……Or why a wood-fired pizza oven really does make the best pizza.

Do you wonder why pizzas from that local pizzeria or trattoria always taste so much better than the ones you make at home or purchase from a shop and then reheat?

A wood-fired pizza oven is designed to retain heat and  operate at much higher temperatures, typically in excess of 350°C, far higher than can be achieved with a domestic oven. These higher temperature have been shown in independent tests to have a significant impact on the quality, consistency and taste of a pizza.

The higher temperature brings a shorter cooking time and this really helps to deliver a crisper base and seal in the mouth-watering tastes and flavours in your pizza, without over-cooking the toppings.

It is also the reason why most of the best pizza restaurants around the world continue to use traditional wood-fired pizza ovens.

Unfortunately a commercial wood-fired pizza oven is unlikely to fit into most domestic kitchens! However there are now a number of outdoor pizza oven options for the domestic pizza enthusiasts to use in their own gardens. For example, ceramic outdoor pizza ovens are portable and very effective at retaining heat, gradually releasing it in an even and effective manner. This means that your pizza will be cooked evenly, as it will be heated rapidly from all directions.

For example a ceramic outdoor pizza oven can deliver two hours of cooking time after the initial heating for 30 minutes, burning either charcoal or seasoned wood.

The perfect pizza will probably always be a matter of personal taste, but there is no doubt that the very high temperature generated in an outdoor pizza oven is the secret ingredient in the quest to create the perfect home-made pizza!