can use it at a party, in your home backyard, or carry it to wherever you want to use it.
How Long Does a Wood Pizza Oven Take To Cook Pizza?
A wood pizza oven cooks faster; therefore, it can take one to four minutes if there’s an even temperature in the oven.
However, sometimes it may take seconds for a wood oven to cook pizza. If the temperatures are high and the flames are extremely hot, it will take less time to cook.
Between a Wood and Gas Pizza Oven, Which One is The Best?
The best between these two is determined by what someone wants. Therefore, it is safe to say that both ovens are best, but the better option can only be determined by someone’s preference.
What Powers a Gas Pizza Oven?
A gas pizza oven uses propane or natural gas to run smoothly. Without natural gas or propane, it will not be possible for a gas pizza oven to function as it should.
Final Thoughts
You just have to choose what you prefer when it comes to pizza ovens. There are several factors surrounding both wood and gas pizza ovens.
These factors include size, cost, weight, temperature, fuel, cleaning, space, cooking time, flavor, portability, and use.
It is vital to consider all these key factors when choosing which oven suits your needs. If the cleaning process is essential to you, a gas oven would be a better option because it’s easy to clean.
If the taste is something you can’t compromise, then a wood pizza oven is what you need.
This is to say, whatever type of pizza oven you choose, be aware of the factors involved. Most importantly, get a pizza oven that will make you enjoy cooking homemade pizzas.
