I have to admit, I was incredulous that such as product would exist! But, as a keen observer of the food scene, I knew that the manufacturer had already been in the game for a while. But would you spend $1,200 for a Pizza Oven? Even if it baked in seconds?
The Ooni Volt 12 Countertop Pizza Oven: ‘Top notch quality’ and ‘impressive
cooking performance. But at a really high price…
Ooni was one of the brands reviewed in Popular Mechanics about a month ago. The story compared the top models offered by several different brands, using electricity, gas and wood fuels.
PM reviewed the Ooni Karu 12 and 16 models – both multi-fuel indoor-outdoor ovens. The 16 came out on top in their tests.
The Ooni Volt 12 is a similar-looking oven, and runs solely on electricity (as the ‘Volt’ moniker suggests).
Hot, fast – and potentially dangerous?
I looked up the Volt 12 on the Ooni website and noted the following claims:
- All-electric, versatile pizza oven for indoor or outdoor use
- Top and bottom heating elements
- Generous 13-inch cooking area
- Reaches 850 °F (450 °C) in just 20 minutes, for fresh stone-baked pizza in just 90 seconds
- Power: 1600 Watts | Voltage: 120 Volts
Indoor/outdoor use?
I wonder. I guess I’m just incurably Old School, but I recoil at the suggestion you should indoor electrical appliances outdoors. But, then again, I was born before the age of 3-prong grounded outlets… Nevertheless, I can’t personally endorse outdoor use of the Volt 12. Better safe than sorry!
Top and bottom heating elements
I already have a Breville countertop oven that gives me that versatility.
Generous 13-inch cooking area
Ditto, the Breville
Reaches 850 °F (450 °C) in just 20 min. Fresh stone-baked pizza in just 90 sec.
My Breville oven doesn’t quite reach 850 F. Ever. But it still turns out perfectly-baked Pizzas, on it’s dedicated ‘Pizza’ setting, in 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of the pie.
Power: 1600 Watts | Voltage: 120 Volts
Um… I know this to be a fact, because I asked a licensed electrician: All North American household electrical systems run on 110-120 volt systems. But the max current flow per outlet is 1,500 watts. Seems to me you’d have to be careful not to turn the Volt 12 all the way up to ‘MAX’, to avoid either blowing the circuit breaker, or starting a fire.
The Yahoo!Life reviewer said…
Reviewer Farah Khan raves about the Volt 12, noting its ‘top notch quality’, and ‘impressive cooking performance’. But she also opines as the Volt 12 has its drawbacks. It takes up a lot of counter real estate. And if you store it in a cupboard somewhere when not in use, it means hauling out and putting back a 40 lb. / 18.3 kg chunk of steel and pizza stone every time.
Khan also cited the Volt 12’s high price as a drawback. It IS billed (proudly) as a single-purpose appliance. And how often would you use it? Even so, I guess you could employ it to bake other kinds of pastries – perhaps Bruschetta, or Flatbread creations.
My take
It’s clear to me that the Pizza Oven builders have the blinders on. But I maintain a strong allegiance to my Breville oven, which is orders of magnitude more versatile and just as capacious and fast-heating as the Volt 12 is claimed to be. And at a MSRP of (C)$629.99, it’s just a scooch over half the price!
How good is the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro? We haven’t used our conventional oven except to bake big batches of bread, and roast a couple of turkeys, since we got the Breville!
My question to you…
Who needs a dedicated Pizza Oven – at any price?
~ Maggie J.