You can now buy a Smart Oven Pizzaiolo for home and bake an authentic Neapolitan pizza in two minutes
A wood-fired oven for baking pizzas in—isn’t that every pizza lover’s ultimate dream? With the new Smart Oven Pizzaiolo from Sage Appliances, this dream becomes reality! At a time when the hospitality industry is closed and you still want to enjoy the tastiest pizzas, this is the ultimate treat for yourself.
Why is pizza at a good pizzeria always so delicious? Mainly because of the oven temperature. A regular oven can’t get that hot, and the secret to a good pizza is baking it at scorching-hot temperatures within just a few minutes. That’s why I’ve wanted a wood-fired oven for such a long time. Last summer, my little brother and I tried to build one in the garden. Long story short: it isn’t there.
400°C
But hey, now we can still enjoy delicious wood-fired pizzas, because I treated myself to a Smart Oven Pizzaiolo. This home pizza oven reaches a temperature of 400°C and bakes an authentic Neapolitan pizza in two minutes (!). The great thing, besides the fact that you can bake incredibly delicious pizzas in it, is that you can use it indoors, on the countertop. So you don’t have to go into the garden in winter.
The right base is key
Neapolitan pizzas are the best pizzas in the world. And baking them at home isn’t as difficult as you think. It all starts with the right dough. The base is the foundation of your pizza, so it needs to be fantastic. And let’s be honest, that’s why you make pizza in a pizza oven in the first place, because otherwise you might as well bake it in a regular oven. A pizza oven is what makes the base crisp and airy.
So make sure you use the right type of flour; it has a major influence on the final result. The best choice is 00 flour. It is very finely milled and has a low gluten content, which creates a good crunch. You make the dough from 00 flour with a little salt and yeast dissolved in lukewarm water, optionally with a little sugar.
You can knead it by hand, but that’s quite strenuous; it’s easier to use a food processor with a dough hook. Knead mechanically for a few minutes—keep it on a low speed, otherwise you’ll damage the gluten—and then knead the dough ball briefly with your hands. Leave it to rise in a bowl afterwards; this takes about one or two hours.
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- Na het rijzen maak je een bol
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- … die je vervolgens uitrolt voor een perfecte bodem
Real pizzaioli—that’s what pizza makers are officially called—spin the dough through the air with their hands; I can’t do that. I’m also not very good at making something that is an essential part of a good Neapolitan pizza: a cornicione (crown), the wide edges that rise and puff up in a scorching-hot pizza oven. It doesn’t matter, because the flavor that comes out of the pizza oven… the flavor, people… is sublime, even without a cornicione.
Although I will be practicing this a lot in the near future, because according to pizzaioli , the cornicione is where you taste the dough’s complex aromas and textures—in other words, the essence of the pizza.
A tasty sauce helps too
In the meantime, you can make the sauce. You can simply use canned tomatoes. Sauté some shallots in olive oil, add garlic, fresh thyme, fresh oregano and a little fresh rosemary, plus a little tomato paste and a little sugar. Then use an immersion blender to turn it into a smooth mixture. Spread a thin layer over your base (less is more!—too much sauce = too much moisture = soggy base) and add your toppings of choice.
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- Gesmolten ansjovis in de tomatensaus geeft lekker veel smaak en diepte
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- … en dan bescheiden uitsmeren, die pizzasaus
The same less is more rule applies to toppings; many ingredients contain moisture that is released during baking. Too much cheese or sauce can cause the dough to become soft and not cook properly. For example, make sure you drain fresh buffalo mozzarella thoroughly beforehand. It’s delicious to drizzle the pizza with olive oil just before serving. You can also follow this recipe for a fantastic Neapolitan pizza.
Pizza oven hot, time to bake!
The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo is a beautiful, compact appliance and it’s simple to operate. Before baking your first pizza, you need to let it heat up properly; this takes about twenty minutes. But after that, everything goes like a rocket. The oven regulates the baking times itself: the wood-fired oven setting takes 2 minutes, and you don’t need to do anything. Prefer a pizza with a thicker crust or a pan pizza? Choose another setting and the baking time will be slightly longer.
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- Het vergt even wat oefening om de pizza via de pizzaschep in de oven te krijgen….
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- Een schande voor de echte pizzaioli (maar wel heel lekker!)
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- Poging 2 ziet er al stukken beter uit
Not quite round
Just like with the first pancake, it isn’t strange if your first pizza also fails. But with a pizza oven, it doesn’t matter, because although the pizza may not come out perfectly round, it will still be incredibly tasty! It really comes down to making your dough properly, which ensures you can easily transfer your pizza from the peel into the oven. Practice makes perfect, and if it fails, why not simply turn it into an improvised calzone? Extra crispy crust!
Not just pizza
And just like in Naples, you naturally eat pizza with your hands. Cut it into slices with a pizza wheel (or better yet: scissors!) and hold it by the crust. Does the tip flop down? Then you have a perfect Neapolitan pizza. Does the tip stay firm? That’s a New York-style pizza—and you can bake that in the Smart Oven Pizzaiolo too.
You can also prepare vegetables in it, such as roasted cauliflower; unbelievably delicious! All you have to do is use one of the other settings, clearly indicated with icons, and the time will then be set automatically.
Would you also like to eat the tastiest pizzas at home from now on? The Smart Oven Pizzaiolo from Sage Appliances is available in the webshop and costs € 799.90.
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