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Buying guide

How to choose a wood fired pizza oven

For most Australian homes a 100cm oven that cooks two to three pizzas at once is the sweet spot. Choose a Polito Giotto (from $4,370) if you want a portable oven ready to light the day it arrives, or a Valoriani Family kit (from $3,000) if you are building the oven into an outdoor kitchen. Size by how many pizzas you cook at once, not by how much space you have.

My Acre ranges only Valoriani and Polito, because both build in dense refractory that stores a fire's heat and gives it back across a whole evening. Three choices settle most decisions: size, fuel, and whether you want an assembled oven or a refractory kit.

Which oven to choose

OvenFuelCooksFormatFrom
PolitoAntonius GardenWood1 to 2Assembled$1,850
ValorianiFamily FVR80Wood1 to 2Kit$3,000
ValorianiFamily FVR100Wood2 to 3Kit$3,500
PolitoGiotto Wood FireWood2 to 3Assembled$4,370
ValorianiTOP120Wood4 plusKit$4,900
ValorianiBaby F60Wood2 to 3Assembled$5,400
ValorianiBaby 75 GasGas2 to 3Assembled$8,349

Choose by space and use: first oven you want working the day it lands, choose the Polito Giotto; building a permanent outdoor kitchen, choose a Valoriani Family kit; entertaining a crowd, size up to a 120cm floor; want the result without tending a fire, the Baby 75 Gas lights in minutes.

Valoriani has fired clay ovens in Reggello, Tuscany since 1890 and is now in its fifth generation; Polito is Australian made and owned, with shorter lead times and local parts. Both reach pizza temperature in about 45 minutes and cook a pizza in a minute or two.

Frequently asked questions

Are wood fired pizza ovens worth it?

Yes, if you will light one more than a few times a year. A wood fired oven gives a blistered, leopard-spotted base a kitchen oven cannot, and a quality refractory oven lasts decades. If you want pizza once a season, a smaller benchtop oven makes more sense.

What is the best wood fired pizza oven?

The best oven is the size that suits your cooking. For most homes the Polito Giotto (from $4,370) is the all-rounder, assembled and ready to light. For a built-in outdoor kitchen a Valoriani Family kit (from $3,000) is the pick, and the Baby 75 Gas suits cooks who want no fire tending.

What are the disadvantages of a wood fired oven?

The honest downsides are time, space and fuel. A wood oven takes about 45 minutes to reach temperature, needs a permanent non-combustible spot and a store of seasoned hardwood, and asks a little care. A gas or hybrid oven suits some households better.

How long does a wood fired pizza oven last?

A quality refractory oven lasts decades with basic care, which is why they are worth buying once. The refractory clay and firebrick Valoriani and Polito use take repeated heating and cooling for many years; a fitted cover and a dry flue are most of the maintenance.

Should I choose wood or gas?

Choose wood for flavour and the ritual, gas for speed. A wood oven gives the char and aroma a burner cannot; a gas oven such as the Valoriani Baby 75 Gas lights in 15 to 20 minutes and holds a steady temperature. Several models offer both.

From the My Acre blog

Not sure which oven suits you?

Free buyer's guide, 14 pages

Not sure which oven suits you?

We wrote the guide we wished existed when we started ranging these. Wood or gas, what size actually suits how you entertain, and the Total Fire Ban rule that stops a wood oven on the hottest days of summer.

  • Whether a pizza oven is worth it for you, answered honestly
  • Wood, gas or both, and what owners with children settle on
  • Will everyone eat together, or in shifts
  • The flue cost nobody mentions until the oven is already there

It opens straight away, no waiting on an email. We will send the occasional note about the range, and you can stop them whenever you like.