Ooni Volt 12

While we have previously reviewed a plethora of smart gadgets designed to enhance your culinary skills or perhaps just your results, we have not evaluated, measured, nor rated many electric pizza ovens. This is perhaps mainly because the market is not exactly overflowing with them, but also because only one manufacturer has made a name for itself in this particular type of baking: Ooni.

Ooni is one of those manufacturers that has become so firmly established within a specific market genre that the terms "pizza oven" and "Ooni" are understood to be synonymous. We have previously praised an alternative from {Ninja}, in the form of their {Woodfire Outdoor Oven}, but this {Ooni Volt 12} exudes a little more intention, and it is clear that Ooni has the experience here.

The {Volt 12} is actually, to be precise, Ooni's first electric pizza oven, but the exact same concept, with roughly the same frame and materials, has been used to produce their hugely successful gas ovens, which you have probably spotted here and there over the past few years. They are certainly popular, but while we are switching from a small portable gas cylinder to electricity, the {Volt 12} loses virtually nothing of what has put Ooni on the map.

The {Volt 12} consists of a fairly solid steel frame, which is then powder coated in such a thick layer that it retains maximum heat insulation. There are a number of handy handles that make it quite portable, and thanks to a 1600-watt motor, it can reach the magic 450 degrees in about 20 minutes, after which it can bake a classic pizza with a thin, crispy base, known abroad as a "Neapolitan", in just 90 seconds - in other words, the {Volt 12} mirrors the performance of the more established gas variants here.

We handed the {Volt 12} over to a professional chef, who took the following pictures:

It is more compact, but you still get 33 centimetres to work with, which is adapted to a cordierite pizza stone (a solid material used by many manufacturers) and a pizza peel that can be purchased additionally. The controls on the outside are simple - in fact, that can be said about the entire product, and it is actually meant as a compliment. You get the stone, the manual and the {Volt 12} in the box, and it's basically ready to go. Yes, there is a boost function that can bring the heat back up if the small door has been open for too long, and there is a small light inside so you can see the ingredients cooking or check the bottom.

In many ways, it is Ooni that once again demonstrates that the core functionality of the product and how effectively it performs the task you want it to perform is the most important thing, so setting up a {Volt 12} for the first time is a decidedly user-friendly experience, and the results are hard to criticise.

But if I absolutely have to try, I would say that because the door, i.e. the window, is so narrow, I often found it necessary to open it to check properly, and by using the thermometer I could see that the heat was escaping quite quickly. Yes, practice definitely makes perfect here, but a little more space inside would have been ideal, or maybe Ooni could sell a {Volt 12+}?

That said, the {Volt 12} arrives assembled, works right away, and has delivered the results we hoped for.