Three Things to Consider for Finding the Right Pizza Oven for Your Restaurant

Choosing the best pizza oven for your restaurant isn’t easy. Most pizza shop owners have three needs in a commercial pizza oven for sale. The oven must bake any style of pizza just right, is easy to use, and be the right size for their kitchen space. Also, it must not come with a high sticker price.

Stick through the end of this article to know what features to look for in a pizza oven in your buying journey.

1. Types of pizza oven

If you are actually looking for a commercial pizza oven for sale, there is a wide range of options on the market. The choices can be overwhelming. It is best to base your choice on the flavours you want to achieve and the speed of the cooking. Since the oven is the most critical equipment in a pizzeria, your choice must factor in functionality and efficiency.

  • A brick pizza oven is the best for creating the most authentic Italian pizza. Brick ovens use a traditional wood-fired process to reach temperatures between 700 and 1000°F. This oven style does not involve sophisticated technology yet enables you to get results that cannot be replicated in other types of pizza ovens. But in most cases, a brick oven is not a practical choice due to its massive size and hefty price tag.
  • A pizza deck oven is a good alternative for those who want their pizzas to have an authentic Italian flavor but have limited space and budget for a brick oven. A pizza deck is incorporated with shelves or stone decks heated via electricity or gas. The stone material gives the pizza a more authentic flavour than other pizza ovens. It is also possible to bake other items such as baguettes, rolls, and bread in this type of oven. 
  • A conveyor pizza oven has a gas or electric burner component which heats the oven to a specific temperature for the pizza to be cooked. A conveyor belt moves the pizzas in one end and slowly transfers them through the oven. It pushes the pizza on the other side when fully cooked. In busy pizza shops, where hundreds of pizzas must be baked, a conveyor oven is convenient since it creates perfect results every time. It doesn’t undercook or overcook the pizza.
  • Pizza convection ovens are the best choice for many types of eateries. It produces evenly cooked pizza quickly but has a lower output. It is an excellent option for an establishment where pizza may not be the only choice on the menu since the convection oven can also be utilised to cook other foods.
  • A countertop pizza is a superb choice for food outlets with limited space, such as food trucks and concession stands. This pizza oven is designed with one or two decks that can be stacked if the need to bake more pizza arises. Moreover, other types of food can easily be cooked in a countertop pizza oven.

2. Check the measurements of the area where you will install the pizza oven

Even a tiny kitchen can churn out a lot of pizzas. For a compact kitchen, it is recommended to choose an oven with a 70 x 22 baking surface so you can move freely around it. You have the option of adding one or two more decks for increased output. If you choose to take out the entry conveyor, you must have 24 inches of free space at the entrance to load the pizzas.

For a medium-sized kitchen, a 70 x 33 baking surface is recommended. A 93 x 33 baking surface is the best option for larger pizzerias. 

3. Kitchen ergonomics 

When installing a new pizza oven in your restaurant, your employees may already be comfortable with your old oven and are used to baking in a certain way. It is crucial not to disrupt efficiency issues.

For this reason, you need to ask the manufacturer if they provide ergonomic features such as choosing whether you want your pizza to exit the oven from the right or the left. Also, inquire about the different oven configurations available.

Author: Alison Lurie