Bakery Oven – Pizza Ovens
Deck Pizza Ovens
What is the difference between a bakery oven and a pizza oven?
The main difference between a pizza oven and a bakery oven is that pizza ovens are designed to reach higher temperatures. A bakery deck oven is optimized for bread, and typically will only have a maximum temperature of about 300°C (572°F), while some pizza ovens will reach over 500°C (932°F)
There are other differences as well. Some of those differences include:
· Steam: Bread ovens utilize steam injection systems to help achieve that deep artisanal crust, a feature not needed for pizza. A
· Configuration: bakery deck oven will also be deeper, designed to work with a loader for quick loading and unloading of bread, while a pizza oven will often be shallower to allow for easy access to pizza.
· Baking Surface: Napoletana pizza ovens have baking surfaces optimized to not burn or blacken the pizza crust
· Doors: bakery deck ovens have doors optimized for a loader, and open inwards and upwards. Most pizza deck ovens have a door that opens outwards and downwards.
· Chamber Height: Each deck in a bread deck oven is often much higher than what you need for pizza. Accordingly pizza deck ovens have shorter decks optimized for space and cost savings when only baking pizza.
Can I bake bread in a pizza oven?
It is possible to bake bread in a pizza oven, but most pizza ovens do not have any steam. To accommodate this, you may need to monitor and manually spray water inside the oven or place water in containers/ steamers on each deck. Depending on what bread you’re baking, you may not have enough height inside the pizza oven baking deck to fit your bread.
Pizza ovens are also great for flatbread and focaccias. If you are looking for an oven that is optimized to work for BOTH pizza and bread, we recommend to check out the Esmach Modular Electric Deck Oven EF-P or Bongard Modular Deck Oven SOLEO EVO. The Bongard Soleo Deck oven allows you to have a pizza deck stacked on top of bread decks, and the Esmach EF-P is a bread oven that reaches 400C (752F), able to accommodate multiple types of pizza.
What type of bottom or deck is used in a pizza oven?
Pizza oven decks are made from efficient heat-retaining materials. All of our pizza ovens have stone hearth decks made from cordierite stone or different stones.
Our Esmach Pizza Hearth Oven Bakestone uses a unique Italian hand-crafted stone called “Biscotto di Sorrento”, which is made specifically to reduce the blackening or burn marks from the high temperatures used to bake traditional Napoletana pizza.
Left side of the picture is showing Esmach “Biscotto di Sorrento” and the right side is cordierite stone.
What is the best way to care for or to clean a pizza deck hearth?
The best way to clean the hearthstone in a pizza deck oven is to scrub it with a dry brush or deck broom. As the oven is heated over time, the food and materials left behind turn to ash, sweep this away. No water, no chemicals, just old good brushing. You want to expose the pizza stone to as little water as possible.
Pizza deck stones or hearths are made from synthetic cordierite, pottery minerals or other clays. Anyways, they all need the same care and love.
To inquire about ordering a custom deck oven brush, be sure to contact us.
How much pizza can I make in a pizza oven?
It depends on the size of the oven, the size of your pizza, and how long you cook it.
For example, the smallest oven we supply, Cuppone Tiziano, will fit just one 45cm pizza (18”) or four 20cm pizzas (8”) per deck and can come with two baking decks. Whereas one of the larger pizza deck ovens we supply, the Cuppone Michelangelo model ML935, can fit four 50cm pizzas (20”) or nine 35cm pizzas (14”) per deck.
Both the ovens mentioned above can cook traditional Napoletana pizza in just 90 seconds (that’s a lot of pizza per hour).
When sizing out the right pizza deck oven for your business, we need to understand your production routine, staffing constraints, and pizza.
Do I need a ventilation hood for my pizza oven?
Maybe. It depends on your local municipality and local rules and regulations. Most pizza ovens are electric, so there are no combustion or exhaust fumes to vent. There is, however, heat (and water vapours from the crust) that are produced. This heat must go somewhere, so even if your local regulations don’t require you to place a ventilation hood over your pizza oven, you may want to consider it to keep your place of business cooler for staff and customers.
Do I need loader for my pizza oven?
Pizza decks and hearth ovens are not designed to work with a belt loader. Instead, most people use a pizza peel, which can come in multiple shapes and be made of different materials.
Is an electric pizza oven or a gas pizza oven better?
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Most pizza ovens are electric, but there are a few gas-powered alternatives. Overall electric ovens are more versatile, allowing you to set the temperature of each deck independently (but some gas pizza ovens allow this feature, like the Zesto Gas Pizza Oven.
All points aside, we find more bakeries today also consider the trade-offs between the environmental impact of gas vs. electric ovens. Consider the long-term viability and cost of utilities in your area, or look into any upcoming changes to your local bylaws around gas commercial appliances. Ultimately, the choice may come down to what utilities you have better access to.
Do pizza ovens use steam?
Traditionally, no. Most pizza ovens do not come equipped with steam injection. (the pizza ingredients add enough moisture on their own). If you want to bake bread products, you’ll need to consider a bread deck oven instead.
But some pizza ovens, like the Zesto Gas Pizza Oven, can be equipped with steam injections if you want to cook bread and pizza in the same oven.
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Weekends: Closed
EM Bakery Equipment USA Inc.
6731 Baymeadow Dr.
Glen Burnie, MD
21061
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