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It’s rare that a new appliance muscles its way onto my regular rotation. And until roadtesting the Ooni Volt 12, a pizza oven would’ve been one of the last things I expected to make it there. 

Up to this point, most of the pizza ovens I’d wrangled with had been behemoth contraptions in the backyards of holiday homes, hewn out of brick and concrete and carefully stoked hours before the first pizza went in. The pizza eaten in our house on the day-to-day normally came hot out of a box off the back of a delivery bike, prepared by those who do it better. 

But a slew of compact ovens by brands such as Ooni and Gozney is ushering in something of a home pizzaissance. Fed by wood, charcoal and gas, these user-friendly appliances boast sleek designs and small physical footprints, pitched as a companion to the backyard Baby Q or ultimate accessory for cashed-up campers. (Who needs a trangia when you can cook up wood-fired pizzas to order?)

Presenting something of a barrier for serial renters and apartment dwellers, however, nearly everything on the market required a well-ventilated outdoor space. Enter the Ooni Volt 12 Electric Pizza Oven, the brand’s first foray into plug-in-and-pizza models, designed for indoor and outdoor use. 

What is the Ooni Volt 12?

Ooni Volt is an all-electric version of the Scottish company’s popular pizza ovens. Capable of reaching 450°C (just 50°C less than its wood- and gas-fed precursors), it’s designed to create textbook Neapolitan-style pizzas with less fuss and clean-up, both inside and outside the home. 

Shop the full Ooni pizza oven range here.

What’s in the box?

First thing’s first – it’s a big box. It might be designed for home kitchens, but coming in at 60cm wide and 53cm deep and weighing nearly 18kg, you’ll need a larger countertop. Unboxed though, the angular powder-coated steel shell and minimalist display cuts an unobtrusive profile, and it easily nests onto a low side table in my covered courtyard. The oven comes with a cordierite baking stone, which can withstand extreme heat, but to make the best use of your new toy you’ll benefit from a few add ons, in particular the aluminium pizza peel and the super-efficient cutter wheel, and a cover if you plan for your Ooni to live outdoors.  

Related story: 70 pizza recipes that cover all bases 

How easy is it to use?

The Ooni is about as easy as an appliance gets. All you need is a power point. Ooni recommends a fierce 20-minute blast to season the pizza stone, after which it’s ready to roll. Reaching top temperature in 20 minutes, three panes of fire-resistant ​​borosilicate glass and an insulated body keep the heat contained. Smoke is minimal too, if you keep the stone clean of debris (easier said than done until you master shuffling or ‘launching’ your creation onto the hot stone). All your cooking powers are contained within three simple spinning knobs – a timer, a temperature gauge and a dial that lets you toggle heat between the top and bottom elements. It’s the latter two that demonstrate one of the Ooni Volt’s greatest selling points; the electric heat reacts like an induction stovetop, letting you control heat distribution with instant results.  This is not set-and-forget baking however, it’s best to keep an eye on what’s cooking lest it feels the burn. 

What does it cook?

In a word, pizza. And well. Like many of its compact cousins, it’s only designed to hold one pizza at a time, but with a cook time of as little as 90 seconds per pie, you won’t be hungry for long. The sensitivity of the controls also lets you be far more reactive than a wood or even gas-fuelled contraption, leading to a perfectly blistered base and a puffed cornicione (that’s Neapolitan for the bready ring around the edge). The Ooni Volt is no one-trick pony, however. A month on, it’s been put through its paces with a range of recipes – most notably jacket potatoes, the skin perfectly puckered and insides fluffy; and chicken fajitas on the plate and sizzling in less than 15 minutes. You’d likely get optimum results with the brand’s cast iron cookware, but I muddle through with baking trays. The Ooni functions like a supercharged stove, reaching temperatures my subpar rental gas oven can’t match.

What’s the verdict?

As hard as I try to be objective, the Ooni had me at first firing. We cooked pizza three times in the first week, and spent the next few testing out other recipes. We’ve had friends around and cajoled each in turn to have a go dressing and launching a pizza; the ‘boost’ reheat function meaning we were able to fill up a small crowd quickly (and economically, considering how far toppings can be stretched). And we’re already planning how it will be dispatched to help feed the family on Christmas Eve. This powerful kitchen tool does not come cheap – the $1,500 price tag will likely deter some. But the Ooni’s versatility promises to pay back the investment with regular use, and I for one will be ditching the takeaway menus. 

For more details or to buy the Ooni Volt 12, click here. 

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