‘I tried a bargain wood-fired pizza oven and it delivered Domino’s-worthy results’

The Vonhaus wood-fired pizza oven comes in at less than £120 and provides countless nights of al fresco entertainment

As the weather warms up, Brits are always keen to take advantage and enjoy as much al fresco dining as possible before the sun disappears again. But it’s no longer just the humble barbecue taking centre-stage in our gardens.

In recent years, outdoor pizza ovens have grown in popularity, providing a quick and easy way to feed a garden full of friends and family. And, once you have the kit, the pizzas cost next to nothing to make. While they can range vastly in price, from Ninja’s £475 Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven, to Jamie Oliver’s Tefal Gas Pizza Oven, retailing for £299, Vonhaus has launched a more budget-friendly option for those looking to try their hand at pizza-making.

The wood pellet-fueled Vonhaus Outdoor Pizza Oven is currently on sale for £119, though if it’s your first venture into the world of pizza-making I’d definitely recommend splurging on the £169.99 kit which includes a couple of vital accessories if you’re not already kitted-out.

READ MORE: Butlins revamp major holiday park with ‘top quality’ attractions and prices at £69

READ MORE: Tassimo coffee machines slashed to less than £40 in summer sale

Pros

Cons

• No temperature gauge – requires a thermometer, which is not included
• Burns through pellets very quickly

Setup

The oven itself was relatively straightforward to put together, with clear instructions, so we were up and running in about half an hour. One thing that tripped us up on first use was the pre-heating instruction to “monitor temperature every five minutes using a suitable Thermal Measurement Gun” until the oven reaches the recommended 400°C temperature.

We also came equipped with the aforementioned wood pellets, but being complete newbies to the world of wood-fired cooking, we didn’t realise we’d need natural wood firelighters to get it going until we reached that step in the instructions. This was easily remedied.

Baking

It was at this point we realised the oven itself doesn’t come with a temperature gauge. On first use, we played it by ear, gave the stone plenty of time to heat up, and the pizzas came out well with close monitoring and rotating every 30 seconds or so, despite the guesswork. We’d definitely invest in a thermometer in future so the cooking times are more precise for future uses.

Another nice touch might have been some basic dough and sauce recipes to get those started who are new to the world of pizza-making. But I found both fairly quickly online, and had plenty of homemade sauce left over for the freezer after.

One tip I found useful was to use a sprinkle of semolina on the pizza paddle. Not only does it help avoid the dough sticking to it, it gives the pizzas that signature nutty, subtly-sweet flavour a-la Domino’s.

I would also recommend prepping pizzas in advance if you’re entertaining, just so they’re ready to go straight in the oven. We had a little production line going with half the group prepping the pizzas in the kitchen and the other half cooking them outside in the garden.

It’s worth noting that the wood pellets burn down very quickly once the oven is up to temperature. To give a rough idea, we used about a third of a three-litre bag of Exstream BBQ Oak Pellets.

Verdict

Between four adults, we made a nine-to-ten-inch pizza each, and it made for a fun evening in the garden. They all emerged from the pizza oven evenly baked and seemed to be crowd-pleasers, with crisp bases and well-baked toppings ranging from the classic Margherita with bubbling mozzarella and fresh basil, to Mediterranean vegetables with a savoury hit of feta and anchovies.

Everyone was able to pick their own toppings, which makes it a great alternative to barbecuing for catering to different tastes and dietary requirements. With that in mind, we could easily see the Vonhaus pizza oven becoming a staple of many summer birthday parties and barbecues to come.