DANIEL RICHARDSON

There are a number of things:

1. Chimney vs no chimney. Traditional pizza ovens originate from either Italy or Spain/Portugal. There are some varieties of Italian ovens, mainly Tuscan and Napoli. Every one has an effective chimney as you're watching oven door and not in the kitchen area. Alternatively Portuguese and Spanish ovens (“Mediterranean ovens” as they became known) usually come without any chimney in any way with all the smoke coming out of the entranceway of the oven.

wood fired oven


2. Shape with the dome. The dome in the traditional Italian ovens is generally 15-16” high at highest internal point. The height is measured from floor to inner dome surface. This assures best heat reflection. Mediterranean ovens tend to be higher Up to 25-30” at highest dome elevation. They just don't get as hot as the Italian ovens nevertheless they stay warm for a while which serves the Portuguese tradition of keeping food in them from morning to evening without burning it.
3. A special category is indirect combustion ovens such as the ones made by Fontana Forni, Clementi, Tranquilli, along with other companies. The cooking chamber is apart from the wood burning chamber. The pros include a larger area devoted to cooking only, multiple cooking levels (shelves), better heat distribution, modern looks, easy cleaning, lighting, and straightforward transportation. The cons are lack of the “real oven” feel, absence of burning wood smoke in the food, and price.

wood burning ovens


4. Increasingly popular are modular oven kits, practically all of these originating from Italy and USA. High quality kits can be produced into great ovens that can serve for years. However all hangs about the excellence of the masonry mixed found in producing the kit. The information is supposed to be high density, high alumina content, low conductivity, and completely chip-proof. If these factors exist then all it lacks offers some layers of insulation both under the floor as well as over the dome.

wood pizza ovens

5. The last category to cover is Beehive ovens. These ovens are popular in Portugal and often come with a metal stand. As a result of shape of the dome they are not meant to use a chimney and often a door. They may be meant primarily in order to smoke meat and fish and not pizza. Pizza can still be baked included nonetheless it will require more than a traditional Italian oven.