Ooni Volt Review | Tested by Serious Eats

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

Nonetheless, all of these fashions are gas-, wood-, or pellet-powered. And completely none of them ought to 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 reside in New England), shortening pizza oven season to the handful of months when it’s nice to cook dinner outdoors. 

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

The Checks

• Temperature Take a look at: We set the Volt to its max temp (850°F) and took the temp within the middle 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 acknowledged temperature. 
• Outside Pizza Take a look at: We made broccoli rabe and anchovy pizza open air, 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 Take a look at: 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 straightforward it was to load, flip, and retrieve pizzas. We checked out different components, too, like if it launched lots of smoke when cooking inside and if it was straightforward to maneuver.
• Cleanup Checks: Twice throughout testing we cleaned the oven and stone in keeping with the producer’s directions, evaluating how straightforward it was to take action. 

What We Discovered

How the Ooni Volt Labored

The out of doors Ooni I take advantage of, 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 an alternative, it has two heating parts on the highest and backside of the oven, the latter underneath its baking stone. Relying on the temperature you choose, the oven routinely adjusts the output of each heating parts (although you may manually override this). Completely different kinds of pies require varied 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 ought to be cooked at 850°F and the oven will favor the highest heating ingredient. New York pies, alternatively, ought to be cooked at 650°F, and the warmth can be far more balanced between the highest and backside parts.

As a result of the Volt is electrical and adjusts its heating parts routinely, this makes the oven extremely straightforward 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 gasoline. 

The Volt Made Actually Unbelievable 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. Constantly, 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 under 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 seems like a superbly designed countertop equipment—as a result of it’s one. We favored its non-slip toes, carbon metal shell (that, amazingly, by no means obtained tremendous scorching), glass door, inside mild, and built-in aspect handles for lifting and shifting (although, after all, it’s nonetheless a cumbersome, 39-pound oven, so it is going to by no means be that straightforward to move). It was additionally extremely quiet. In actual fact, 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 open air however is one thing to be conscious of inside. Nonetheless, 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!) hearth alarm and was akin to letting a forged iron skillet go for too lengthy on the stovetop. Once I used a extra even handed quantity of flour, although, the Volt did not smoke in any respect.

Lastly, a couple of usability quibbles: I might’ve accomplished with a barely longer energy wire and, possibly, some type of wire storage answer. After utilizing the oven for a chronic time, the touchscreen (the place the management button is) obtained slightly scorching, too.

The Verdict

Professionals

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. Should you lack out of doors area, are on the lookout for an indoor-outdoor pizza oven, or are trying to find a pizza oven that’ll require little or no tinkering to nail stunning pies, we extremely advocate the Volt. 

Cons

The Volt is sort of massive and, seemingly, 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 (commonplace); 2 years (if registered on-line)
• Suitable with: Cover for Ooni Volt 12 
• Value 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 unfastened or massive particles (it shouldn’t be washed). The glass door will be cleaned with a dry paper towel or with a paper towel and heat, soapy water for more durable messes (dry totally 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 perfect Ooni oven for you is determined by a couple of components: which mode of energy you need (gasoline, wooden, pellet, or electrical), what measurement oven you need, and the way a lot you wish to spend. You could find our detailed comparability of all of the Ooni ovens here. 

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