We’re big fans of Ooni’s pizza ovens, as it allows you to make restaurant-quality pizzas right in the backyard. Problem is, you need an actual backyard to use them, so you if you live an apartment or any type of high-rise, you probably won’t be able to enjoy one. The Ooni Volt 12 changes that.
Instead of using wood, charcoal, or gas like the outfit’s previous release, the new compact pizza oven is powered using electricity. As such, it won’t be producing a thick cloud of smoke like Ooni’s backyard ovens, eliminating the need to cook in open spaces. That’s right, this oven will let you cook your pizza entirely indoors.
The Ooni Volt 12 takes on the same general design as the outfit’s backyard ovens, with a profile that’s wide, deep, and short – just the perfect size to fit your pizza night meals. It has two electric heating elements at the top and bottom of the cooking chamber, which delivers enough power to raise the temperature to 850 degrees Fahrenheit in just 20 minutes. That’s right, this oven can reach 850 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving it hot enough to cook Neapolitan-style pizzas in just 90 seconds. Because the cooking chamber can lose heat every time you open the door to take out a pizza, it has a “boost” function that quickly restores it to the desired 850-degree cooking temperature as soon as the door closes, allowing you to crank out one pie after another in 90-second intervals.
It has a control knob for cooking duration, as well as individual control knobs for the top and bottom heating elements, so you can use each one separately for those times you’re not making pizza (we know… it’s a shocker, but there are nights you might not want pizza). That means, you can use just the top or bottom heating element individually depending on what you’re cooking, allowing you to use it like any modern countertop oven.
The Ooni Volt 12 comes with a 13-inch baking stone, although they only recommend cooking 12-inch pizzas on the thing, as maxing out the room could affect how well it’s able to cook. Like their other ovens, you can use the stone to cook not just pizzas, but veggies, meats, and any other food item that cooks well inside a high heat chamber. Can you bake on this thing? Probably, although you’ll have to experiment with that, since they don’t seem to recommend it (there aren’t any fans to circulate the air inside like convection ovens).
Construction is powder-coated steel for the shell, which should keep the exterior from deteriorating over time even when it’s regularly exposed to the elements, making it perfectly suitable for both indoor and outdoor use alike. It’s heavily-insulated to keep as much heat as possible inside, complete with a triple-paned borosilicate glass door to contain any heat from coming out of the front opening. The front door opens down similar to standard countertop ovens.
The Ooni Volt 12 is available now, priced at $999.