Ooni Volt Assessment | Examined by Severe Eats

Ooni has oodles of pizza ovens. So many, in truth, we reviewed and created a guide to them. 

Nevertheless, all of these fashions are gas-, wood-, or pellet-powered. And completely none of them must be used indoors, limiting these ovens to those that have the out of doors area and, for a lot of the nation (ahem, like the place I dwell in New England), shortening pizza oven season to the handful of months when it’s nice to cook dinner exterior. 

That’s till the Ooni Volt got here out this March. It’s the corporate’s first indoor-outdoor countertop pizza oven—and it’s electrical, able to reaching 850°F in simply 20 minutes, in response to the corporate, and cooking Neapolitan-style pizza in 90 seconds. For context, you want a deck temperature of 700°F, at a minimal, for Neapolitan pies. The one different indoor pizza oven we reviewed, the Breville Pizzaiolo maxes out at 750°F, which makes the Volt’s temperature vary spectacular.

To search out out if the Ooni Volt might produce the type of puffy, pillowy, leopard-spotted Neapolitan pies it claimed it might, we made a dozen pizzas with it. 

The Checks

• Temperature Check: We set the Volt to its max temp (850°F) and took the temp within the heart of its stone each 5 minutes for 20 minutes utilizing an infrared thermometer, to see how rapidly the oven heated up and if it was hitting its said temperature. 
• Out of doors Pizza Check: We made broccoli rabe and anchovy pizza outside, utilizing an infrared thermometer to take the temp of the stone earlier than and after loading every pie. We timed how lengthy it took for every pizza to cook dinner and gave the oven a extra substantial restoration time between every pie (about seven minutes).
• Indoor Pizza Check: We made burst tomato, shallot, and herb pizza indoors. This time, we saved the restoration time between every pie shorter, ready three minutes in between pizzas. We timed how lengthy it took every pie to cook dinner.
• Usability Checks: All through testing, we evaluated how intuitive the Volt’s controls have been and the way simple it was to load, flip, and retrieve pizzas. We checked out different elements, too, like if it launched lots of smoke when cooking inside and if it was simple to maneuver.
• Cleanup Checks: Twice throughout testing we cleaned the oven and stone in response to the producer’s directions, evaluating how simple it was to take action. 

What We Discovered

How the Ooni Volt Labored

The out of doors Ooni I exploit, the Koda 16, has an L-shaped flame within the again nook that wraps round its sides and partially up its ceiling. The Volt, as acceptable for one thing used indoors, is flame-free. As a substitute, it has two heating parts on the highest and backside of the oven, the latter beneath its baking stone. Relying on the temperature you choose, the oven robotically adjusts the output of each heating parts (although you may manually override this). Completely different types of pies require numerous temperatures and profit from hotter higher or decrease parts. If this sounds even mildly complicated, don’t fear: the oven features a information as to what temperature to make use of for every pizza sort. For instance, Neapolitan must be cooked at 850°F and the oven will favor the highest heating ingredient. New York pies, however, must be cooked at 650°F, and the warmth can be rather more balanced between the highest and backside parts.

As a result of the Volt is electrical and adjusts its heating parts robotically, this makes the oven extremely simple to make use of. We imply that: it’s so well-designed there’s just about zero guesswork—no tinkering to get the flame good, no worrying about if you’ll want so as to add extra gas. 

The Volt Made Actually Incredible Pizza

Impressively, the Volt hit its marketed temperatures—clocking in at 850°F in 20 minutes, with temperatures that surpassed this the longer it was on. Persistently, the pizzas we cooked got here out with crispy bases, pillowy crusts, and leopard-spotted bottoms. Pies cooked in 90 seconds to 2 minutes on common, with a few pies taking simply two minutes and 20 seconds. The oven didn’t want a lot restoration time both. The Volt’s temperature dial flashed to let you recognize when the temp dropped beneath its designated setting. As soon as that turned off (in simply a few minutes), the oven was able to go once more. 

The Volt Was Thoughtfully Designed, Particularly for Indoor Use

With a touchscreen and management dials, the Volt appears like a superbly designed countertop equipment—as a result of it’s one. We favored its non-slip ft, carbon metal shell (that, amazingly, by no means received tremendous scorching), glass door, inside mild, and built-in facet handles for lifting and shifting (although, in fact, it’s nonetheless a cumbersome, 39-pound oven, so it can by no means be that simple to move). It was additionally extremely quiet. Actually, my toaster oven is louder than the Volt. 

One factor to notice is that extra flour within the oven can (and can) trigger it to smoke. This isn’t a giant deal outside however is one thing to be aware of inside. Nevertheless, I made positive to use liberal dustings of flour to my dough and peels, to see how a lot smoke the Volt would put out indoors. After about 40 minutes of slinging pies, the smoke didn’t set off my (delicate!) fireplace alarm and was akin to letting a forged iron skillet go for too lengthy on the stovetop. After I used a extra considered quantity of flour, although, the Volt did not smoke in any respect.

Lastly, just a few usability quibbles: I might’ve performed with a barely longer energy wire and, possibly, some form of wire storage resolution. After utilizing the oven for a chronic time, the touchscreen (the place the management button is) received just a little scorching, too.

The Verdict

Execs

The Volt is an exceptional, highly effective electrical pizza oven. The pizzas we made in it impressed us and we liked its usability options, like its intuitive controls and adjustable heating parts. In the event you lack out of doors area, are in search of an indoor-outdoor pizza oven, or are looking for a pizza oven that’ll require little or no tinkering to nail lovely pies, we extremely suggest the Volt. 

Cons

The Volt is kind of massive and, probably, must be saved elsewhere when not in use. At practically $1,000, it’s additionally very costly—extra so than any of Ooni’s other ovens. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 39.2 kilos
• Dimensions: 24.2 x 20.8 x 10.9 inches
• Temperature vary: 150 to 850°F
• Guarantee: 1-year (normal); 2 years (if registered on-line)
• Appropriate with: Cover for Ooni Volt 12 
• Worth at time of publish: $999

FAQs

How do you clear the Ooni Volt? 

To scrub the Volt, the producer recommends ready till the oven is totally cool. Then, you may take away the stone to discard any free or massive particles (it shouldn’t be washed). The glass door may be cleaned with a dry paper towel or with a paper towel and heat, soapy water for more durable messes (dry completely afterward). The outside of the oven can simply be wiped down with a clear, damp fabric after which dried. “Your Ooni Volt 12 mustn’t require any inside cleansing. Any meals residue ought to burn off when in use,” the company notes. 

What’s the most effective Ooni pizza oven?

The very best Ooni oven for you will depend on just a few elements: which mode of energy you need (gasoline, wooden, pellet, or electrical), what dimension oven you need, and the way a lot you need to spend. Yow will discover our detailed comparability of all of the Ooni ovens here. 

Editor’s notice: We acquired a press pattern of the Ooni Volt, however all of our opinions are our personal.