The 2019 Pizza Power Report by the PMQ Pizza Magazine reported that the worldwide Pizza industry was valued at a whopping 144 billion dollars. That is a shockingly large number and a lot of Pizzas!
This phenomenon has also significantly increased sales of commercial pizza ovens due to takeaway pizza consumption.
Below are the three types of Pizza Ovens most commonly used in commercial kitchens and their uses.
Pizza Deck Ovens
Pizza deck ovens are great for preparing pizzas as their hot stone decks directly heat the dough, cooking it thoroughly without charring the toppings. Radiant heat is also used in deck ovens, which transmits infrared heat waves throughout the pizza, preventing burnt crusts and unmelted cheese.
Deck ovens are an excellent long-term investment as they last for many years, if not decades, and have a high resale value. Pizza deck ovens are also very low maintenance as they rarely need any repairs since they have no moving parts.
Brick or Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens
Brick pizza ovens generate heat by burning wood to give pizzas their signature smoky flavour. They are designed to cook pizzas slowly and evenly. They are the most recommended type of commercial pizza ovens by chefs.
Brick pizza ovens take a long time to heat up, but they sustain high temperatures once they do. Therefore, using a brick oven helps in avoiding heat recovery time.
Most brick pizza ovens consist of only one cooking platform, limiting the amount of cooking space available. Nevertheless, they’re dependable pizza ovens for medium-sized restaurants, although conveyor ovens are better for more significant pizzerias.
Conveyor Pizza Ovens
A conveyor oven churns out pizzas as quickly as they are made. On placing the pizza on the conveyor belt, the oven will pull it through at a set speed and do the rest of the work.
Some variants may allow stacking up to four conveyor ovens on top of each other to maximise production capacity. Conveyor ovens are the most fantastic option in instances where efficiency is a top priority. They can be run on either a gas or an electric connection.
Two large pizzas can be placed side by side in a conveyor deck pizza oven. Since several of them can be piled on top of each other, they are frequently used in commercial kitchens.
Convection Pizza Ovens
These are the cheapest variant of commercial pizza ovens. They can cost anywhere between $1000 and $10,000, based on modifications and fixes made by the purchaser.
Convection Pizza Ovens usually char the toppings even before the dough is cooked. Hence, they may not always be the best to use in commercial kitchens as restaurants require top-quality products to serve the customers.
Countertop Pizza Ovens
Countertop ovens come in convection, conveyor, and deck types. They are essentially mini versions of all of the pizza ovens mentioned above. They save a lot of floor space as they easily fit onto a counter and are electrically run.
Choosing the Right Pizza Oven
For any commercial space, especially pizzerias or restaurants that specialise in Pizzas, Decks, Conveyor, and Brick or wood-fired types are ideal. However, for home and non-specialising kitchens, Countertops and Convection Ovens may prove to be beneficial.
It is always advisable to purchase commercial pizza ovens based on budget, requirement, and space availability in an establishment. This article has stated the types, purpose, and mechanism for different pizza ovens to ease that process.
