Growing up in Italy, it would be commonplace to find five year old me clamouring on kitchen furniture to get a peep of my nonna preparing what I called “happy food”.
Once settled on a chair I would spend hours gawping as she kneaded, rolled and shaped heaps of dough which eventually, as if by magic, would turn into the most delicious pizzas of all time. In an attempt to recreate this cheesy doughy heavenly state of bliss, I have used countless cookbook recipes to make homemade pizzas in my kitchen oven, but none tasted quite like hers.
You can imagine my excitement then when I was told I could upgrade my homemade pizzas by using a real wood fire oven thanks to Salter’s new launch - the Salter Professional EK4923 Pellet 12” Outdoor Portable Oven. Begging my parents to set it up in their garden - London flats with a garden are something that can only be dreamed of - I was eager to get underway in my review.
Arriving home on Saturday evening, I sensed the pizza oven had arrived as nothing confirms its delivery quite like your dad excitedly browsing the internet for lighting wood pellets and your mum clearing out the local supermarket of every possible pizza topping (fear not, the pineapple aisle remained untouched).
With the weather in our favour, we gathered the rest of the family and gave them the impossible task of eating pizza, and other wood cooked delicacies in order to put Salter’s latest pizza oven through its paces.
Specification
- Dimensions: 36 x 70.5 x 68.5 cm (W x H x D)
- Weight: 12.6kg
- Max temperature: 500 degrees
- Accessories: Scoop, Pizza Stone & Paddle
- Heating process: wood pellets
Set up
Arriving in relatively compact packaging given its size, the pizza oven was lightweight enough to carry through the house into the garden. Once unboxed, we assembled it all by attaching the components to the main body. With relatively small legs, the pizza oven needs to be placed on a garden table or tall work surface so make sure you have clear room for it.
Alongside the pizza oven, there are some handy accessories including a pizza paddle, a pellet channel opening bar to open the hot pellet channel lid and a handy wood pellet spoon for loading the fuel box.
Getting started was simple - the quick start guide was very clear, leaving no room for ambiguity in setting up the oven and the whole process was completed in less than 10 minutes.
Design
The oven itself boasts a contemporary curved design with a momentous chimney and cowl on top. Whilst we loved the overall finish, the enormous chimney made the oven look slightly less sleek than other models on the market.
We were impressed by the compactness of the cooking oven itself but the tall chimney and long length of the oven - which is needed to accommodate the wood pellets - make it less ideal for those short on garden space.
Cooking process
A firelighter, three spoonfuls of 100 per cent hardwood pellets and five minutes later, the pizza oven was up to the optimum temperature of 350 - 400 degrees.
With such a grand appliance now in our garden it seemed only fitting to go the full hog and make our pizzas from scratch. We prepped the dough and rolled it to fit the size of the pizza paddle and then added a variety of toppings (we also tried cooking a shop bought pizza in the oven for comparison). Thanks to some of the pickier members of my family, we were able to test out how a plain Margherita cooked in the oven versus one laden with toppings.
We found that for homemade dough, dusting the pizza paddle before placing the pizza on top was essential - we spent far too long meticulously peeling off dough from the paddle as our stomachs rumbled. However, the premade pizza slipped straight into the oven from the paddle without a flour dusting.
After 30 seconds of cooking time, each pizza needed to be rotated 180 degrees. Although the instructions made it look simple, we found that rotating the pizza on the pizza stone using only the one single paddle provided, was somewhat challenging. Luckily, my mum’s panic-purchased spatulas came in handy and made the rotating easier and quicker which was important as you don’t want to let too much heat out of the oven.
At such high temperatures, the pizzas cook in under 60 seconds and if you prep ahead and have all your pizzas lined up ready to go, your garden table will be crowded with dough-based delights in a matter of minutes. Despite the quick cook time, the pizza oven fits only one pizza at a time which is something to consider if you’re planning on cooking for large gatherings.
Aftercare
Cleaning the oven afterwards proved quick and far less difficult than expected (ideal for a brief clean-up operation during that carb comedown). The fuel box allows for ash to be easily disposed of whilst the pizza oven bag is perfect for storing it away without taking it all apart.
Verdict
Overall everything about the Salter pizza oven is fast - from the assembling process to the oven heating up to the actual cooking (and eating) time. As it only cooks one pizza at a time, it works best for smaller family meals or a pizza night for one.
All in all, the Salter pizza oven has fulfilled my desire for authentic stone baked pizza from the comfort of my own home. I don’t think I’ll ever stop longing for truly authentic Roman pizza, but from my garden in London, è molto buono!
