My pizza oven has barely been out of use this summer. But if there's one gripe I have with it it's that hauling a huge canister of gas around with it is sometimes less than ideal – especially if I want to host at someone else's house.
That's why I'm weighing up swapping my pick of the best pizza ovens that runs on gas for an electric one. In part, I've been swayed by the glowing review my fellow editor Becky Knight has given to the new Ninja Artisan pizza oven, which she's trying out as well as the multi-functionality of the Ninja Woodfire oven, which we gave 5 stars to in our review.
So, if you're also thinking about going in on an electric outdoor oven, here's why I think it's the outdoor dining product of the summer.
Thanks to Amazon Prime Day deals, Ninja's brand new pizza oven has been reduced for the first time. It can cook delectable pizzas, air fry, bake and prove.
The Woodfire is a bigger oven with more functionality than the Artisan - capable of
The basics of these electric pizza ovens
How do electric ovens work? The best example I have is the two Ninjas we've tried at Ideal Home. To run these ovens, you need to plug them into an outdoor socket or a socket that's close enough to your garden or balcony to be appropriate. After the first use, that's essentially all you have to do in terms of set-up – convenient, right?
The controls on both are digital, which takes the guesswork and stress out of peering down at a temperature gauge too – another plus of electric power. Our reviewer Helen found that the Woodfire took around 15 minutes to get to optimum temperature and while Becky is still in the early stages of testing the Artisan, she's found the newer oven takes about the same time. The Artisan also beeps handily to let you know when it's ready.
Specs wise, both electric ovens are multi-functional too, though the Woodfire is more so. It has eight settings in total: Pizza, Max Roast, Gourmet Roast, Top Heat, Bake, Smoker, Dehydrate, & Keep Warm.
The Artisan is more stripped back and pizza-focussed (hence the name) with four: Pizza, Bake, Air Fry & Prove. The Artisan is also cheaper with an RRP of £299.99 versus the Woodfire's £349.99 price-tag.
What's the benefit of an electric pizza oven?
The phrase that our reviewer Helen used to describe the Woodfire was 'fuss-free', with minimal effort needed to pre-heat (just turning a dial) and features built-in to make the cooking experience itself easier too. Even within the pizza setting on the Woodfire, there are six individual settings: Artisan, Thin, Pan, New York style, Calzone and Custom.
There's also no need to turn with an electric oven, as you do with a gas one, as the heat isn't coming from an open flame. That means that you can walk away from the oven for the (albeit brief) time your pizza cooks.
The settings on the Woodfire meant that Helen was able to be very consistent with her pizzas. In fact, she said that after 'perfecting pizzas in my wood fired pizza oven for months, I’ve never made four pizzas as good and consistent as I did on my first attempt using the Woodfire. These were the best pizzas I think I’ve ever made!'.
It's fair to say that an electric oven has a little less of a learning curve than a wood-fired version then, at least according to Helen.
Becky has also found that the Artisan is a stress-free way of entertaining outside, with ease being its best feature. She says that the oven is 'designed to be beginner-friendly' too, with prompts to guide you on cooking times.
In terms of flavour, one thing that experts want you to know before you buy a pizza oven is that different fuel types yield different flavours. And with an electric oven, you do miss out on those smoky wood-fired flavours.
To counteract this, the Woodfire has a smoker box that you can pop pellets into which Helen reported worked well, though this isn't a featured carried over with the Artisan.
All in all then, I'm definitely feeling swayed to go electric when the time comes to upgrade my pizza oven. Could you be swayed to this easier way of cooking outside this summer?
